efense expenditures: $1.9 billion, 4.3% of GDP (1991)
VIETNAM
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 329,560 km2; land area: 325,360
Comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries: 3,818 km total; Cambodia 982 km, China 1,281 km,
Laos 1,555 km
Coastline: 3,444 km (excluding islands)
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 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; unresolved maritime boundary with
Thailand; maritime boundary dispute with China in the Gulf of Tonkin;
Paracel Islands occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan;
unresolved maritime boundary with Thailand
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)
Terrain: low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands;
hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest
Land use: arable land 22%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures
1%; forest and woodland 40%; other 35%; includes irrigated 5%
Environment: occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive
flooding
PEOPLE
Population: 67,568,033 (July 1991), growth rate 2.1% (1991)
Birth rate: 29 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 48 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 63 years male, 67 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Vietnamese (sing. and pl.);
adjective--Vietnamese
Ethnic divisions: predominantly Vietnamese 85-90%; Chinese 3%;
ethnic minorities include Muong, Thai, Meo, Khmer, Man, Cham; other
mountain tribes
Religion: Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist, Roman Catholic, indigenous
beliefs, Islamic, Protestant
Language: Vietnamese (official), French, Chinese, English, Khmer,
tribal languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Literacy: 88% (male 92%, female 84%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force: 32.7 million; agricultural 65%, industrial and
service 35% (1990 est.)
Organized labor: reportedly over 90% of wage and salary earners are
members of the Vietnam Federation of Trade Unions (VFTU)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Socialist Republic of Vietnam; abbreviated SRV
Type: Communist state
Capital: Hanoi
Administrative divisions: 41 provinces (tinh, singular and plural),
3 municipalities* (thanh pho, singular and plural); An Giang,
Bac Thai, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Cao Bang, Cuu Long, Dak Lak, Dong Nai,
Dong Thap, Gia Lai-Kon 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*,
Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Lang Son, Long An, Minh Hai,
Nghe Tinh, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Nam-Da Nang, Quang Ngai,
Quang Ninh, Quang Tri, Song Be, Son La, Tay Ninh, Thai Binh, Thanh Hoa,
Thua Thien, Thuan Hai, Tien Giang, Vinh Phu, Vung Tau-Con Dao;
note--diacritical marks are not included
Independence: 2 September 1945 (from France)
Constitution: 18 December 1980
Legal system: based on Communist legal theory and French civil law
system
National holiday: Independence Day, 2 September (1945)
Executive branch: chairman of the Council of State, Council of
State, chairman of the Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Quoc-Hoi)
Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court
Leaders:
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)
Vo Van KIET (since 9 August 1991)
Political parties and leaders: only party-- Vietnam Communist Party
(VCP), Nguyen Van LINH
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
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
Flag: red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center
ECONOMY
Overview: This is a centrally planned, developing economy with
extensive government ownership and control of productive facilities.
The economy is primarily agricultural; the sector employs about 65% of
the labor force and accounts 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. Oil was discovered
off the southern coast in 1986 with production reaching 54,000 b/d in
1990 and expected to increase in the years ahead. 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 is
showing signs of accelerating upwards again. Per capita output is among
the world's lowest. Since late 1986 the government has sponsored a
broad reform program that seeks to turn more economic activity over to
the private sector.
GNP: $15.2 billion, per capita $230; real growth rate 2.4%
(1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 65% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate: 33% (1990 est.)
Budget: revenues $892 million; expenditures $1.3 billion, including
capital expenditures of $344 million (1990 est.)
Exports: $2.3 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--agricultural and handicraft products, coal, minerals,
crude petroleum, ores, seafood;
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%; since 1989 self-sufficient
in food staple rice; fish catch of 943,100 metric tons (1989 est.)
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-74), $3.1
billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $2.8 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $61 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $12.0 billion
Currency: new dong (plural--new dong); 1 new dong (D) = 100 xu
Exchange rates: new dong (D) per US$1--7,530 (May 1991),
7,280 (December 1990), 3,996 (March 1990), 2,047 (1988), 225 (1987),
18 (1986), 12 (1985); note--1985-89 figures are end of year
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
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
Highways: about 85,000 km total; 9,400 km bituminous, 48,700 km
gravel or improved earth, 26,900 km unimproved earth
Pipelines: 150 km, refined products
Inland waterways: about 17,702 km navigable; more than 5,149 km
navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 meter draft
Ports: Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City
Merchant marine: 87 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 364,596
GRT/539,174 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 69 cargo, 4 refrigerated
cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 vehicle carrier, 8 petroleum, oils,
and lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 bulk; note--Vietnam owns 11 cargo ships
(1,000 GRT or over) totaling 106,759 DWT under the registry of Panama and
Malta
Civil air: controlled by military
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
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
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy (including Marines and Naval Infantry), Air
Force
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 16,260,120; 10,377,105 fit for
military service; 809,617 reach military age (17) annually
Defense expenditures: $NA, 19.4% of GNP (1986 est.)
