OFFICIAL NAME

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

GEOGRAPHY

Coastal country of Indo-china, bordered by the Gulf of Tonkin (east) and the South China Sea (southeast), and three countries: China (north), Laos (west) and Cambodia (southwest).

AREA

329,566 sq km / 127,245 sq miles

COMPARATIVE

slightly larger than the state of New Mexico

POPULATION

81,624,700

CAPITAL

Hanoi (pop 3.5 million)

LITERACY

94% (age 15+ and can read and write)

LANGUAGE

Official: Vietnamese
Other: French, Russian, Chinese, English

RELIGION

Buddhism is the principal religion but there are also sizeable Taoist, Confucian, Hoa Hao, Cao Daists, Muslim and Christian minorities.

POLITICS

Socialist/Communism state with both a President and a Prime Minister. Vietnam won its independence from France in 1954.

INCOME

Per capita income = US$ 550 per year

CURRENCY

Dong (D)

TIME ZONE

GMT/UTC +7