Vietnam's forests remain dependent on public resources, including international development assistance, for the delivery of public and private services that include timber production, state forest management, forest protection and biodiversity conservation, and extension and research. Public subsidies are also provided to smallholder forest owners to stimulate investments into the sector. For the Government it is important to efficiently manage public resources as well as secure adequate resource flows from private actors to achieve the sector's development objectives. This study provides an overview of the more recent developments in the forestry sector as well as basic analytical support to the Government, in particular policy makers in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Planning and Investment, with regard to structure, trends, and main functions of public and other expenditure in the forestry sector. The study assesses resource adequacy and whether public spending is appropriately prioritized and aligned with sector objectives. Given the constraints of limited availability and quality of data, the overall picture of sector expenditure remains incomplete, but it nevertheless provides a useful basis for further analytical work and discussion.