Vietnam's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.12 percent in the first nine months of this year, the lowest rate in the 2011-2020 period, the country's General Statistics Office announced on Tuesday.

Between January and September, the sector of agriculture, forestry and fishery grew by 1.84 percent against the same period last year, while industry and construction grew 3.08 percent and services up 1.37 percent.

The three sectors respectively contributed 13.62 percent, 58.35 percent, and 28.03 percent to the overall growth, said the office.

In the third quarter alone, Vietnam's GDP grew 2.62 percent, also the lowest of the quarter in 10 years, due to the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The figure is remarkably higher than the 0.39 percent achieved in the second quarter this year thanks to the country's effective control over the epidemic, which allowed economic activities to resume gradually, the office analyzed.

Vietnam's economic growth rate was expected to be 1.8 percent in 2020 due to the pandemic and bounce back to 6.3 percent in 2021, the Asian Development Bank forecast in a report released earlier this month.

Last year, the country's annual GDP growth hit 7.02 percent, exceeding the annualized target of 6.6 to 6.8 percent, according to the statistics office.