Hanoi, Vietnam ? Thirty-five years after the end of the Vietnam War, the people of this country are optimistic about the future, bullish about the free market and rarely think about a conflict that still ignites political passions in America.

A new Associated Press-GfK Poll, one of the most exhaustive surveys to date of contemporary Vietnamese attitudes, underscores how rapidly life has changed in Vietnam.Under a single-party Communist government, the country has embraced market-oriented reforms and lifted tens of millions out of poverty.

Eighty-five percent said the economy is stronger than it was five years ago, and 87 percent said they expect it to be even stronger in another five years. Eighty-one percent said the country is moving in the right direction.

Their optimism stands in stark contrast to the widespread pessimism in the United States, where recent polls show many Americans believe their nation is on the wrong track.

“The country has changed so much in so many ways since the end of the war that you can’t imagine,” said Luong Trung Thanh, 72, a retired teacher from Hanoi. “It changes every day, right in front of your eyes. There are tall buildings going up everywhere.”

The war ended on April 30, 1975, with the fall of Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City, to communist troops from the north.

Initially, hunger was widespread as the government launched a centrally planned economy and the West imposed an economic blockade. Nguyen Thi Thao, 83, remembers lining up with vouchers at government stores in Hanoi, waiting for her allotment of rice and other supplies.

But two decades ago, the communist leadership began opening up the economy, sparking a boom in this Southeast Asian nation of 86 million people.

Economic growth has averaged more than 7 percent annually over the last decade, and the share of the population living in poverty has fallen from 58 percent in 1993 to 11 percent last year. Per capita income has risen from $400 in 2000 to $1,000. Incomes are roughly twice that in the two largest cities, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, the capital.

“I have a bright future,” said Ho Thu Thao, 17, a Hanoi high school student. “Things will be better for me than they were for my parents. The Vietnamese economy is on the right track.”

At a shop in central Hanoi, Vietnam’s upwardly mobile snap up digital cameras, iPods and other high-tech devices. The shop already has iPads on its shelves.

“The economy is much better now than it was five years ago,” said salesman Tran Anh Diep. “People have more money, and they can afford to buy more. I sell about 20 to 25 iPods every week.”