Vietnam Key Facts

South-East Asia.

GMT + 7.

331,689 sq km (128,066 sq miles).

86.9 million (2009).

261.9 per sq km.

Hanoi. Population: 6.2 million (2007).

Vietnam lies within the tropics and is principally agricultural with a central tropical rainforest. The ‘S'-shaped country shares borders to the north with the People's Republic of China and to the west with Laos and Cambodia. The eastern and southern shores are lapped by the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. 

Northern Vietnam is dominated by the Red River plains that bisect Hanoi, and the Lo and Chay rivers. To the north and west of Hanoi are green hilly areas; particularly well known is the Sapa Valley. East of Hanoi, Ha Long Bay features a stunning natural formation of more than 3,000 limestone islands jutting sharply out of the South China Sea.  

To the south, it is the Mekong River and its fertile plain that governs the geography and consequently the rice industry. Among the plains, in the middle of the thin country and to the southwest are mountainous areas, known as the highlands, where farmers grow rubber, tea and coffee.

Socialist republic since 1980. Gained independence from France in 1954.

President Nguyen Minh Triet since 2006.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung since 2006.

Since the doi moi reforms by the socialist state in 1986, which opened the country up to investment and a liberal economic approach, Vietnam has been modernizing its agricultural and mining industries. It still, however, remains a one-party communist state. The country is ruled by a triumvirate of a president, prime minister and the secretary general of the Communist Party - the latter being the most powerful man in the country. The current president and prime minister are both seen as economic reformers and both hail from southern Vietnam. In order to achieve continuing economic progress they will have to propose more privatisation and deregulation and will have to fight Communist Party diehards in the process. Small scale protests against the government, particularly to do with land reforms, appear occasionally. The human rights record was described as ‘poor' in a 2004 US state department report, for restricting freedom of speech, religion and of the press.

Vietnamese is the official language. English, French, Chinese and occasionally Russian and German are spoken.

Buddhist majority. There are also Taoist, Confucian, Hoa Hao, Caodaist and Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic) minorities.

220/110 volts AC, 50Hz; two-pin flat plugs are in use.

Handshaking and a vocal greeting is normal. Clothing should be kept simple, informal and discreet. Avoid shorts if possible as they are usually only worn by children. Footwear should be removed when entering Buddhist pagodas. Vietnamese people should not be touched on the head.

Photography: There are restrictions at ports, airports and harbours, and in similar areas elsewhere. It is courteous to ask permission first before taking photographs of people.