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About Vietnam |
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Vietnam |
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Background: |
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government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a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. The Communist Party has
focused its attention on the tourist industry while introducing market
reforms. The country is safe and tourist friendly. |
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Geography |
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Location: |
Southeastern Asia,
bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China
Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia |
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Geographic coordinates: |
16 00 N, 106 00 E
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Map references: |
Southeast Asia
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Area: |
total:
329,560 sq km
land: 325,360 sq km
water: 4,200 sq km
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Area - comparative: |
slightly larger
than New Mexico |
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Land boundaries: |
total:
4,639 km
border countries:
Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km |
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Coastline: |
3,444 km (excludes
islands) |
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Maritime claims: |
contiguous
zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM
or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
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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)
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Terrain: |
low, flat delta in
south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far
north and northwest |
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Elevation extremes: |
lowest point:
South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Ngoc Linh
3,143 m |
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Natural resources: |
phosphates, coal,
manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits,
forests, hydropower |
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Land use: |
arable land:
17%
permanent crops: 4%
permanent pastures: 1%
forests and woodland: 30%
other: 48% (1993 est.)
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Irrigated land: |
18,600 sq km (1993
est.) |
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Natural hazards: |
occasional typhoons
(May to January) with extensive flooding |
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Environment - current issues: |
logging and
slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to
deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and over
fishing 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 |
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Environment - international
agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of
the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban |
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Geography - note: |
extending 1,650 km
north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its
narrowest point |
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Disputes - international: |
maritime boundary
with Cambodia not defined; involved in a complex dispute over
the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan,
and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary agreement with China in
the Gulf of Tonkin awaits ratification; Paracel Islands occupied
by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; portions of boundary
with Cambodia are in dispute; agreement on land border with
China was signed in December 1999, but details of alignment have
not yet been made public |
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Illicit drugs: |
minor producer of
opium poppy with 2,100 hectares cultivated in 1999, capable of
producing 11 metric tons of opium; probable minor transit point
for Southeast Asian heroin; opium/heroin/methamphetamine
addiction problems |
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