+84 is the dialing code for Vietnam.
The elongated Vietnam in Southeast Asia is dominated by two densely populated Delta areas. A rebellion against colonial power France in 1946 marked the beginning of three decades of war. Since the country was divided in 1954, fighting broke out between Communist North Vietnam and the US-supported South Vietnam. When the war was over and the country could be reunited, millions of Vietnamese had lost their lives. Today, Vietnam is a communist one-party state with a market economy.
- Abbreviationfinder: Brief profiles of Vietnam, including geography, history, politics, economics as well as common acronyms about this country.
Geography and climate
Vietnam extends over 160 kilometers along the Gulf of Tonkin Bay, the South China Sea and Siam Bay in southeast Asia. The country is located in the tropical region and especially in the south the climate is hot and humid.
Vietnam borders China, Laos and Cambodia and is the surface as three quarters of Sweden. Where it is at its narrowest, the country is only five miles from the coast to the border to the west.
- BagLib: General information about Vietnam, covering geography, climate, travel tips and popular sights.
Two fertile and densely populated river deltas, with great historical and economic significance, are located at each end of the country. In the north, the Red River (Song Hong) is the largest of several rivers that flow through the Chinese border mountains, forming a delta area on the Gulf of Tonkin. The most important tributary is the Black River (Song Da). The capital city of Hanoi is located in the delta, as is the port city of Haiphong.
In southern Vietnam, the Mekong, one of Asia’s largest rivers, flows into a vast delta towards the South China Sea. The Mekong delta is more than twice the delta of the Red River. On its outskirts is the country’s largest city, Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon).
Country Facts
Geography
| Cultivated land | 34.8 % |
| Land area | 331210 km 2 |
Population and health
| Population development | 0.97 ‰ |
| Urban population (Urbanization) | 33.6 % |
| Death rate | 5.93 per 1000 residents |
| Life expectancy: Women | 75.9 years |
| Life expectancy: Men | 70.69 years |
| Birth rate | 15.96 births per 1000 residents |
| HDI index | 0.666 |
| Population | 94348835 |
| Infant mortality | 18.39 deaths / 1000 births |
Population Graph Source: Countryaah.com
Energy
| Electricity, production | 118200 million kWh |
| Energy consumption per resident | 730.6 kg. oil per resident |
| Natural gas, production | 8800 million cubic meters |
| Crude oil, production | 17 million tons |
Infrastructure
| Internet users | 43.0 per 100 residents |
| Mobile subscriptions | 146 per 100 residents |
| Passenger cars | 23 per 1000 residents |
Business and economics
| Unemployment | 3% of the workforce |
| GDP | 6000 per resident |
| Primary occupations | 48 % |
| Secondary profession | 21 % |
| Tertiary professions | 31 % |
The land border itself extends largely through hard-to-reach mountain areas. The Hoang Lien Mountains in the north pass further south in Truong Son, or the Annamite Mountains, which form a central highland. The coasts are usually lowland, although the mountains in their places project all the way out into the sea.
Vietnam, like many other countries, claims the uninhabited Spratly and Paracel Islands in the South China Sea (see Foreign Policy and Defense).
Mostly tropical climate
As a large part of the country is mountainous, the climate is in some places more subtropical than tropical. In the north and at high altitudes it can even be really cool.
Most precipitation falls between April and October, when the southwest monsoon sweeps in from Siamviken. In parts of the central lowlands, however, it rains most during the winter’s northeast monsoon.
The winter winds also bring cold air from China to the northern parts of the country, and in Hanoi in January the temperature can drop to near zero at night. The typical winter weather in the Red River delta, where Hanoi is located, is a cool drizzle and fog. During the summer, the northern and central coastal regions are rarely affected by devastating storms, typhoons, from the South China Sea.
FACTS – GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
Surface
331 114 km2 (2018)
Time
Swedish +6 hours
Adjacent country (s)
China, Laos, Cambodia
Capital with number of residents
Hanoi 4,500,000 (UN estimate 2019)
Other major cities
Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) 8,400,000, Can Tho 1,500,000, Haiphong 1,300,000, Da Nang 1,100,000
Highest mountain
Fan Si Pan (3 143 m asl)
Important rivers
Mekong, Red River (Song Hong), Black River (Song Da)
Average Precipitation / month
Hanoi 343 mm (Aug), 18 mm (Jan)
Average / day
Hanoi 30 °C (June), 17 °C (Jan)
2014
December
Two famous bloggers are arrested
Two prominent bloggers, Nguyen Quang Lap and Hong Le Tho, are arrested by Ho Chi Minh City police, suspected of state propaganda. According to the organization Reporters Without Borders, 34 bloggers are imprisoned in Vietnam.
