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Official name: Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Area: 127,243 square miles (329,560 square km)
Capital: Hanoi (3.5 million in 1994)
Independence: September 2, 1945
Reunification: July 2, 1976
Type of government: Communist people's republic; the Politburo of the Vietnamese Communist Party largely determines government policy
Head of state: President
Head of government: Prime Minister
Other government branches: Legislative (National Assembly and, locally, People's Councils); Judicial (Supreme People's Court)
Monetary unit: Dong; valuation (April 11, 2000) 1 U.S.$ = D 14,055
Official language: Vietnamese, Chinese, Khmer, French, mountain tribe languages. English is becoming more common as a second language People
Population: 77 million
Density: (1998): 596.5 persons per square mile (230.3 per square km)
Urban-rural ratio (1995): urban 20.8 percent; rural 79.2 percent
Ethnic groups: Vietnamese, Chinese, Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, mountain groups
Religions (1995): Buddhist 66.7 percent; Roman Catholic 7.7 percent; Protestant 1.0 percent; Cao Dai 3.5 percent; Hoa Hao 2.1 percent; other 19.0 percent
Birth rate per 1,000 people (1997): 22.0 (world average 25.0)
Death rate per 1,000 people (1997): 7.0 (world average 9.3)
Natural increase rate per 1,000 people (1997): 15.0 (world average 15.7)
Life expectancy (1997): -- 65.0 years for males -- 69.9 years for females Quality of Life
Average household size (1989): 4.8 people
Telephones (1995): 800,000
Radios (1992): 7.2 million
Televisions (1992): 2.9 million Economy
Gross domestic product (1998): U.S.$26 billion
Per capita income (1998): $333
Annual growth rate: GDP growth of 8.5 percent in 1997 fell to 4 percent in 1998
Labor force (1990): 32.7 million -- agriculture 65 percent -- industry and services 35 percent Education and health
Literacy (1995): 93.7 percent of people over age 15 are literate
Percentage of population 25 and older with no formal schooling (1989): 16.6 percent
Infant mortality (1997): 37.0 deaths per 1,000 live births Transportation
Railroads: 1,762 miles (2,835 km)
Highways: -- Paved 14,552 miles (23,418 km) -- Unpaved 43,425 miles (69,882 km)
Vehicles (1994): 200,000 passenger cars, trucks and buses Military
Active duty personnel (1997): 492,000 (army 85.4 percent, navy 8.5 percent, air force 6.1 percent)
Military expenditures as percentage of GNP (1995): 2.6 percent
Vietnam Hotspots |
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Vietnam War History
