Statistical information Vietnam 1992

Vietnam in the World

Vietnam - Introduction 1992

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Background: France occupied all of Vietnam by 1884. Independence was declared after World War II but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by communist forces under HO Chi Minh who took control of the north. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later North Vietnamese forces overran the south. Economic reconstruction of the reunited country has proven difficult as aging Communist Party leaders have only grudgingly initiated reforms necessary for a free market.

Vietnam - Geography 1992

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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 329,560 km²
Land: 325,360
Comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries: 3,818 km total; Cambodia 982 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 1,555 km

Coastline: 3,444 km; excludes islands

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes:

maritime boundary with Cambodia not defined; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines,
Taiwan, and possibly Brunei; unresolved maritime boundary with Thailand; maritime boundary dispute with China in the Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan

Climate: tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March)

Terrain: low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest

Elevation

Natural resources: phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil deposits, forests

Land use

Land use: arable land: 22%; permanent crops: 2%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and woodland 40%; other 35%; includes irrigated 5%

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography

Vietnam - People 1992

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Population: 68,964,018 (July 1992), growth rate 2.0% (1992)

Nationality:

noun - Vietnamese (singular and plural); adjective -
Vietnamese

Ethnic groups: predominantly Vietnamese 85-90%; Chinese 3%; ethnic minorities include Muong, Thai, Meo, Khmer, Man, Cham; other mountain tribes

Languages: Vietnamese (official), French, Chinese, English, Khmer, tribal languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)

Religions: Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist, Roman Catholic, indigenous beliefs, Islamic, Protestant

Demographic profile

Age structure

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 29 births/1000 population (1992)

Death rate: 8 deaths/1000 population (1992)

Net migration rate: -1 migrant/1000 population (1992)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 47 deaths/1000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth: 63 years male, 67 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate: 3.6 children born/woman (1992)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 88% (male 92%, female 84%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment

Vietnam - Government 1992

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Country name
Conventional long form: Socialist Republic of Vietnam; abbreviated SRV

Government type: Communist state

Capital: Hanoi

Administrative divisions:

50 provinces (tinh, singular and plural), 3 municipalities* (thanh pho, singular and plural); An Giang, Ba Ria-Vung Tau,
Bac Thai, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Binh Thuan, Can Tho, Cao Bang, Dac Las, Dong
Nai, Dong Tay, Gia Lai, Ha Bac, Ha Giang, Ha Noi*, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hai
Hung, Hai Phong*, Ho Chi Minh*, Hoa Binh, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Kon Tum,
Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Long An, Minh Hai, Nam Ha, Nghe An,
Ninh Binh, Ninh Thuan, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Nam-Da Nang, Quang Ngai,
Quang Ninh, Quang Tri, Soc Trang, Son La, Song Be, Tay Ninh, Thai Binh,
Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Tuyen Quang, Vinh Long, Vinh
Phu, Yen Bai; note - diacritical marks are not included

Dependent areas

Independence: 2 September 1945 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 2 September (1945)

Constitution: 18 December 1980; new Constitution to be approved Spring 1992

Legal system: based on Communist legal theory and French civil law system

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal at age 18
National Assembly:

last held 19 April 1987 (next to be held 19 July 1992); results - VCP is the only party; seats - (496 total) VCP or
VCP-approved 496; note - number of seats under new government 395

Communists: nearly 2 million

Executive branch:

president, prime minister, deputy prime minister,
Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Quoc-Hoi)

Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:

ACCT, AsDB, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBEC, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IIB, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: none

Diplomatic representation

Flag description

: red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage

Vietnam - Economy 1992

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Economy overview:

This is a formerly centrally planned, developing economy with extensive government ownership and control of productive facilities. The economy is primarily agricultural; the sector employs about 70% of the labor force and accounts for half of GNP. Rice is the staple crop; substantial amounts of maize, sorghum, cassava, and sweet potatoes are also grown. The government permits sale of surplus grain on the open market. Most of the mineral resources are located in the north, including coal, which is an important export item. Oil was discovered off the southern coast in 1986 with production reaching 70,000 barrels per day in 1991 and expected to increase in the years ahead. Following the end of the war in 1975, heavy-handed government measures undermined efforts at an efficient merger of the agricultural resources of the south and the industrial resources of the north. The economy remains heavily dependent on foreign aid and has received assistance from UN agencies, France, Australia, Sweden, and
Communist countries. Inflation, although down from recent triple-digit levels, is still a major weakness and is showing signs of accelerating upwards again. Per capita output is among the world's lowest. Since late 1986 the government has sponsored a broad reform program that seeks to turn more economic activity over to the private sector.

GNP: exchange rate conversion - $15 billion, per capita $220; real growth rate 2.5% (1991 est.)

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for half of GNP; paddy rice, corn, potatoes make up 50% of farm output; commercial crops (rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas) and animal products other 50%; since 1989 self-sufficient in food staple rice; fish catch of 943,100 metric tons (1989 est.)

Industries: food processing, textiles, machine building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, fishing

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate -3.6% (1989; accounts for 30% of GNP

Labor force: 32.7 million; agricultural 65%
Industrial and service: 35% (1990 est.)
Organized labor: reportedly over 90% of wage and salary earners are members of the Vietnam Federation of Trade Unions (VFTU)

Labor force

Unemployment rate: 30% (1991 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $551 million; expenditures $830 million, including capital expenditures of $58 million (1990)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
Commodoties: agricultural and handicraft products, coal, minerals, crude petroleum, ores, seafood
Partners: Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Eastern Europe, USSR

Imports: $1.9 billion (c.i.f., 1991)
Commodoties: petroleum products, steel products, railroad equipment, chemicals, medicines, raw cotton, fertilizer, grain
Partners: Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Eastern Europe, USSR

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: new dong (D) per US$1 - 11,100 (May 1992), 8,100 (July 1991), 7,280 (December 1990), 3,996 (March 1990), 2,047 (1988), 225 (1987; note - 1985-89 figures are end of year

Vietnam - Energy 1992

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Electricity
Production: 3,300,000 kW capacity; 9,200 million kWh produced, 140 kWh per capita (1991)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita

Vietnam - Communication 1992

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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions

Vietnam - Military 1992

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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GNP

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups

Vietnam - Transportation 1992

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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports:

100 total, 100 usable; 50 with permanent-surface runways; 10
with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 20
with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Heliports

Pipelines: petroleum products 150 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: about 17,702 km navigable; more than 5,149 km navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 meter draft

Merchant marine:

89 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 400,430
GRT/643,877 DWT; includes 73 cargo 4 refrigerated cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off, 8 petroleum tanker, 3 bulk; note - Vietnam owns 11 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 134,719 DWT under the registries of Panama and Malta

Civil air: controlled by military

Ports and terminals

Vietnam - Transnational issues 1992

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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs