VIETNAM

 

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Vietnam is a country located in Southeastern Asia bordering the Gulf of Thailand, the Gulf of Tonkin, and the South China Sea. Neighboring countries include Cambodia, China, and Laos. The geography consists of hills and densely forested mountains in the northwest. The government system is a communist state; the chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Vietnam has a mixed economy in which there is limited private freedom, but the economy remains highly controlled by the government. Vietnam is a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam remains a Communist dictatorship characterized by political repression and the absence of civil liberties. Economic liberalization began in 1986 with the doi moi reforms, and Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization in 2007. Economic growth was among the fastest in the world during the decade-long tenure of Prime Minister, Nguyễn Tấn Dũng but in 2016, after losing a contest for the highest position, that of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Dung was forced out. He was replaced as prime minister by Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. The economy is driven primarily by tourism and exports. In a major development, the U.S. lifted the long-standing arms embargo against Vietnam in 2016.

At a Glance:

 

Country Name

 

 

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

 

 

Area

 

 

3,31,210 sq.km

 

 

Capital

 

 

Hanoi (Ha Noi)

 

 

Government type

       

 

Communist state

 

 

Administrative divisions 

         

 

58 provinces

 

 

National Holidays

 

 

Independence Day, 2  September

 

 

Fiscal year

      

 

Calendar Year

 

 

Currency

 

 

Dong  (VND)

 

 

President

        

 

Mr. Tran Dai QUANG (since 2 April 2016)

 

 

Prime Minister

 

 

Mr. Nguyen Xuan PHUC (since 7 April 2016)

 

 

Population      

 

 

96,160,163  (July 2017 est.)

 

 

Net migration rate  

    

 

-0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)

 

 

GDP (purchasing power parity)

 

 

$595.5 billion (2016 est.)

 

 

GDP- composition by sector  

 

 

Agriculture: 17 %

 

Industry: 39 %

 

Services: 44% (2015 est.)  

                                                              

 

Agriculture- Products 

 

 

Rice, coffee, rubber, tea, pepper, soybeans,  cashews, sugar cane, peanuts, bananas; pork; poultry; seafood

 

 

Industries

 

 

Food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building; mining, coal, steel; cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil,mobile phones.

 

 

Major Exports

 

 

Clothes, shoes, electronics, seafood, crude oil, rice, coffee, wooden products, machinery

 

 

Major Exports - Partners

 

 

US 21%, China 13.2%, Japan 8.4%, South Korea 5.4%, Germany 4.1% (2015)

 

 

Major Imports 

 

Machinery and equipment, petroleum products, steel products, raw materials for the clothing and shoe industries, electronics, plastics, automobiles.

 

 

Major Importers ­­­- Partners

 

China 34%, South Korea 14.2%, Singapore 6.5%, Japan 6.4%, Hong Kong 5.1%, Thailand 4.5% (2015)

 

 

Natural resources     

  

 

Phosphates, coal, manganese, rare earth elements, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, timber, hydropower, arable land

 

 

Languages

 

 

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

 

 

Ethnic groups 

 

 

Kinh (Viet) 85.7%, Tay 1.9%, Thai 1.8%, Muong 1.5%, Khmer 1.5%, Mong 1.2%, Nung 1.1%, Hoa 1%, other 4.3%

Note: 54 ethnic groups are recognized by the Vietnamese Government (2009 est.)

 

 

Climate

 

 

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

 

 

Location    

     

 

South-eastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Tonkin and  South China Sea, as well as China, Laos and Cambodia