Vietnam




                                 Geography


Location:
     Southeastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea, between Laos and the
     Philippines
Map references:
     Asia, Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     329,560 sq km
land area:
     325,360 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly larger than New Mexico
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
International disputes:
     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
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
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 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
     deforestation; soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing
     threatening marine life populations
natural hazards:
     occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding
international agreements:
     party to - Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
     Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate
     Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban


                                  People


Population:
     73,103,898 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     1.78% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     27.13 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     7.76 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -1.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     45.5 deaths/1,000 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.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Vietnamese (singular and plural)
adjective:
     Vietnamese
Ethnic divisions:
     Vietnamese 85-90%, Chinese 3%, Muong, Thai, Meo, Khmer, Man, Cham
Religions:
     Buddhist, Taoist, Roman Catholic, indigenous beliefs, Islamic,
     Protestant
Languages:
     Vietnamese (official), French, Chinese, English, Khmer, tribal
     languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
total population:
     88%
male:
     93%




female:
     83%
Labor force:
     32.7 million
by occupation:
     agricultural 65%, industrial and service 35% (1990 est.)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Socialist Republic of Vietnam
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Cong Hoa Chu Nghia Viet Nam
local short form:
     Viet Nam
Abbreviation:
     SRV
Digraph:
     VM
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
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 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)




cabinet:
     Cabinet;  appointed by the president on proposal of the prime minister
     and ratification of the Assembly
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
National Assembly (Quoc-Hoi):
     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:
     only party - Vietnam Communist Party (VCP), DO MUOI, general secretary
Member of:
     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 in US:
     none; Ambassador Le Van BANG is the Permanent Representative to the UN
US diplomatic representation:
     none
Flag:
     red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center


                                  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.
National product:
     GNP - purchasing power equivalent - $72 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     7% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
     $1,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     5.2% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     25% (1993 est.)




Budget:
revenues:
     $1.9 billion
expenditures:
     $2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992)
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
External debt:
     $3.4 billion Western countries; $4.5 billion CEMA debts primarily to
     Russia;  $700 million commercial debts (1993 est.)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 15% (1992); accounts for 20% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     3,300,000 kW
production:
     9 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     130 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     food processing, textiles, machine building, mining, cement, chemical
     fertilizer, glass, tires, oil
Agriculture:
     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.)
Illicit drugs:
     minor opium producer and secondary transit point for Southeast Asian
     heroin destined for the US and Europe
Economic aid:
recipient:
     $1.9 billion in credits and grants pledged by international donors for
     1994, Japan largest contributor with $550 million
Currency:
     1 new dong (D) = 100 xu
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
Fiscal year:
     calendar year




                              Communications


Railroads:
     3,059 km total; 2,454 1.000-meter gauge, 151 km 1.435-meter (standard)
     gauge, 230 km dual gauge (three rails), and 224 km not restored to
     service after war damage
Highways:
total:
     85,000 km
paved:
     9,400 km
unpaved:
     gravel, improved earth 48,700 km; unimproved earth 26,900 km
Inland waterways:
     17,702 km navigable; more than 5,149 km navigable at all times by
     vessels up to 1.8 meter draft
Pipelines:
     petroleum products 150 km
Ports:
     Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City
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
Airports:
total:
     100
usable:
     100
with permanent-surface runways:
     50
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     10
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     20
Telecommunications:
     the inadequacies of the obsolete switching equipment and cable system
     is a serious constraint on the business sector and on economic growth,
     and restricts access to the international links that Vietnam has
     established with most major countries; the telephone system is not
     generally available for private use (25 telephones for each 10,000
     persons); 3 satellite earth stations; broadcast stations - NA AM, 288
     FM; 36 (77 repeaters) TV; about 2,500,000 TV receivers and 7,000,000
     radio receivers in use (1991)


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) including:
     Ground, Navy (including Naval Infantry), Air Force
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 18,281,483; fit for military service 11,602,318; reach
     military age (17) annually 762,943 (1994 est.)




Defense expenditures:
     $NA, NA% of GNP