Vietnam Facts

by countryaah · Published June 3, 2019 · Updated April 25, 2020

Vietnam, State of Southeast Asia; 331 100 km², 95.5 million residents (2019).Vietnam is located on the west coast of the South China Sea and borders north to China and west to Laos and Cambodia. Vietnam also includes Phu Quôc Island off the coast of Cambodia as well as Côn Dao Islands and some other small islands off the east coast. Furthermore, Vietnam is one of the states that claim the Paracel Islands and the Sprat Islands further out into the South China Sea. Vietnam consists of 63 provinces which are grouped into seven regions. North Vietnam and South Vietnam were united in 1976 to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Then the country’s largest city, Saigon, also changed its name to Hô Chi Minh City. The capital is Hanoi (3.4 million residents, 2017).

Country facts

Công Hoa Xa Hôi Chu Nghia Viêt Nam / Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Country abbreviation: UN
Area: 331 100 km²
Population (2019): 95.5 million residents
Capital: Hanoi
Main language: Vietnamese
State: Republic
Head of State: Nguyễn Phú Trọng
Head of Government: Nguyễn Xuân Phúc
Per capita GDP (2018): US $ 2,564
GNI per capita (2018): US $ 2,400
Coin unit: 1 unit = 10 ha = 100 xu
Currency code: VND
Country number (telephony): 84
Internet domain name: vn
Time difference compared to Sweden: +6
National Day: September 2 (Proclamation of the Republic, 1945)

Nature

Land use: forest (40%), agricultural land (22%), other (38%)
Highest mountain: Phăng-xi-păng (3 143 m asl)

Population

Population density (2019): 288 residents per km²
Natural population growth (2019): 1.2%; birth rate 15 ‰, death rate 7 ‰
Age structure (2019): 0-14 years (23%), 15-64 (70%), 65- (7%)
Average life expectancy (2019): men 71 years, women 76 years
Infant mortality (2019): 14 per 1,000 live births
Population forecast 2050: 108 million residents
HDI (2017): 0.694 (place 116 of 189)
Urbanization rate (2019): 35%
Most populous cities (2017): Hô Chi Minh City (6.6 million residents), Hanoi (3.4 million), -a-Năng (915,000)

Business

Industry’s contribution to GDP (2017): agriculture (15%), industry (33%), service (52%)
Export (2017): USD 214 100 million
Main export products: Clothing and textiles, electronic products, crude oil, seafood and fish
Main exporting countries: USA, China, Japan
Imports (2017): US $ 202,600 million
Main import products: machinery, fuel, raw materials for the textile industry
Main importing countries: China, South Korea, Japan
Railway network (2014): 2 600 km

Throughout most of Vietnam, the Annamitic Mountains extend in the northwest-southeast direction, which occupies about two-thirds of the country’s area. Large plains in the north and south are the core areas of the country. The plains are important cultivation areas for mainly rice and sugar cane and are often affected by floods. Vietnam has a tropical monsoon climate. The south-west monsoon during May-October brings heavy rains.

The state’s highest body is Parliament, whose members are elected by universal suffrage for five years. Parliament elects the country’s president for his own term of office and also appoints, on the proposal of the president, vice president, prime minister and chairman of the Supreme Court of Justice.

Vietnam’s economic growth has been one of the fastest in the world since the early 1990s. The driving forces have been high export growth, but also a rapidly growing domestic market. Large parts of the former state-owned industry have now been privatized. Agriculture has shown stable growth; rice is the most important export crop. The industry has experienced high growth, but production is relatively capital intensive. Tourism has also become increasingly important.