About Vietnam

About Vietnam

Georgraphy  
Location Borders China, Laos, and Cambodia, as well as the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin and South China Sea.
Area 331,689km2 (128,065 sq mi)
Climate Tropical and monsoonal; rainy season May to September; hot, dry season October to April.
Terrain Low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest.
Natural Resources Phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydro power.
People  
Population 84,402,966 (July 2006 est.)
Age Structure
(2006 est.)

27% 0-14 years

67% 15-64 years

5.8% 65 years and over

Median Age
(2006 est.)

25.9 years (total)

24.8 (male)

27.1 (female)

Population Growth Rate 1.02% (2006 est.)
Birth Rate 16.86 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death Rate 6.22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Life Expectancy
(2006 est.)

70.85 years (total)

68.05 years (male)

73.85 years (female)

Nationality Vietnamese
Literacy 90.3% (total)
93.9% (male)
86.9% (female)
Government  
Government Type Communist State
 
Country Name

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Vietnam (conventional short form)

Viet Nam (local short form)

SRV (abbreviation)

Capital Ha Noi
Administrative Divisions 59 provinces; municipalities Can Tho, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh.
Independence September 2, 1945 (from France)
Legal System Based on communist legal theory and French civil law system.
Suffrage 18 years of age
Economy  
GDP
(2005 est.)
$251.8 billion
$3,000 (per capita)
Labor Force 44.39 million (2005 est.)
56.8% - agriculture
37% - industry
6.2% - services
Agriculture Products Paddy rice, coffee, rubber, cotton, tea, pepper, soybeans, cashews, sugar cane, peanuts, bananas; poultry; fish, seafood.
Industries Food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building; mining, coal, steel; cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, paper.
Export Commodities Crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes.
Export Partners US 21.3%, Japan 13.4%, Australia 8.1%, China 7.5%, Singapore 5.4%, Germany 5.1% (2005)
Import Commodities Machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles.
Import Partners China 15.5%, Singapore 12.2%, Taiwan 11.3%, South Korea 10.7%, Japan 9.9%, Thailand 6.5% (2005).
Currency Dong
Currency Code VND