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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.
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.
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:
2008 $2,800
2007 $2,700
2006 $2,500
GDP annual growth rate:
2008: 6.2%
2007: 8.5%
2006: 8.2%
Unemployment rate:
2008: 4.9%
2007: 4.3%
Military expenditures as a percentage of GDP: 2.5 (estimated for 2005).
Deaths: 6.18. Births 16.47, down from 17.01 in 2005.
Population estimated for July 2008: 86.116 million, up from 83.5 million in 2005 and 60.5 million in 1985. Growth rate estimated for 2008: 0.99 percent per year.
Density for 2005: 256 persons per square kilometer. Per square kilometer of arable land: 1,286.5 persons.
More people leaving than arriving, a net loss of 0.39 persons per 1,000 population.
Infant mortality: 23.61, down from 25.95 (deaths before the age of one year, per 1,000 live births).
Average life expectancy at birth estimated for 2007: 71.33, up from 70.61 in 2005.
Living with HIV/AIDS, ages 15 to 49: 0.4 percent (2003)
SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
Copyright © 2008 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.