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Mainland Territory: 331, 211.6 sq. km
Population: 84, 115.8 thousand inhabitants (in 2006)
National Capital: Hanoi Lying on the eastern part of the Indochinese peninsula, Vietnam is a strip of land shaped like the letter “S”. China borders it to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west, the East Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the east and south.
The country’s total length from north to south is 1, 650km. Its width, stretching from east to west, is 600km at the widest point in the north, 400km in the south, and 50km at the narrowest part, in the centre, in Quang Binh Province. The coastline is 3, 260km long and the inland border is 4, 510km.
Latitude: 102º 08' - 109º 28' east
Longitude: 8º 02' - 23º 23' north
Vietnam is also a transport junction from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
Climate: Vietnam lies in the tropics and monsoon (detail)
Topography: Three quarters of Vietnam's territory consist of mountains and hills (detail)
Administrative Units: Vietnam is divided into 64 provinces and cities |
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The northern and western sections of Vietnam are dominated by the mountains of the Annamese Cordillera, continuations of the mountains of the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Guangxi to the north. The mountains reach elevations of more than 8, 000 ft (2, 440 m), and contain a notable plateau known as the Central Highlands (alt. 600–1, 600 ft/180–490 m), which, although sparsely populated, contains rubber, coffee, and tea plantations. East of the Annamese Cordillera in the north is an alluvial plain drained by the Red River and other streams that empty into the Gulf of Tonkin. South of the Red River delta are the Central Lowlands, a narrow, coastal strip where short, often torrential rivers, flowing from west to east, form fertile deltas. South of the Central Lowlands is the alluvial plain of the Mekong River delta, which occupies the southern portion of the country. The country has a tropical monsoon climate, modified by local conditions.
The population is concentrated in the two main river deltas. The Vietnamese account for more than 85% of the population. They speak an Annamese-Muong language (see Southeast Asian languages). The approximately 50 minority groups in the highlands include the Muong, Tai, Hmong, Dao, Sedong, Jarai, Bahnar, Rhade, Cham, and smaller groups. There is a significant population of Cambodians (Khmers) near the Cambodian border and at the mouth of the Mekong River. There are large numbers of Chinese in the urban centers, notably in the Cholon area of Ho Chi Minh City, although many fled after South Vietnam was defeated by the North and after a border clash with China in 1979.
A mix of Buddhism, Confucianism, and traditional local beliefs and Roman Catholicism are the most widely practiced religions. Although the Communist government has discouraged religious practice, it is tolerated within the context of government-regulated Buddhist and Catholic groups, and since the 1990s traditional worship at Buddhist temples has been encouraged. Protestant evangelical churches (found mainly among ethnic minorities) and other unregulated groups are actively suppressed. |
