Vietnam occupies the eastern and southern part of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia, with the South China Sea along its entire coast. China is to the north and Laos and Cambodia are to the west. Long and narrow on a north-south axis, Vietnam is about twice the size of Arizona. The Mekong River delta lies in the south.
Country lead by President: Nguyen Minh Triet (2006)
Prime Minister: Nguyen Tan Dung (2006)
Population
84,402,966 (growth rate: 1.0%); birth rate: 16.9/1000; infant mortality rate: 25.1/1000; life expectancy: 70.8; density per sq mi: 672
Land Area
125,622 sq mi (325,361 sq km); total area: 127,244 sq mi (329,560 sq km)
Monetary unit
Dong Language
Vietnamese (official); English (increasingly favored as a second language); some French, Chinese, Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Ethnicity Kinh (Viet) 86.2%, Tay 1.9%, Thai 1.7%, Muong 1.5%, Khome 1.4%, Hoa 1.1%, Nun 1.1%, Hmong 1%, others 4.1% (1999)
Religion Buddhist 9%, Catholic 7%, Hoa Hao 2%, Cao Dai 1%, Protestant, Islam, none 81%
Transportation Railways: total: 3,142 km (2002). Highways: total: 93,300 km; paved: 23,418 km; unpaved: 69,882 km (1999 est.). Waterways: 17,702 km navigable; more than 5,149 km navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 m draft. Ports and harbors: Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Long, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Vinh, Vung Tau. Airports: 47 (2002).
