Country Overview
Country:
The Socialist Republic Of Vietnam
Capital:
Hanoi
Area:
331,689 sq. km (Mountains and tropical forests cover three-quarters of the country). The distance between the northern most and southern most points is 1,650 km
Administrative Divisions:
Vietnam has 64 provinces, including 5 municipalities (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hai Phong, Can Tho, Da Nang). Major cities are:
- In the North: Hanoi, Hai Phong
- In the Central: Hue, Da Nang, Qui Nhon
- In the South: Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Can Tho
Climate:
Vietnam’s climate varies a great deal from north to south. Northern Vietnam has four distinct sea-sons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. In the north, summers are hot, while winters are cool and misty. Southern Vietnam is hot year-round, with temperatures typically varying by just three degrees Celsius. Tropical monsoons occur from May to October in the north and south, and from September to January in the centre
Population:
- 86,116,559 (July 2008 est.), over 50% of the population being under the age of 25
- Labor force: 46.42 million (2007 est.)
Ethnic Group:
54 Ethnic Group. The largest group is Kinh comprising 88% of the population and mainly living in the Red River Delta, the central coastal delta, the Mekong Delta and major cities. The other 53 ethnic minority groups (approximately 8 million people) are scattered over mountainous area
Natural Resource:
Energy resources (oil, gas, coal, and hydropower); minerals (bauxite, iron ore, lead, gold, precious stones, tin, chromate, anthracite, construction materials, granite, marble, clay, white sand and graphite); sea and tropical forestry resources and agricultural potential
Transportation:
- Airports: 44 (2007)
- Railways: 2,600 km
- Roadways: 222,179 km
- Waterways: 17,702 km (5,000 km navigable by vessels up to 1.8 m draft) (2005)
- Merchant Marine: 359 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,154,881 GRT/3,324,373 DWT
- Ports and Terminals: Hai Phong, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh
Communications:
- Telephones - Main Lines in use: 10.8 million (2007)
- Telephones - Mobile Cellular: 33.2 million (2007)
- Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 65, FM 7, Shortwave 29 (1999)
- Television Broadcast Stations: 67 (includes 61 relay, provincial, and city TV stations) (2006)
- Internet Hosts: 106,772 (2007)
- Internet Users: 17.87 million (2007)
Legislative:
The Government is overseen by a legislative body known as the National Assembly, which elects a president to serve as head of state and a prime minister to administer the daily affairs of the government
