Official Name
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Geography
Area
331,114 sq. km. (127,243 sq. mi.)
Equivalent in size to Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee combined
Cities and Population
Capital: Hanoi - 2.8 million
Ho Chi Minh City - 5.3 million
Terrain
Varies from mountainous to coastal delta
Climate
Tropical monsoon
Time Change
11 hours ahead of New York City
Examples
Vietnam: 9 a.m Monday; New York: 10 p.m. Sunday
New York: 5 p.m. Monday; Vietnam: 4 a.m. Tuesday
People
Population
82.1 million
Ethnic Groups
Vietnamese (85%-90%), Chinese (3%), Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham,
mountain groups
Religions
Buddhism, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly Roman
Catholic, some Protestant), animism, Islam
Languages
Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second
language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer, mountain area
languages
Education
Literacy - 91%
Government
Communist Party-dominated constitutional republic
Independence
September 2, 1945
New Constitution
April 15, 1992
Economy
GDP (2004)
$45.4 billion
Real growth rate (2004)
7.7%
Per capita income (2004)
$553
Natural Resources
Coal, crude oil, zinc, copper, silver, gold, manganese, iron