Country Facts - Vietnam

The People

Nationality

Vietnamese (singular and plural)

Ethnic Composition

Vietnamese	90%
Chinese	3%
Muong, Tai, Meo, Khmer, Man, Cham	7%

Religious Composition

Mahayana Buddhist, Taoist, Catholic, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Animist, Muslim

Languages Spoken

Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)

Education and Literacy

Vietnam has a strong emphasis on education and a high rate of secondary graduation. The literacy rate of 93.7 percent is one of the highest in Asia.

Labor Force

Total: 38.2 million

(1998)

By occupation:

Agriculture	65%
Industrial	17%
Services	18%

Geography

Land Mass Total

127,243 sq mi (329,560 sq km)

Land

125,622 sq mi (325,360 sq km)

Water

1,621 sq mi (4,200 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 2,882 mi (4,639 km)

Border countries: Cambodia 763 mi (1,228 km), China 795 mi (1,281 km), Laos 1,323 mi (2,130 km)

Coastline

2,140 mi (3,444 km), excludes islands

Maritime claim

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

Climate/Weather

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.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: South China Sea 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Ngoc Linh 10,311 ft (3,143 m)

Natural Resources

Phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower

Land use

Arable land	17%
Permanent crops	4%
Other	78%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta.

Environment - current issues

Logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and over-fishing threaten marine life populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Geography Note

Extending 1,025 mi (1,650 km) north to south, the country is only 31 mi (50 km) across at its narrowest point.

Demographics

Population

81,098,416 (July 2002

)

Age structure

0-14 years:	31.6%	Male: 13,259,152	Female: 12,392,089
15-64 years:	62.9%	Male: 24,938,098	Female: 26,083,681
65 years and over:	5.5%	Male: 1,749,531	Female: 2,675,865

(2002))

Growth Rate

1.43% (2002)

Life Expectancy

69.86 years (2002)
Female: 72.5 years
Male: 67.4 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$2,100 (2001)

Infant Mortality

29.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.07 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	0.65 male(s)/female
Total population:	0.97 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

-0.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Vietnam is a poor, densely populated country that has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally planned economy. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1996 in moving forward from an extremely low starting point - growth averaged around 9 percent per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy but, rather than prompting reform, reaffirmed the government's belief that shifting to a market oriented economy leads to disaster. GDP growth of 8.5 percent in 1997 fell to 6 percent in 1998 and 5 percent in 1999. Growth then rose to 6.8 percent in 2000 and dropped back to 4.7 percent in 2001 against the background of global recession. These numbers mask some major difficulties in economic performance. Many domestic industries, including coal, cement, steel, and paper, have reported large stockpiles of inventory and tough competition from more efficient foreign producers. Meanwhile, Vietnamese authorities have moved slowly in implementing the structural reforms needed to revitalize the economy and produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement entered into force near the end of 2001 and is expected to significantly increase Vietnam's exports to the U.S. The U.S. is assisting Vietnam with implementing the legal and structural reforms called for in the agreement. GDP growth for 2002 climbed back up to 7 percent with estimates for 20003 and 2004 at 7.5 percent and 8 percent respectively. Vietnam's greatest economic problems are caused by corruption and a banking system that needs to meet international standards if further foreign investment is to be courted.

Unemployment

25% (1995)

Inflation Rate

-0.3% (2001)

Industries

Food processing, garments, shoes, machine building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, coal, steel, paper

Exports

US$15.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$15.3 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$168.1 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Japan 18.1%, China 10.6%, Australia 8.8%, Singapore 6.1%, Taiwan 5.2%, Germany 5.1%, US 5.1% (2000)

Top Import Partners

Singapore 17.7%, Japan 14.4%, Taiwan 12.1%, South Korea 11.1%, China 9.1%, Thailand 5.2%, Hong Kong 3.9% (2000)

Top Exports

Crude oil, marine products, rice, rubber, tea, seafood, coffee, clothing, shoes

Top Imports

Refined petroleum products, machinery, steel products, fertilizer, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorbikes

Debt - external

US$13.2 billion (2000)

Economic aid

US$2.1 billion in credits and grants pledged by international donors for 2000

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	7a.m. to 5p.m.	Closed
Retail	9a.m. to 8p.m.	Slightly shorter hours on Saturday.
Banks	8:30a.m. to 3p.m.	Saturday 9a.m. to noon.
Government	9a.m. to 3p.m.	Saturday 9a.m. to noon.

Note: Many offices, including government, take an extended break at midday.

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Anniversary of the Communist Party (bank holiday)	February 3	February 3	February 3
Eve of Tet (Lunar New Year)	February 11	January 31	January 21
Vietnamese New Year, Tet ¹	February 1 to 3	January 22 to 24	February 9
Liberation of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Reunification Day	April 30	April 30	April 30
Labor Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
National Day	September 2	September 2	September 2

Celebrations denoting the beginning of the New Year based on the exact astronomical observations of the longitude of the sun and phases of the moon according to the Chinese calendar. Holidays can last up to five days. The Vietnamese calendar falls under the same calculations as the Chinese calendar.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press