Introduction
France occupied all of Vietnam by 1884. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by Communist forces under Ho Chi Minh, who took control of the North. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the South.
Location
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia
Geographic coordinates
16 00 N, 106 00 E
Area
total: 329,560 sq km
land: 325,360 sq km
water: 4,200 sq km
Land boundaries
total: 4,639 km
border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km
Coastline
3,444 km (excludes islands)
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
contiguous zone: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
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
Elevation extremes
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m
Natural resources
phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower
Irrigated land
30,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards
occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta
Environment - current issues
logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
Environment - international agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note
extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point
Population
82,689,518 (July 2004 est.)