Vietnam

Airports

100 total, 100 usable; 50 with permanent-surface runways; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 20 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

controlled by military

Highways

about 85,000 km total; 9,400 km bituminous, 48,700 km gravel or improved earth, 26,900 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways

about 17,702 km navigable; more than 5,149 km navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 meter draft

Merchant marine

71 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 290,123 GRT/432,152 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 55 cargo, 4 refrigerated cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 vehicle carrier, 8 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 bulk; note--Vietnam owns 10 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 111,028 DWT under the registry of Panama and Malta

Pipelines

150 km, refined products

Ports

Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City

Railroads

3,059 km total; 2,454 1.000-meter gauge, 151 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 230 km dual gauge (three rails), and 224 km not restored to service

Telecommunications

35,000 telephones in Ho Chi Minh City (1984); stations--16 AM, 1 FM, 2 TV; 2,300,000 TV sets; 6,000,000 radio receivers; at least 2 satellite earth stations, including 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force

Defense expenditures

19.4% of GNP (1986 est.)

Military manpower

males 15-49, 15,707,629; 10,030,563 fit for military service; 787,444 reach military age (17) annually

Agriculture

accounts for half of GNP; paddy rice, corn, potatoes make up 50% of farm output; commercial crops (rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas) and animal products other 50%; not self-sufficient in food staple rice; fish catch of 900,000 metric tons (1988 est.)

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-74), $3.1 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.7 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $61 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $10.9 million

Budget

revenues $3.2 billion; expenditures $4.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $528 million (1987 est.)

Currency

new dong (plural--new dong); 1 new dong (D) = 100 xu

Electricity

2,465,000 kW capacity; 6,730 million kWh produced, 100 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

new dong (D) per US$1--4,000 (March 1990), 900 (1988), 225 (1987), 18 (1986), 12 (1985); note--1985-89 figures are end of year

Exports

$1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--agricultural and handicraft products, coal, minerals, ores; partners--USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, Singapore

External debt

$16 billion (1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GNP

$14.2 billion, per capita $215; real growth rate 8% (1989 est.)

Imports

$2.5 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--petroleum, steel products, railroad equipment, chemicals, medicines, raw cotton, fertilizer, grain; partners--USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, Singapore

Industrial production

growth rate 10% (1989)

Industries

food processing, textiles, machine building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, fishing

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

40% (1989 est.)

Overview

This is a centrally planned, developing economy with extensive government ownership and control of productive facilities. The economy is primarily agricultural, employing about 65% of the labor force and accounting for almost half of GNP. Rice is the staple crop; substantial amounts of maize, sorghum, cassava, and sweet potatoes are also grown. The government permits sale of surplus grain on the open market. Most of the mineral resources are located in the north, including coal, which is an important export item. Following the end of the war in 1975, heavy handed government measures undermined efforts at an efficient merger of the agricultural resources of the south and the industrial resources of the north. The economy remains heavily dependent on foreign aid and has received assistance from Communist countries, Sweden, and UN agencies. Inflation, although down from recent triple-digit levels, is still a major weakness, and per capita output is among the world's lowest. Since early 1989 the government has sponsored a broad reform program that seeks to turn more economic activity over to the private sector.

Unemployment rate

25% (1989 est.)

Climate

tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March)

Coastline

3,444 km (excluding islands)

Comparative area

slightly larger than New Mexico

Contiguous zone

24 nm;

Continental shelf

edge of continental margin or 200 nm;

Disputes

offshore islands and three sections of the boundary with Cambodia are in dispute; maritime boundary with Cambodia not defined; occupied Cambodia on 25 December 1978; sporadic border clashes with China; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, and Taiwan; maritime boundary dispute with China in the Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan

Environment

occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding

Extended economic zone

200 nm;

Land boundaries

3,818 km total; Cambodia 982 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 1,555 km

Land use

22% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures; 40% forest and woodland; 35% other; includes 5% irrigated

Natural resources

phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil deposits, forests

Terrain

low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

329,560 km2; land area: 325,360

Administrative divisions

37 provinces (tinh, singular and plural), 3 municipalities* (thanh pho, singular and plural); An Giang, Bac Thai, Ben Tre, Binh Tri Thien, Cao Bang, Cuu Long, Dac Lac, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai-Cong Tum, Ha Bac, Hai Hung, Hai Phong*, Ha Nam Ninh, Ha Noi*, Ha Son Binh, Ha Tuyen, Hau Giang, Hoang Lien Son, Ho Chi Minh*, Kien Giang, Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Lang Son, Long An, Minh Hai, Nghe Tinh, Nghia Binh, Phu Khanh, Quang Nam-Da Nang, Quang Ninh, Song Be, Son La, Tay Ninh, Thai Binh, Thanh Hoa, Thuan Hai, Tien Giang, Vinh Pu, Vung Tau-Con Dao; note--diacritical marks are not included; the number of provinces may have been changed with the elimination of Binh Tri Thien, Nghia Binh, and Phu Khanh and the addition of Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Ngai, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien

Capital

Hanoi

Communists

nearly 2 million

Constitution

18 December 1980

Diplomatic representation

none

Executive branch

chairman of the Council of State, Council of State, chairman of the Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers

Flag

red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center

Independence

2 September 1945 (from France)

Judicial branch

Supreme People's Court Chief of State--Chairman of the Council of State Vo Chi CONG (since 18 June 1987); Head of Government--Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Premier) Do MUOI (since 22 June 1988)

Legal system

based on Communist legal theory and French civil law system

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly (Quoc Hoi)

Long-form name

Socialist Republic of Vietnam; abbreviated SRV

Member of

ADB, CEMA, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBEC, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, IRC, ITU, Mekong Committee, NAM, UN, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday

Independence Day, 2 September (1945)

Political parties and leaders

only party-- Vietnam Communist Party (VCP), Nguyen Van Linh

Suffrage

universal at age 18 National Assembly--last held 19 April 1987 (next to be held April 1992); results--VCP is the only party; seats--(496 total) VCP or VCP-approved 496

Type

Communist state

Birth rate

30 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

85-90% predominantly Vietnamese; 3% Chinese; ethnic minorities include Muong, Thai, Meo, Khmer, Man, Cham; other mountain tribes

Infant mortality rate

50 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

35,000,000 (1989 est.)

Language

Vietnamese (official), French, Chinese, English, Khmer, tribal languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)

Life expectancy at birth

62 years male, 66 years female (1990)

Literacy

78%

Nationality

noun--Vietnamese (sing. and pl.); adjective--Vietnamese

Net migration rate

- 1 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

reportedly over 90% of wage and salary earners are members of the Vietnam Federation of Trade Unions (VFTU)

Population

66,170,889 (July 1990), growth rate 2.1% (1990)

Religion

Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist, Roman Catholic, indigenous beliefs, Islamic, Protestant

Total fertility rate

3.8 children born/woman (1990)