•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
As of early 2026, Vietnam has more than 6 million operating household businesses. With an average of 1–2 workers per household, the sector supports livelihoods for about 10 million people nationwide. Beyond its social role, household businesses contribute up to 33,000 billion dong to the state budget, within the non-state sector’s total revenue of 484,000 billion dong.
A VCCI survey conducted from February to April 2026 across more than 1,000 households in 34 provinces found that 96.7% of respondents view household business as their sole and main income source. Labor distribution is concentrated in small teams: 36% have only 1 worker, 59% have 2–5 workers, nearly 3% have 6–9, and 2% have more than 10.
Despite their scale and contribution, household businesses show signs of fragility. After market fluctuations in 2025, the survey reports that 81.5% of households experienced revenue declines and 75.4% saw customer demand fall amid tighter market conditions. While profitability rates may appear relatively high, 73.7% of households earned very little, about 13% broke even, and 12% incurred losses.
With narrow margins, households have limited capacity to accumulate capital for reinvestment or to build resilience against shocks. As a result, many operate defensively: when asked about plans for the next two years, 61% preferred a cautious approach, 33% intended to shrink their scale, and less than 2% planned to expand—an indicator of weak long-term growth momentum.
The survey highlights that compliance—not capital or market conditions—is the main obstacle. Overall, 73.3% of households identified compliance as their biggest challenge, higher than market pressure at 59.3%. In addition to input costs (44%), compliance with legal regulations causes anxiety for nearly 40% of households.
Policy uptake also appears slow. Only 13.9% of households said they truly understand new rules introduced at the start of 2026 on taxable thresholds or electronic invoicing, while more than 33% reported only hearing about them. The survey suggests that misunderstanding policy reduces practical compliance.
Technical requirements are creating major burdens for household business owners. The survey shows:
A negative pattern emerges as household businesses become larger: the impact of compliance time rises from 61.5% in lower-revenue groups to 87.3% in groups with turnover above 3 billion dong. As procedural risk increases with scale, owners tend to compact operations for safety.
Pham Ngoc Thach, Deputy Head of Legal Affairs at VCCI, said that achieving the goal of two million enterprises by 2030 will be very challenging unless the transition from household business to enterprise becomes a natural development path. Currently, only 15.6% of households intend to convert, while 84.4% say “no” or have no plan.
Concerns about becoming an enterprise are widespread: 93.4% fear more complex taxes, 91.7% worry about complicated accounting rules, 91.3% fear social and health insurance burdens, and 88.9% fear more frequent inspections. Even under current tax levels, 49.1% think taxes are high, and 22% consider them too high relative to their capacity. Among larger households, tax concerns rise to nearly 87%.
As a result, more than 39% of households choose to downsize, while others suspend operations or close.
To enable household businesses to grow, the system needs to be easier to comply with. The survey’s findings point to the need for effective policy that builds confidence for households to survive, recover, and expand—rather than tightening management through additional procedural layers.
Premium gym chains are entering a “golden era” that is ending or already in decline, as rising operating costs collide with shifting consumer preferences toward more flexible, community-based ways to exercise. Long-term memberships are shrinking, margins are pressured by higher rents and facility expenses, and competition from smaller, more personalized…
