Background: The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Vietnam declared independence after World War II, but France continued to rule until its 1954 defeat by communist forces under Ho Chi MINH. Under the Geneva Accords of 1954, Vietnam was divided into the communist North and anti-communist South. 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military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973.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 reuniting the country under communist rule. Despite the return of peace, for over a decade the country experienced little economic growth because of conservative leadership policies, the persecution and mass exodus of individuals - many of them successful South Vietnamese merchants - and growing international isolation. However, since the enactment of Vietnam's 'doi moi' (renovation) policy in 1986, Vietnamese authorities have committed to increased economic liberalization and enacted structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The communist leaders maintain tight control on political expression but have demonstrated some modest steps toward better protection of human rights. The country continues to experience small-scale protests, the vast majority connected to either land-use issues, calls for increased political space, or the lack of equitable mechanisms for resolving disputes. The small-scale protests in the urban areas are often organized by human rights activists, but many occur in rural areas and involve various ethnic minorities such as the Montagnards of the Central Highlands, Hmong in the Northwest Highlands, and the Khmer Krom in the southern delta region.

Geographic coordinates: 16 10 N, 107 50 E

Map reference: Southeast Asia

Area
Total: 331,210 km²
Land: 310,070 km²
Water: 21,140 km²
Rank: 67
Comparative: about three times the size of Tennessee; slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries
Total: 4,616 km
Border countries: (3) Cambodia 1158 km; , China 1297 km; , Laos 2,161 km

Coastline: 3,444 km
Note: (excludes islands)

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

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

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

Elevation
Mean elevation: 398 m
Elevation extremes: 0 m
Note: lowest point: South China Sea

Natural resources: antimony, phosphates, coal, manganese, rare earth elements, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, timber, hydropower, arable land

Land use
Agricultural land: 34.8% (2011 est.)
Forest: 45% (2011 est.)
Other: 20.2% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 46,000 km² (2012)

Natural hazards: occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta

Geography
Note: extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point

Population
Distribution: though it has one of the highest population densities in the world, the population is not evenly dispersed; clustering is heaviest along the South China Sea and Gulf of Tonkin, with the Mekong Delta (in the south) and the Red River Valley (in the north) having the largest concentrations of people: 97,040,334 (July 2018 est.)
Rank: 15
Growth rate: 0.9% (2018 est.)
Growth rate rank: 120
Below poverty line: 8% (2017 est.)

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

Ethnic 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 7.9%, Catholic 6.6%, Hoa Hao 1.7%, Cao Dai 0.9%, Protestant 0.9%, Muslim 0.1%, none 81.8% (2009 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 23.27% (male 11,876,141 /female 10,704,895)
15-24 years: 15.81% (male 7,967,981 /female 7,371,016)
25-54 years: 45.67% (male 22,378,768 /female 21,939,925)
55-64 years: 8.9% (male 4,014,622 /female 4,620,177)
65 years and over: 6.35% (male 2,404,304 /female 3,762,505) (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 42.5 (2015 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 32.9 (2015 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 9.6 (2015 est.)
Potential support ratio: 10.4 (2015 est.)

Median age
Total: 30.9 years
Male: 29.9 years
Female: 32.1 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 113

Population growth rate: 0.9% (2018 est.)
Rank: 120

Birth rate: 15.2 births/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 123

Death rate: 5.9 deaths/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 170

Net migration rate: -0.3 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 117

Population distribution: though it has one of the highest population densities in the world, the population is not evenly dispersed; clustering is heaviest along the South China Sea and Gulf of Tonkin, with the Mekong Delta (in the south) and the Red River Valley (in the north) having the largest concentrations of people

Urbanization
Urban population: 35.9% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 2.98% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 8.145 million Ho Chi Minh City, 1.444 million Da Nang, 1.219 million Hai Phong, 1.175 million Can Tho, 1.075 million Haiphong, 1.064 million HANOI (capital) (2018)

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; air pollution; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.1 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
0-14 years: 1.11 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
15-24 years: 1.08 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
55-64 years: 0.85 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Total population: 1 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 16.7 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Male: 17.1 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Female: 16.3 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Rank: 94

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.9 years (2018 est.)
Male: 71.4 years (2018 est.)
Female: 76.7 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 132

Total fertility rate: 1.79 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Rank: 150

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 75.7% (2015)

Drinking water source
Urban: 0.9% of population
Rural: 3.1% of population
Total: 2.4% of population (2015 est.)

