Map of Vietnam | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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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military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973.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.


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Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea, between Laos and the Philippines

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: Asia, Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total area total: 329,560 km²
Land: 325,360 km²

Land boundaries: total 3,818 km, 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: 200 nm or the edge of continental margin
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

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
Arable land: 22%
Permanent crops: 2%
Meadows and pastures: 1%
Forest and woodland: 40%
Other: 35%

Irrigated land: 18,300 km² (1989 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding

Geography


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Population: 73,103,898 (July 1994 est.)
Growth rate: 1.78% (1994 est.)

Nationality: noun:Vietnamese (singular and plural)

Ethnic groups: Vietnamese 85-90%, Chinese 3%, Muong, Thai, Meo, Khmer, Man, Cham

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

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

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 1.78% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 27.13 births/1000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 7.76 deaths/1000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.53 migrant(s)/1000 population (1994 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threatening marine life populations

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 45.5 deaths/1000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 65.41 years
Male: 63.37 years
Female: 67.58 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.33 children born/woman (1994 est.)

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: age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
Total population: 88%
Male: 93%
Female: 83%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Conventional short form:
Abbreviation: 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 Lac, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, 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

Dependent areas

Independence: 2 September 1945 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 2 September (1945)

Constitution: 15 April 1992

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Le Duc ANH (since 23 September 1992)
Head of government: Prime Minister Vo Van KIET (since 9 August 1991); First Deputy Prime Minister Phan Van KHAI (since 10 August 1991); Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen KHANH (since NA February 1987); Deputy Prime Minister Tran Duc LUONG (since NA February 1987)

Legislative branch: People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) including:Ground, Navy (including Naval Infantry), Air Force
National Assembly QuocHoi: elections last held 19 July 1992 (next to be held NA July 1997); results - VCP is the only party; seats - (395 total) VCP or VCP-approved 395

Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: ACCT, AsDB, ASEAN (observer), ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
From the us:

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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Vietnam has made significant progress in recent years moving away from the planned economic model toward a more effective market-based economic system. Most prices are now fully decontrolled, and the Vietnamese currency has been effectively devalued and floated at world market rates. In addition, the scope for private sector activity has been expanded, primarily through decollectivization of the agricultural sector and introduction of laws giving legal recognition to private business. Nearly three-quarters of export earnings are generated by only two commodities, rice and crude oil. Led by industry and construction, the economy did well in 1993 with output rising perhaps 7%. However, the industrial sector remains burdened by uncompetitive state-owned enterprises the government is unwilling or unable to privatize. Unemployment looms as a serious problem with roughly 25% of the workforce without jobs and with population growth swelling the ranks of the unemployed yearly.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 7% (1993 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $1,000 (1993 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for almost 40% of GDP; paddy rice, corn, potatoes make up 50% of farm output; commercial crops (rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas) and animal products 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

Industrial production growth rate: 15% (1992; accounts for 20% of GDP

Labor force: 32.7 million
By occupation agricultural: 65%
By occupation industrial and service: 35% (1990 est.)

Unemployment rate: 25% (1993 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues:$1.9 billion

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: $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
Commodities: petroleum, rice, agricultural products, marine products, coffee
Partners: Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Germany, Indonesia

Imports: $3.1 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
Commodities: petroleum products, steel products, railroad equipment, chemicals, medicines, raw cotton, fertilizer, grain
Partners: Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $3.4 billion Western countries; $4.5 billion CEMA debts primarily to Russia; $700 million commercial debts (1993 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: new dong (D) per US$1 - 10,800 (November 1993), 8,100 (July 1991), 7,280 (December 1990), 3,996 (March 1990; note - 1985-89 figures are end of year


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Electricity
Capacity: 3,300,000 kW
Production: 9 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 130 kWh (1992)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $NA, NA% of GNP

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 100
Usable: 100
With permanentsurface runways: 50
With runways over 3659 m: 0
With runways 2440-3659 m: 10
With runways 1220-2439 m: 20

Heliports

Pipelines: petroleum products 150 km

Railways

Roadways

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

Merchant marine: 101 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 460,225 GRT/741,231 DWT, bulk 3, cargo 86, oil tanker 8, refrigerated cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: 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

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: minor opium producer and secondary transit point for Southeast Asian heroin destined for the US and Europe