| GEOGRAPHY |
| 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 |
| Capital: |
Hanoi |
| Location: |
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
16 00 N, 106 00 E |
| Area: |
total: 329,560 sq km
land: 325,360 sq km
water: 4,200 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly larger than New Mexico |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 4,639 km
border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km |
| Coastline: |
3,444 km (excludes islands) |
| Maritime
Claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| 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 |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
Communist state |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
59 provinces (tinh, singular and plural) and 5 municipalities (thu do, singular and plural)
: provinces: 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, Cao Bang, Dac Lak, Dac Nong, Dien Bien, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Giang, Hai Duong, Ha Nam, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hau Giang, Hoa Binh, 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
: municipalities: Can Tho, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh |
| 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)
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 Vu KHOAN (8 August 2002) and Pham Gia KHIEM (since 29 September 1997)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president based on proposal of prime minister and ratification of National Assembly
elections: president elected by the National Assembly from among its members for a five-year term; election last held 25 July 2002 (next to be held when National Assembly meets following legislative elections in 2007); 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: |
unicameral National Assembly or Quoc-Hoi (498 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 May 2002 (next to be held 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - CPV 90%, other 10% (the 10% are not CPV members but are approved by the CPV to stand for election); seats by party - CPV 447, CPV-approved 51 |
| 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 [Nong Duc MANH, general secretary] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
83,535,576 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 27.9% (male 12,065,777/female 11,212,299)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 27,406,456/female 28,024,250)
65 years and over: 5.8% (male 1,889,585/female 2,937,209) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 25.51 years
male: 24.47 years
female: 26.68 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Vietnamese (singular and plural)
adjective: Vietnamese |
| Ethnic groups: |
Vietnamese 85%-90%, Chinese, Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, mountain groups |
| Religions: |
Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestant), indigenous beliefs, Muslim |
| Languages: |
Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian) |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
4.402 million (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
2.742 million (2003) |
| 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; main lines have been substantially increased, and the use of mobile telephones is growing rapidly
international: country code - 84; satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 65, FM 7, shortwave 29 (1999) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
at least 7 (plus 13 repeaters) (1998) |
| Internet country
code: |
.vn |
| Internet hosts: |
340 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
3.5 million (2003) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
total: 2,600 km
standard gauge: 178 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 2,169 km 1.000-m gauge
dual gauge: 253 km three-rail track combining 1.435-m and 1.000-m gauges (2003) |
| Highways: |
total: 93,300 km
paved: 23,418 km
unpaved: 69,882 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
17,702 km (5,000 km navigable by vessels up to 1.8 m draft) (2004) |
| Pipelines: |
condensate/gas 432 km; gas 210 km; oil 3 km; refined products 206 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: |
Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Long, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Vinh, Vung Tau |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 194 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,170,621 GRT/1,798,376 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 18, cargo 142, chemical tanker 3, container 2, liquefied gas 4, petroleum tanker 22, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1
registered in other countries: 11 (2005) |
| Airports: |
19 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 6
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
|