Physicians density: 0.82 physicians/1000 population (2016)

Hospital bed density: 2.6 beds/1000 population (2014)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 5.6% of population (2015 est.)
Rural: 30.3% of population (2015 est.)
Total: 22% of population (2015 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2017 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 90
People living with hivaids: 250,000 (2017 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 23
Deaths: 8,600 (2017 est.)
Deaths rank: 22

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high (2016)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever (2016)
Vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and Japanese encephalitis (2016)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 2.1% (2016)
Rank: 192

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 14.1% (2015)
Rank: 46

Education expenditures: 5.7% of GDP (2013)
Rank: 46

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)
Total population: 94.5% (2015 est.)
Male: 96.3% (2015 est.)
Female: 92.8% (2015 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
Etymology: Viet nam translates as Viet south, where Viet is an ethnic self identification dating to a second century B.C. kingdom and nam refers to its location in relation to other Viet kingdoms

Government type: communist state

Capital
Name: Hanoi (Ha Noi)
Geographic coordinates: 21 02 N, 105 51 E
Time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

Independence: 2 September 1945 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day (National Day), 2 September (1945)

Constitution
History: several previous; latest adopted 15 April 1992, effective 1 January 1995 (2018)
Amendments: proposed by the president, by the National Assembly’s Standing Committee, or supported by at least two-thirds of the National Assembly membership; a decision to draft an amendment requires approval by at least a two-thirds majority of the Assembly membership, followed by the formation of a constitutional drafting committee to write a draft and collect citizens’ opinions; passage requires at least two-thirds majority of the Assembly membership; the Assembly can opt to conduct a referendum; amended 2001, 2013 (2018)

Legal system: civil law system; note - the civil code of 2005 reflects a European-style civil law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Vietnam
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Nguyen Phu TRONG (since 23 October 2018); note - President Tran Dai QUANG (since 2 April 2016) died on 21 September 2018
Head of government: Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan PHUC (since 7 April 2016); Deputy Prime Ministers Truong Hoa BINH (since 9 April 2016), Vuong Dinh HUE (since 9 April 2016), Vu Duc DAM (since 13 November 2013), Trinh Dinh DUNG (since 9 April 2016), Pham Binh MINH (since 13 November 2013)
Cabinet: Cabinet proposed by prime minister, appointed by the president, and confirmed by the National Assembly
Electionsappointments: president indirectly elected by National Assembly from among its members for a single 5-year term; election last held on 2 April 2016 (next to be held in spring 2021); prime minister appointed by the president from among members of the National Assembly, confirmed by National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by the prime minister, confirmed by National Assembly
Election results: Nguyen Phu TRONG (CPV) elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 99.8%; Nguyen Xuan PHUC elected prime minister; percent of National Assembly vote - 91%

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral National Assembly or Quoc Hoi (500 seats - current number following 2016 election - 496; members directly elected by absolute majority vote with a second round if needed; members serve 5-year terms)
Elections: last held on 22 May 2016 (next to be held in May 2021)
Election results: percent of vote by party - CPV 95.8%, non-party members 4.2%; seats by party - CPV 473, non-party CPV-approved 19, self-nominated 2; note - 496 candidates elected, 2 CPV candidates-elect were disqualified; composition - men 374, women 122, percent of women 24.6%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Peoples Court (consists of the chief justice and 13 judges)
Judge selection and term of office: chief justice elected by the National Assembly upon the recommendation of the president for a 5-year, renewable term; other judges appointed by the president for 5-year terms
Subordinate courts: Court of Appeals; administrative, civil, criminal, economic, and labor courts; Central Military Court; Peoples Special Courts; note - the National Assembly can establish special tribunals

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ADB, APEC, ARF, ASEAN, CICA, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Ha Kim NGOC (since 17 September 2018)
In the us chancery: 1233 20th Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20,036
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 861-0737
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 861-0917
In the us consulate:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel KRITENBRINK (since 6 November 2017)
From the us embassy: 7 Lang Ha Street, Hanoi
From the us mailing address: 7 Lang Ha Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi; 4,550 Hanoi Place, Washington, DC 20,521-4,550
From the us telephone: [84] (24) 3,850-5,000
From the us FAX: [84] (24) 3,850-5,010
From the us consulate: Ho Chi Minh City

Flag description: red field with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center; red symbolizes revolution and blood, the five-pointed star represents the five elements of the populace - peasants, workers, intellectuals, traders, and soldiers - that unite to build socialism

National symbols: yellow, five-pointed star on red field; lotus blossom; national colors: red, yellow

National anthem
Name: Tien quan ca (The Song of the Marching Troops)
Lyricsmusic: Nguyen Van CAO: note: adopted as the national anthem of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945; it became the national anthem of the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976; although it consists of two verses, only the first is used as the official anthem

Economy overview: Vietnam is a densely populated developing country that has been transitioning since 1986 from the rigidities of a centrally planned, highly agrarian economy to a more industrial and market based economy, and it has raised incomes substantially. Vietnam exceeded its 2017 GDP growth target of 6.7% with growth of 6.8%, primarily due to unexpected increases in domestic demand, and strong manufacturing exports.Vietnam has a young population, stable political system, commitment to sustainable growth, relatively low inflation, stable currency, strong FDI inflows, and strong manufacturing sector. In addition, the country is committed to continuing its global economic integration. Vietnam joined the WTO in January 2007 and concluded several free trade agreements in 2015-16, including the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (which the EU has not yet ratified), the Korean Free Trade Agreement, and the Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement. In 2017, Vietnam successfully chaired the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Conference with its key priorities including inclusive growth, innovation, strengthening small and medium enterprises, food security, and climate change. Seeking to diversify its opportunities, Vietnam also signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Transpacific Partnership in 2018 and continued to pursue the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.To continue its trajectory of strong economic growth, the government acknowledges the need to spark a ‘second wave’ of reforms, including reforming state-owned-enterprises, reducing red tape, increasing business sector transparency, reducing the level of non-performing loans in the banking sector, and increasing financial sector transparency. Vietnam’s public debt to GDP ratio is nearing the government mandated ceiling of 65%.In 2016, Vietnam cancelled its civilian nuclear energy development program, citing public concerns about safety and the high cost of the program; it faces growing pressure on energy infrastructure. Overall, the country’s infrastructure fails to meet the needs of an expanding middle class. Vietnam has demonstrated a commitment to sustainable growth over the last several years, but despite the recent speed-up in economic growth the government remains cautious about the risk of external shocks.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 35

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 25

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 159

Gross national saving:
Rank: 33

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 66.9% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 6.5% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 24.2% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 2.8% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 100% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -101% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 15.3% (2017 est.)
Industry: 33.3% (2017 est.)
Services: 51.3% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: rice, coffee, rubber, tea, pepper, soybeans, cashews, sugar cane, peanuts, bananas; pork; poultry; seafood

Industries: food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building; mining, coal, steel; cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, mobile phones

Industrial production growth rate: 8% (2017 est.)
Rank: 24

Labor force: 54.8 million (2017 est.)
Rank: 11
By occupation agriculture: 40.3%
By occupation industry: 25.7%
By occupation services: 34% (2017)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 22

Population below poverty line: 8% (2017 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 26.8% (2014)
Highest 10: 26.8% (2014)

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 101

Budget
Revenues: 54.59 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 69.37 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -6.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 191

Taxes and other revenues: 24.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 119

Public debt:
Rank: 76

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 142

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 98

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 117

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 43

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 43

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 35

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 37

Current account balance:
Rank: 28

Exports:
Rank: 27
Partners: US 20.1%, China 14.5%, Japan 8%, South Korea 6.8% (2017)
Commodities: clothes, shoes, electronics, seafood, crude oil, rice, coffee, wooden products, machinery

Imports:
Rank: 26
Commodities: machinery and equipment, petroleum products, steel products, raw materials for the clothing and shoe industries, electronics, plastics, automobiles
Partners: China 25.8%, South Korea 20.5%, Japan 7.8%, Thailand 4.9% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 40

Debt external:
Rank: 48

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 42

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 55

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access population without electricity: 2.6 million (2013)
Access electrification total population: 99% (2013)
Access electrification urban areas: 100% (2013)
Access electrification rural areas: 98% (2013)
Production: 158.2 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 24
Consumption: 143.2 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 25
Exports: 713 million kWh (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 63
Imports: 2.733 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 51
Installed generating capacity: 40.77 million kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 25
Generation sources fossil fuels: 56% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 140
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 209
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 43% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 47
Generation sources other renewable sources: 1% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 171

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 271,400 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 30
Crude oil exports: 324,600 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 25
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 213
Crude oil proven reserves: 4.4 billion bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 25

Refined petroleum
Products production: 153,800 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 58
Products consumption: 438,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 35
Products exports: 25,620 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 67
Products imports: 282,800 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 25

Natural gas
Production: 8.098 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 44
Consumption: 8.098 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 52
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 210
Imports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 210
Proven reserves: 699.4 billion m³ (1 January 2018 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 27

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 235.3 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 29

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 4,526,077 (2017 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 5 (2017 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 30
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 120,016,181 (2017 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 125 (2017 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 12

Telephone system
General assessment: Vietnam is putting considerable effort into modernization and expansion of its telecommunication system (2016)
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; main lines have been increased, and the use of mobile telephones is growing rapidly (2016)
International: country code - 84; a landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3, the C2C, and Thailand-Vietnam-Hong Kong submarine cable systems; the Asia-America Gateway submarine cable system, completed in 2009, provided new access links to Asia and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) (2016)

Broadcast media: government controls all broadcast media exercising oversight through the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC); government-controlled national TV provider, Vietnam Television (VTV), operates a network of several channels with regional broadcasting centers; programming is relayed nationwide via a network of provincial and municipal TV stations; law limits access to satellite TV but many households are able to access foreign programming via home satellite equipment; government-controlled Voice of Vietnam, the national radio broadcaster, broadcasts on several channels and is repeated on AM, FM, and shortwave stations throughout Vietnam (2018)

Internet
Country code: .vn
Users total: 49.741 million (July 2016 est.)
Users percent of population: 52.7% (July 2016 est.)
Users rank: 13

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 11,269,936 (2017 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 12 (2017 est.)
Rank: 16

Military expenditures:
Rank: 40

Military service age and obligation: 18-25 years of age for male compulsory and voluntary military service; females may volunteer for active duty military service; conscription typically takes place twice annually and service obligation is 18 months (Army, Air Defense), 2 years (Navy and Air Force); 18-45 years of age (male) or 18-40 years of age (female) for Militia Force or Self Defense Force service; males may enroll in military schools at age 17 (2013)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 4 (2015)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 140 (2015)
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 29,944,771 (2015)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 384,470,240
Note: mt-km (2015)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: VN (2016)

Airports: 45 (2013)
Rank: 96
With paved runways total: 38 (2013)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 10 (2013)
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 6 (2013)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 13 (2013)
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 9 (2013)
With unpaved runways total: 7 (2013)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2013)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3 (2013)
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 3 (2013)

Heliports: 1 (2013)

Pipelines: 72 km condensate, 398 km condensate/gas, 955 km gas, 128 km oil, 33 km oil/gas/water, 206 km refined products, 13 km water (2013)

Railways
Total: 2,600 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 178 km
Note: 1.000-m gauge (2014)
Narrow gauge: 2,169 km
Rank: 66

Roadways
Total: 195,468 km (2013)
Paved: 148,338 km (2013)
Unpaved: 47,130 km (2013)
Rank: 28

Waterways: 47,130 km
Note: (30,831 km weight under 50 tons) (2011)
Rank: 4

Merchant marine
Total: 1818 (2017)
By type: bulk carrier 81, container ship 34, general cargo 1259, oil tanker 109, other 335 (2017)
Rank: 13

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Cam Pha Port, Da Nang, Haiphong, Phu My, Quy Nhon
Container port: Saigon (5,986,747) (2016)
River port: Ho Chi Minh (Mekong)

Disputes international: southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian fluCambodia and Laos protest Vietnamese squatters and armed encroachments along borderCambodia accuses Vietnam of a wide variety of illicit cross-border activitiesprogress on a joint development area with Cambodia is hampered by an unresolved dispute over sovereignty of offshore islandsan estimated 300,000 Vietnamese refugees reside in Chinaestablishment of a maritime boundary with Cambodia is hampered by unresolved dispute over the sovereignty of offshore islandsthe decade-long demarcation of the China-Vietnam land boundary was completed in 2009China occupies the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and TaiwanBrunei claims a maritime boundary extending beyond as far as a median with Vietnam, thus asserting an implicit claim to Lousia Reefthe 2002 'Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea' has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding 'code of conduct' desired by several of the disputantsVietnam continues to expand construction of facilities in the Spratly Islandsin March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly IslandsEconomic Exclusion Zone negotiations with Indonesia are ongoing, and the two countries in Fall 2011 agreed to work together to reduce illegal fishing along their maritime boundary

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Stateless persons: 29,522 (2017); note - Vietnams stateless ethnic Chinese Cambodian population dates to the 1970s when thousands of Cambodians fled to Vietnam to escape the Khmer Rouge and were no longer recognized as Cambodian citizens; Vietnamese women who gave up their citizenship to marry foreign men have found themselves stateless after divorcing and returning home to Vietnam; the government addressed this problem in 2009, and Vietnamese women are beginning to reclaim their citizenship

Illicit drugs: minor producer of opium poppy; probable minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin; government continues to face domestic opium/heroin/methamphetamine addiction problems despite longstanding crackdowns; enforces the death penalty for drug trafficking