October
Bloggare is released
Regime-critical blogger Nguyen Van Hai, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for “propaganda against the state” (see April 2008, October 2008, September 2012, June 2013 and July 2013), is released quickly and unexpectedly and immediately flies to the United States.
July
Chinese oil rig is moved
Beijing states that the oil rig that triggered a serious conflict between China and Vietnam is now being relocated from the Paracel Islands upon completion of the mission.
June
Japanese contribution is missing
Japan, which is Vietnam’s largest lender, suspends the disbursement of aid money and calls for anti-corruption efforts (see May 2014).
Another Chinese oil rig
Beijing announces that China will ship a second oil rig to the disputed area of the Paracel Islands.
Rich businessman prison
One of Vietnam’s richest businessmen, Nguyen Duc Kien, is sentenced to 30 years in prison for tax fraud and fraud in the multi- million class. Nguyen, who is known as the founder of Asia Commercial Bank and has owned a successful football team in Hanoi, has been detained since 2012. He was previously close ally with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, but has ended up in disgrace.
May
Railway manager suspected of bribery
Former head of railroad Nguyen Huu Bang is arrested on suspicion of bribery in which over $ 780,000 has been paid by a Japanese company to gain access to Japanese aid money in Vietnam. Six other employees at the railway company have also been arrested.
Critical position after deployment of oil rig
Tensions have risen since China placed an oil rig in the disputed waters of the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea (see Foreign Policy and Defense). Several confrontations between Chinese and Vietnamese military occur and on one occasion a Vietnamese fishing boat is lowered. Demonstrations that degenerate into riots follow around Vietnam. A number of Chinese, Taiwanese and South Korean owned factories are set on fire and information is available on several deaths. Hundreds of ethnic Chinese are fleeing the country and China is evacuating around 3,000 citizens.
Two more bloggers are arrested
Two more bloggers are arrested for publishing articles with “poor material and incorrect information that diminishes the prestige and confidence of government agencies”. Over 30 bloggers are now detained in Vietnam.
April
Well-known democracy activists are released
Three well-known democracy activists are released early from prison. The releases occur in conjunction with the country negotiating with the United States on a major free trade agreement, TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership). Ngyuen Tien Trung, who has served nearly five years of a seven-year prison sentence, will now face three years in house arrest. We Duc Hoi has served 4.5 out of five years in prison and will spend five years in house arrest. The third prisoner, Cu Huy Ha Vu, is released after three years in prison. All three were convicted of various kinds of crimes against the state and the regime.
March
Two bloggers are sentenced to prison
Journalist and blogger Truong Duy Nhat is sentenced to two years in prison for anti-state activities (see May 2013). Also, blogger Pham Viet Dao is sentenced to similar crimes, to prison for 15 months (see June 2013).
February
Diplomat seeks asylum in Switzerland
Diplomat Dang Xuong Hung, consul in Geneva 2008–2012, seeks asylum in Switzerland, saying that the Vietnamese one-party state persecutes anyone who disagrees with the official line.
January
Vietin Bank in big fraud
The judges fall into one of the country’s biggest fraud cases ever. A female bank official in Vietinbank is sentenced to life imprisonment for fraud totaling approximately $ 200 million. Twenty-two other people in the fraud scene are sentenced to imprisonment, for up to 20 years.
Thirty are sentenced to death for heroin smuggling
A Quang Ninh province court sentenced 30 people to death for heroin smuggling. Dozens of defendants are sentenced to imprisonment for between two years and a life sentence. The convicted are part of a network that has smuggled drugs from Laos through Vietnam and China. When the network was unveiled in 2012, police seized nearly two tons of heroin.
Sentenced to death should have bribed politicians
In ongoing court hearings on the Vinalines embezzlement (see December 2013), one of the convicts claims he paid large sums of money to high-ranking leaders in the Communist Party in an attempt to avoid being arrested and charged.