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military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973.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

Geographic coordinates: 16 00 N 106 00 E

Map reference: Southeast Asia

Area
Total: 329,560 km²
Land: 325,360 km²
Water: 4,200 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries
Total: 4,639 km
Border countries: (3) Cambodia 1,228 km; , China 1,281 km; , Laos 2,130 km

Coastline: 3,444 km (excludes islands)

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 NM
Continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the 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
Extremes lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Ngoc Linh 3,143 m

Natural resources: phosphates coal manganese bauxite chromate offshore oil and gas deposits forests hydropower

Land use
Arable land: 17%
Permanent crops: 4%
Permanent pastures: 1%
Forests and woodland: 30%
Other: 48% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 18,600 km² (1993 est.)

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

Population: 79,939,014 (July 2001 est.)
Growth rate: 1.45% (2001 est.)
Below poverty line: 37% (1998 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Vietnamese (singular and plural)
Adjective: Vietnamese

Ethnic groups: Vietnamese 85%-90% Chinese Hmong Thai Khmer Cham mountain groups

Languages: Vietnamese (official) English (increasingly favored as a second language) some French Chinese and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)

Religions: Buddhist Hoa Hao Cao Dai Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic some Protestant) indigenous beliefs Muslim

Age structure
0-14 years: 32.13% (male 13,266,585; female 12,415,384)
15-64 years: 62.44% (male 24,357,343; female 25,556,187)
65 years and over: 5.43% (male 1,722,094; female 2,621,421) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.45% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 21.23 births/1000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 6.22 deaths/1000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.49 migrant(s)/1000 population (2001 est.)

Environment
Current issues: logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.07 male/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male/female
65 years and over: 0.66 male/female
Total population: 0.97 male/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 30.24 deaths/1000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 69.56 years
Male: 67.12 years
Female: 72.19 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.49 children born/woman (2001 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.24% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: 100,000 (1999 est.)
Deaths: 2,500 (1999 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 93.7%
Male: 96.5%
Female: 91.2% (1995 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Conventional short form: Vietnam
Local long form: Cong Hoa Xa Hoi Chu Nghia Viet Nam
Local short form: Viet Nam
Abbreviation: SRV

Government type: Communist state

Capital: Hanoi

Administrative divisions: 58 provinces (tinh singular and plural) 3 municipalities* (thu do singular and plural); An Giang Bac Giang Bac Kan Bac Lieu Bac Ninh Ba Ria-Vung Tau Ben Tre Binh Dinh Binh Duong Binh Phuoc Binh Thuan Ca Mau Can Tho Cao Bang Dac Lak Da Nang Dong Nai Dong Thap Gia Lai Ha Giang Hai Duong Hai Phong* Ha Nam Ha Noi* Ha Tay Ha Tinh Hoa Binh Ho Chi Minh* Hung Yen Khanh Hoa Kien Giang Kon Tum Lai Chau Lam Dong Lang Son Lao Cai Long An Nam Dinh Nghe An Ninh Binh Ninh Thuan Phu Tho Phu Yen Quang Binh Quang Nam Quang Ngai Quang Ninh Quang Tri Soc Trang Son La Tay Ninh Thai Binh Thai Nguyen Thanh Hoa Thua Thien-Hue Tien Giang Tra Vinh Tuyen Quang Vinh Long Vinh Phuc Yen Bai

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Tran Duc LUONG (since 24 September 1997) and Vice President Nguyen Thi BINH (since NA October 1992)
Head of government: Prime Minister Phan Van KHAI (since 25 September 1997); First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan DUNG (since 29 September 1997); Deputy Prime Ministers Nguyen Cong TAN (since 29 September 1997), Nguyen Manh CAM (since 29 September 1997), and Pham Gia KHIEM (since 29 September 1997)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister and ratification of the National Assembly
Elections: president elected by the National Assembly from among its members for a five-year term; election last held 25 September 1997 (next to be held when National Assembly meets following legislative elections in NA 2002); prime minister appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by the prime minister
Election results: Tran Duc LUONG elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA%

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 20 July 1997 (next to be held NA 2002)
Election results: percent of vote by party - CPV 92%, other 8% (the 8% are not CPV members but are approved by the CPV to stand for election); seats by party - CPV or CPV-approved 450

Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court (chief justice is elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president)

Political parties and leaders: only party - Communist Party of Vietnam or CPV [Le Kha PHIEU general secretary]

