Ninh Thuận is southern Vietnam's poorest and least industrialized province. Nominal per capita GDP was 6.66 million
VND in 2007, half of the national average and 56% of the
South Central Coast's average of 10.8 million VND. Ninh Thuận has also been the only province in the South Central Coast with an average annual GDP growth rate of less than 10% from 2000 to 2007 - at 9.4% compared to the region's average of 11.2%. While its industrial growth has been slightly above the region's average at 16.4%, it started from a very low base and therefore contributed little to overall growth. Growth in services has been at 9.8%, significantly below the region's average, while agriculture, forestry and fishing have grown at an average rate of 6.7%, somewhat higher than the average.
Agriculture, forestry, fishing Ninh Thuận's agriculture is mostly based on rice. 33,400 ha out of a total of 70,000 ha were used for the cultivation of rice, followed by maize with 14,200 ha. 173,200 t of rice and 36,300 t of maize were harvested in 2007, accounting for 0.5% and 0.9% of national output. The most important cash crop is
tobacco. It is grown on 1,300 ha (as of 2007) in the central part of the province west and north-east of
Phan Rang with an output of 3,300 t, or 10.3% of Vietnam's total output. The province also harvested 200 t in 2007, 1.2% of the national total. Other less significant crops include cashew nuts, sugar-cane, peanuts, and coconuts. Despite the large forests of the province, there is little commercial use of forest resources.
Gross output of the forestry sector was 23.7 billion VND, accounting for only 1.8% of the South Central Coast, and therefore even less than
Da Nang. Much of the province's forests are protected as part of
Núi Chúa National Park and
Phước Bình National Park. These National Parks as well as the nearby Vịnh Vĩnh Hy attracted the building of
Amanoi, a five star franchise hotel belonging to
Aman Resorts. Ninh Thuận's fishing gross output was 1138.8 billion VND in 2007, 1.3% of Vietnam's output and therefore more significant in a national context than agriculture. It has grown at an average of 11.7%, far exceeding agricultural growth and making it one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy. As of 2007, there were 589 offshore fishing vessels registered in the province.
Industry Ninh Thuận has a very small industrial sector, with a gross output accounting for only 2% of the South Central Coast's total. Industry contributes 1.3 million VND to the GDP per capita, compared to an average of 4.4 million VND for the region. The province's industrial products are mostly basic processed food and seafood products (frozen aquatic products, fish sauce, shelled cashew nuts) and processed raw materials (stones, bricks, salt). However, the industrial sector's growth of 16.4% has enabled it to absorb much of Ninh Thuận's labor force growth by increasing industrial employment from 14,900 in 2000 to 43,700 in 2007 - although this employment growth has been overshadowed by the service sector, which created 57,300 additional jobs in the same period despite its slower growth. ==Infrastructure==