The primary purpose of this paper is to determine the relative welfare position ofdifferent ethnic groupings in Vietnam using data spanning a twelve-year periodcorresponding to radical economic transformation in Vietnam. The analysis reported inthis study confirms that the Kinh majority has been the primary beneficiaries of the Doi moi reform process. The living standards of Kinh-headed households have risen relative to the rural average over the period 1993 to 2004, whether we examine the poorest,richest or the average Kinh-headed household. The relative position of the Khmer andCham in recent times has also improved in rural areas while that of the Chinese (Hoa)has declined, so that by 2004 these groups were found to be statistically indistinguishablefrom the national average. However, sizeable and persistent gaps in household welfareare found to remain for the Northern and Central Highlands Minorities. Our findingsalso suggest that the disadvantaged position of Vietnam’s ethnic minority groups cannotbe attributed exclusively to the role of geography and the concentration of ethnicminorities in the more remote parts of the country