With advancements in science and technology, the determination of the Party and State leadership and the active participation of ministries, sectors, and localities, traditional paper-based administration is transforming toward a digital administration, offering the benefits of a modern society.

Outstanding achievements

After nearly five years of implementing Decision No. 749/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister approving the “National digital transformation programme until 2025, with a vision to 2030”, digital transformation efforts across the country have been vigorous and determined, yielding increasingly substantive and effective results.

Hoang Trung, Director of IGB Soft Joint Stock Company, noted that online public services have significantly improved. The government has accelerated digital transformation and developed the National Public Service Portal, allowing citizens and businesses greater access to online services.

Many administrative procedures, such as business registration, driver’s license issuance, and residence registration, can now be completed online, reducing travel time and waiting periods. The digitisation of processes has helped minimise bureaucracy and enhance transparency in administrative procedures. Some services have also been integrated with banking, social insurance, and e-tax systems, facilitating transactions.

According to the “Report on Digital Transformation Index Assessment of Ministries, Ministerial-level Agencies, Governmental Agencies, and Provinces/Cities Directly Under the Central Government - DTI at the Ministerial and Provincial Levels in 2023” recently published by the Ministry of Information and Communications, Hanoi has climbed to the 6th position (up 18 places) in the ranking of 63 provinces and cities. Hanoi has implemented practical measures to make online public services more accessible to citizens and businesses.

To accelerate progress toward achieving the goal of “Three No’s: No geographical boundaries, No intermediaries, No physical documents” and “Two Zero’s: No administrative offices - No procedural constraints”, Hanoi launched a pilot public service agency at the Hoan Kiem Post Office on February 5.

This is one of 32 public service agencies being introduced in Phase 1 at 10 Vietnam Post Corporation post offices, 12 post offices of Viettel Post Corporation, and 10 FPT Shop retail stores. At these agencies, citizens can receive support for administrative procedures conveniently and efficiently, with the option to collect results on-site or have them delivered to their homes.

According to the 2024 Digital Transformation Report by the Ministry of Information and Communications, the digital framework has created new space and momentum for developing digital government, economy, and society while strengthening state management. The Government’s API (Application Programming Interface) system, connected with document and operational management systems across ministries and localities, has yielded tangible benefits, saving time and costs by replacing approximately 953,700 paper-based records.

The country’s digital infrastructure has continued to advance, meeting national digital transformation needs. As of now, 5G telecommunications services have been rolled out across 63 provinces, covering 25.5% of the national population and 93.34% of provincial capital areas. Additionally, a new international submarine fiber optic cable has been completed.

Other significant digital advancements include 82.5% of households using broadband fiber-optic Internet (exceeding the 80% target set for 2025) and 89.4% of mobile subscribers using smartphones, facilitating easier access to online public services.

Notably, Vietnam has shut down 2G networks and transitioned to 4G and 5G broadband.

Viettel launched the country’s largest data centre, with a 30 MW capacity in 2024. The national population database now contains nearly 80 million ID cards with embedded chips.

As of November 2024, 100% of citizens use VNeID to log into online public services, with over 93.7 million access requests recorded.

The rate of fully online administrative procedures reached 45%, marking a 28% increase from 2023. Among government ministries, this rate reached 62.48%. The National Public Service Portal now offers 4,475 online public services, accounting for 70.8% of all administrative procedures, with 382 million synchronised processing records (an increase of 82.5 million from 2023).

Many localities have made comprehensive investments to upgrade infrastructure as a foundation for digital transformation. Nguyen Duy Anh, Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Phu Tho Province, stated that the province has upgraded 3,889 BTS stations, shut down 2G services, and deployed 47 5G BTS stations in Viet Tri City and various districts.

Thanks to these efforts: 95% of provincial and district-level administrative records and 75% of commune-level records are now processed online (excluding confidential government documents). In addition, 100% of reporting tasks are conducted via the provincial and national reporting systems, 81.71% of administrative records are received and processed online, 83.89% are digitised, and 86.02% of issued documents are provided electronically.

Challenges in digital transformation

Despite significant progress, implementing online public services and building a digital administration still face challenges in three key areas: technology, human resources, and process execution. User experience remains suboptimal, preventing many citizens from independently completing online procedures. Rural communities still face limited Internet access and a lack of digital devices.

Cybersecurity risks are a major concern, as online systems store vast amounts of sensitive personal data, posing a risk of information leaks.

In reality, the proportion of citizens using online public services remains relatively low compared to overall Internet users. To access these services, people need smartphones or computers, stable Internet connections, and the digital literacy required to navigate online procedures effectively. This makes online public services less accessible to rural, remote, and ethnic minority communities.

For example, in Quang Dien District (Hue City), out of 7,418 administrative records received in 2024, only 3,891 (52.46%) were processed online, while nearly half still required paper-based processing.

To make online public services more accessible to citizens and businesses, the government is intensifying reforms and restructuring administrative processes to enhance transparency and efficiency. In line with the Prime Minister’s directive, a pilot One-Level Public Administration Service Centre model will be implemented under a “One-Stop, One-Connection” mechanism from September 2024 to the end of 2025.

The Ministry of Information and Communications has recommended that localities boldly adopt the “Pilot–Evaluate Success–Scale Up” approach for innovative and unprecedented initiatives such as Hanoi’s public service agency model.