The country's third quarter GDP grew by 262 percent, higher than the previous quarter's 039 percent, but lower than the first quarter's 368 percent, the General Statistics Office reported Tuesday.

With the Covid-19 pandemic having seriously affected socio-economic activities worldwide, Vietnam's growth was a great success, it said.

The industry and construction sector grew by 308 percent in January-September period, contributing 5835 percent to the GDP. The corresponding figures for the agriculture sector were 184 percent and 1362 percent, and for the services sector 137 percent and 2803 percent.

Exports rose 4.2 percent year-on-year to $202.8 billion in the first nine months, while imports declined 0.8 percent to $185.8 billion.

As many as 38600 businesses in Vietnam registered to temporarily suspend operations between January and September, up 81.8 percent year-on-year, according to General Statistics Office.

The nation's consumer price index (CPI) increased 385 percent, the highest in the last five years.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had said earlier that the country would strive to overcome the crisis by registering
positive GDP growth
this year, providing support packages to businesses and individuals.

Vietnam had enjoyed a 702 percent growth last year, the second highest in a decade behind the 708 percent in 2018.