(VOVworld) - The gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014 is estimated to grow by 5.98 percent over the previous year, Director General of the Vietnam General Statistics Office (GSO) Nguyen Bich Lam reported at a press conference in Hanoi on Saturday. He said this is a positive sign if compared to the 5.25 percent growth in 2012 and 5.42 percent in 2013, affirming that the macro-economy remained stable, inflation continued to be kept at a safe level and production showed good growth. The December consumer price index (CPI) increased by 1.84 percent from one year ago. The average CPI this year showed a modest rise of 4.09 percent, or 0.15 percent increase each month, a low level in the last decade. Besides the achievements, there remain difficulties and challenges, including domestic prices’ vulnerability to unpredictable changes in the world situation, poor competitiveness in the context of global integration and unsolved bad debts especially those of State-run businesses.