title
macrohistory & world report

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Geography

South of China. East of Laos and Cambodia. 3,444 kilometers (2.152.5 miles) of coastline facing the South China Sea. Slightly larger than New Mexico. Capital: Hanoi. 

Government

Name: Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Vietnam's independence day is recognized as September 2, 1945, before the war with the French, who tried to snatch it away.

Vietnam's constitution dates from 1992. Its legal system is based on French civil law. Vietnam has a president elected to a five-year term by a National Assembly. It has a prime minister and deputy prime ministers. It has a Cabinet proposed by the prime minister and appointed by the president and ratified by the National Assembly. The National Assembly is unicameral, with 498 seats, its members elected by popular vote for five-year terms.

Economy

Figures unless otherwise stated are from the CIA Factbook.

Factbook:"Vietnam is a densely-populated developing country that in the last 30 years has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally-planned economy. Since 2001, Vietnamese authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to economic liberalization and international integration. They have moved to implement the structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive export-driven industries."

Estimated per capita GDP (2009 U.S. dollars)

2009: $2,900
2008: $2,800
2007: $2,700

GDP annual real (not per capita) growth rate estimate

2009: 5.3%
2008: 6.2%
2007: 8.5%

Unemployment rate

2009: 2.9%
2007: 4.7%

Military expenditures as a percentage of GDP

2005: 2.5%

Deaths: 6.18. Births 16.47, down from 17.01 in 2005.

Population

Living in an urban area: 28% (2008)

July 2010: 89.571 million. Growth rate: 1.096% (ranks 120th)
July 2008: 86.116 million
July 2005: 83.5 million
1985: 60.5 million

Density for 2005: 256 persons per square kilometer. Per square kilometer of arable land: 1,286.5 persons.

Migrations

2010: More people leaving than arriving. A net loss of 0.37 persons per 1,000 population.

Health

Infant mortality (deaths before the age of one year per 1,000 live births)

2010: 21.57

Average life expectancy at birth

2010: 71.94

Living with HIV/AIDS, ages 15 to 49: 0.4 percent (2003)

SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/

Copyright © 2010 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.