International organization participation: ACCT APEC ARF AsDB ASEAN CCC ESCAP FAO G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Inmarsat Intelsat Interpol IOC IOM (observer) ISO ITU NAM OPCW UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Nguyen Tam CHIEN
In the us chancery: 1233 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20,036, Suite 400
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 861-0737
In the us fax: [1] (202) 861-0917
In the us consulates general: San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Douglas B. 'Pete' PETERSON
From the us embassy: 7 Lang Ha Road, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
From the us mailing address: PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96,521-0002
From the us telephone: [84] (4) 8,431,500
From the us fax: [84] (4) 8,351,510
From the us consulates general: Ho Chi Minh City

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

Economy overview: Vietnam is a poor densely populated country that has had to recover from the ravages of war the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc and the rigidities of a centrally planned economy. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1996 in moving forward from an extremely low starting point - growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems existing in the Vietnamese economy but rather than prompting reform reaffirmed the government's belief that shifting to a market oriented economy leads to disaster. GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 fell to 6% in 1998 and 5% in 1999. Growth continued at the moderately strong level of 5.5% a level that should be matched in 2001. These numbers mask some major difficulties in economic performance. Many domestic industries including coal cement steel and paper have reported large stockpiles of inventory and tough competition from more efficient foreign producers; this problem apparently eased in 2000. Foreign direct investment fell dramatically from $8.3 billion in 1996 to about $1.6 billion in 1999. Meanwhile Vietnamese authorities have moved slowly in implementing the structural reforms needed to revitalize the economy and produce more competitive export-driven industries.

Real gdp growth rate: 5.5% (2000 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $1950 (2000 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 25%
Industry: 35%
Services: 40% (1999 est.)

Agriculture products: paddy rice corn potatoes rubber soybeans coffee tea bananas sugar; poultry pigs; fish

Industries: food processing garments shoes machine building mining cement chemical fertilizer glass tires oil coal steel paper

Industrial production growth rate: 10.7% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 38.2 million (1998 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 67%
By occupation industry and services: 33% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate: 25% (1995 est.)

Population below poverty line: 37% (1998 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3.5%
Highest 10: 29% (1993)

Budget
Revenues: $5.3 billion
Expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (1999 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: -0.6% (2000 est.)

Exports: $14.3 billion (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: crude oil marine products rice coffee rubber tea garments shoes
Partners: China Japan Germany Australia US France Singapore UK Taiwan

Imports: $15.2 billion (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment petroleum products fertilizer steel products raw cotton grain cement motorcycles
Partners: Japan Singapore South Korea Taiwan China Thailand Hong Kong Malaysia Indonesia France US Sweden

Debt external: $13.2 billion (2000)

Exchange rates: dong per US dollar - 14,530 (January 2001) 14,020 (January 2000) 13,900 (December 1998) 11,100 (December 1996) 11,193 (1995 average) 11,000 (October 1994)

Electricity
Production: 22.985 billion kWh (1999)
Production by source fossil fuel: 47.71%
Production by source hydro: 52.29%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (1999)
Consumption: 21.376 billion kWh (1999)
Exports: 0 kWh (1999)
Imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 2.6 million (2000)
Mobile cellular: 730,155 (2000)

Telephone system
General assessment: Vietnam is putting considerable effort into modernization and expansion of its telecommunication system, but its performance continues to lag behind that of its more modern neighbors
Domestic: all provincial exchanges are digitalized and connected to Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City by fiber-optic cable or microwave radio relay networks; since 1991, main lines in use have been substantially increased and the use of mobile telephones is growing rapidly
International: satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)

Internet
Country code: .vn
Service providers isps: 5 (2000)
Users: 121,000 (2000)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $650 million (FY98)
Percent of gdp: 2.5% (FY98)

Airports: 34 (2000 est.)
With paved runways total: 17
With paved runways over 3047 m: 8
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With paved runways under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 17
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 7
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.)

Pipelines: petroleum products 150 km

Railways
Total: 2,652 km
Standard gauge: 166 km 1.435-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 2,249 km 1.000-m gauge
Dual gauge: 237 km NA-m gauges (three rails) (1998)

Waterways
Note: more than 5,149 km are navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 m draft

Merchant marine
Total: 143 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 705,388 GRT/1,071,902 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 108, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 2, liquefied gas 2, petroleum tanker 18, refrigerated cargo 3 (2000 est.)

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; maritime boundary agreement with China in the Gulf of Tonkin awaits ratification; Paracel Islands occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; portions of boundary with Cambodia are in dispute; agreement on land border with China was signed in December 1999 but details of alignment have not yet been made public