Ha Noi, 15 April 2025 – The newly released 2024 Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) reveals encouraging progress across several dimensions of local governance. However, the findings also underscore persistent demographic and geographic gaps in citizen satisfaction, with women, ethnic minorities, migrants and residents of rural and more remote areas consistently reporting lower levels of service. 

In the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi — the most intense storm to strike Viet Nam in 70 years — the report also highlights a growing sense of citizen vulnerability to climate change. Feelings of precariousness are exacerbated by enduring gaps in access to social insurance. 

As Viet Nam undertakes historic governance reforms — transitioning to a two-tier local government system and preparing for provincial mergers — it has a critical opportunity to enhance inclusive governance and policy implementation to address the challenges identified in the 2024 PAPI Report. This includes prioritizing digital literacy and infrastructure investment through the implementation of Resolution 57 to improve citizens’ access to online public services and bridge the existing digital divide. The implementation of the 2024 Social Insurance Law in 2025 also presents a timely chance to expand social protection and improve access for vulnerable populations, ensuring that no one is left behind. 

The 16th edition of the PAPI report captures the voices of 18,894 randomly selected respondents across the country. The report offers insights into national and local governance, public administration, and service delivery in Viet Nam. 

As highlighted by Associate Professor Dr. Duong Trung Y, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, “For more than a decade, the PAPI launch ceremony organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Viet Nam has become a much-anticipated annual event. The PAPI survey results provide a very useful source of data and insights for local governments to assess their performance, public services quality, thereby developing policies and action plans to improve their effectiveness.”

Since 2018, PAPI has been co-funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Australia, the Embassy of Ireland, and UNDP in Viet Nam.

“Australia highly appreciates the efforts of the UNDP and national partners in implementing PAPI,” said Chargé d'Affaires of the Australian Embassy in Viet Nam, Ms. Renée Deschamps. “This is a trusted tool that supports evidence-based policy making, a platform for citizens to engage with provincial authorities to improve their performance. PAPI has become even more relevant to support the Government of Viet Nam’s effective re-structuring of the provinces.”
 
Key 2024 Findings

In 2024, citizens reported greater satisfaction with governance and public administration, highlighting improvements in transparency in local decision-making, control of corruption in the public sector, environmental governance, and e-governance. However, despite these gains, significant opportunities remain to further enhance governance performance. Only three of eight governance dimensions measured by PAPI - control of corruption in the public sector, access to and quality of public administrative procedures and access to and quality of public services - achieve high citizen scores nationwide.

Moreover, disparities in governance satisfaction persist across gender, ethnicity, migration status, and regions. Women consistently rated governance lower than men, particularly in terms of participation and transparency in local decision-making. Ethnic minority groups also reported lower satisfaction across multiple dimensions, while non-permanent residents, especially in migrant-receiving provinces, faced limited access to public services. At the provincial level, mountainous and highland regions lagged lowland provinces in terms of citizen engagement, transparency and e-governance. On the latter, despite nationwide advances in e-governance, a persistent digital divide remains, with disparities in access and usage across gender, ethnicity, and urban-rural lines. 

Corruption emerged as the most pressing concern for citizens in 2024, cited by a record 22.58% of respondents — a sharp 17% increase from the previous year. This surge in concern is likely driven by high-profile corruption cases in 2024 and the continued visibility of the government’s intensified national anti-corruption campaign. Notably, this heightened concern contrasts with citizens’ growing recognition of local-level efforts to combat corruption, as reflected in fewer reports of bribe payments for services compared to 2023. The report recommends strengthening transparency, enforcement, and whistleblower protections as new administrative structures are implemented.

Reflecting an improving national economy, the percentage of respondents rating their household’s economic situation as “poor” or “very poor” dropped to 10.2% in 2024 — the lowest since 2019. This notwithstanding, poverty and hunger emerged as the second most critical concern for citizens (14.2%), followed closely by jobs and employment (12.64%). Despite Viet Nam’s robust economic growth of 7.09% in 2024, economic insecurity remains a pressing issue, particularly for vulnerable populations. The report highlights a strong — and unsurprising — correlation between perceptions of household economic well-being and access to social insurance. 

“While social insurance coverage has expanded in Viet Nam, it remains limited,” said H.E. Ms. Deirdre Ní Fhallúin, Ambassador of Ireland to Viet Nam. “The 2024 PAPI survey shows that only 29% of respondents have social insurance, with much lower rates among agricultural workers, informal sectors, and ethnic minorities. Expanding coverage under the 2024 Social Insurance Law will be key to addressing concerns about poverty and economic insecurity.”

The report also highlights the impact of climate-related disasters on citizen perceptions of household economic well-being. As climate change intensifies, the 2024 PAPI survey highlights a growing sense of vulnerability among Vietnamese citizens, with nearly 40% reporting direct impacts from extreme weather events over the past year. The devastating effects of Typhoon Yagi and the increasing frequency of heatwaves, floods, and droughts underscore the urgent need for enhanced and preventive environmental governance. Strengthening disaster preparedness, investing in resilient infrastructure, and ensuring regionally tailored responses are critical to safeguarding communities and building long-term climate resilience.

“The 2024 PAPI findings underscore the urgent need and opportunity to advance gender equity, social inclusion, and equitable access to public services through the ongoing governance reforms,” said Ramla Khalidi, UNDP Resident Representative in Viet Nam. "These findings offer an evidence-based roadmap for improving citizen-centric governance and ensuring that ongoing and upcoming institutional reforms translate into tangible benefits for all Vietnamese citizens.” (Read full speech)
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