Some basic facts and statistics about Vietnam:

Population: By the latest estimates, the population of Vietnam is over 86 million.  Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in the world.

Capital City: Hanoi

Main Cities:

• Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) is located in southern Vietnam.  Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam and is the commercial centre of the country.
• Hanoi is located in northern Vietnam and is the country’s political centre.  Despite the battles that took place in and around this city, it has retained its Chinese and French cultural influence.
• Hue is located in central Vietnam and is commonly known as the “imperial capital of Vietnam”.
• Halong Bay, located along the northern coast, is a UN World Heritage site featuring thousands of limestone karsts and isles rising spectacularly from the ocean.  It is also known as the “Bay of Descending Dragons”.

Airports: There are three international airports in Vietnam and 10 domestic airports.

Adult Literacy Rate: An impressive 94%.

Religion: About 85% of the population is Buddhist and around 8% are Christians.

Flag:

Geographical Location:

Vietnam is on the far east of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia.  To the north is China, to the northwest is Laos and to the southwest is Cambodia.

Map of Vietnam (2001). Public Domain, Courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries (The University of Texas at Austin).

Provinces:

Vietnam is divided into 58 provinces.  There are also 5 centrally-controlled municipalities existing at the same level as provinces.

Climate:

Because of the difference in latitudes, the climate in Vietnam varies from place to place.  Temperatures in the south are generally between 21 and 28 degree Celsius (70 and 82.5 °F) over the course of the year.  The seasons in the mountains, plateaus and in the north are much more dramatic with temperatures varying from 5 degree Celsius (41 °F) in December and January to 37 degree Celsius (98.6 °F) in July and August.

Economy and Free Market:

Historically, Vietnam has been an agricultural civilization based on wet rice cultivating.

The Vietnam War destroyed much of the economy of Vietnam.  For many years after the war, Vietnam’s economy was plagued with inefficiency and corruption in state programs, poor quality and underproduction, and restrictions on economic activities and trade.  Not helping were the trade embargoes from the United States and most of Europe.

In 1986, Vietnam opened slowly to the world by changing its foreign policy and implementing free market reforms.  Although the state continued to own many industries, private ownership of farms and companies, as well as deregulation and foreign investments were encouraged.  Since then, the economy has achieved rapid growth in agricultural and industrial production, construction and housing, and exports and foreign investments.  It is now one of the fastest growing economies in the world!

As of December 2007, Vietnam has established diplomatic relations with 172 countries and holds membership in many international organizations such as the UN, WTO, ASEAN, and La Francophonie.

Languages:

The common language is Vietnamese.  French is still spoken by some older generations as a second language.  In recent years, however, English has become more popular as “the” second language.  English study is taught in most schools.

The Vietnamese language has six different tones, although three are the most common (identified as the north, middle, or south).  It is difficult for most foreigners to speak Vietnamese despite the use of the Roman alphabet.  This is because the same word can have many meanings depending on the tone used to pronounce it.