The year 2015 marks 70 years since Vietnam’s Declaration of Independence, 40 years since reunification, and just short of 30 years from the launch of Doi Moi reforms, which catapulted the nation from the ranks of the world’s poorest to one of the great development success stories.

Critical ingredients of success have been visionary leaders, a sense of shared societal purpose, and a focus on the future. Starting in the late 1980s, these elements were fused with the embrace of markets and the global economy, setting the nation on the path to becoming the middle-income country that it is today, raising tens of millions of people out of poverty.

Energized by past success but by no means content, Vietnam now aspires, by the year 2035, to modernity, industrialization, and a higher quality of life – aspirations that stand on three major pillars: economic prosperity, balanced with environmental sustainability; equity and social inclusion; and state capacity and accountability. The Vietnam 2035 report – a joint undertaking by experts from Vietnam and the World Bank – evaluates Vietnam’s possibilities and options in this endeavor.