Vietnam

• maritime boundary with Cambodia not defined;
• involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei;
• unresolved maritime boundary with Thailand;
• maritime boundary dispute with China in the Gulf of Tonkin;
• Paracel Islands in the South China Sea occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan;
• offshore islands and sections of boundary with Cambodia are in dispute

• low, flat delta in south and north;
• central highlands;
• hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest

lowest point:

South China Sea 0 m

highest point:

Ngoc Linh 3,143 m

current issues:

• logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices are contributing to deforestation;
• soil degradation;
• water pollution and overfishing threatening marine life populations;
• inadequate supplies of potable water because of groundwater contamination

natural hazards:

occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding

international agreements:

• party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands;
• signed, but not ratified - Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban

0-14 years:

36% (male 13,739,304; female 12,988,929)

15-64 years:

59% (male 20,956,735; female 22,448,944)

65 years and over:

5% (male 1,548,513; female 2,294,548) (July 1996 est.)

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.93 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.68 male(s)/female

all ages:

0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

noun:

Vietnamese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Vietnamese

conventional long form:

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

conventional short form:

Vietnam

local long form:

Cong Hoa Chu Nghia Viet Nam

local short form:

Viet Nam

abbreviation:

SRV

chief of state:

President Le Duc ANH (since 23 September 1992) was elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly from among its members

head of government:

• Prime Minister Vo Van KIET (since 9 August 1991) was appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly;
• First Deputy Prime Minister Phan Van KHAI (since 10 August 1991) and Deputy Prime Ministers Nguyen KHANH (since NA February 1987) and Tran Duc LUONG (since NA February 1987) were appointed by the prime minister

cabinet:

Cabinet was appointed by the president on proposal of the prime minister and ratification of the National Assembly

• elections last held 19 July 1992 (next to be held NA July 1997);
• results - CPV is the only party;
• seats - (395 total) CPV or CPV-approved 395

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Le Van BANG

chancery:

1233 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, Suite 501

telephone:

[1] (202) 861-0737

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires L. Desaix ANDERSON

embassy:

7 Lang Ha Road, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi

mailing address:

PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96521-0002

telephone:

[84] (4) 431500

• paddy rice, corn, potatoes, rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas;
• poultry, pigs;
• fish catch of 943,100 metric tons (1989 est.)

• opium producer and increasingly important transit point for Southeast Asian heroin destined for the US and Europe;
• growing opium addiction;
• possible small-scale heroin production

• $7.3 billion Western countries;
• $4.5 billion CEMA debts primarily to Russia;
• $9 billion to $18 billion nonconvertible debt (former CEMA, Iraq, Iran)

total:

2,835 km (in addition, there are 224 km not restored to service after war damage)

standard gauge:

151 km 1.435-m gauge

narrow gauge:

2,454 km 1.000-m gauge

other gauge:

230 km NA-m dual gauge (three rails)

total:

105,000 km

paved:

10,500 km

unpaved:

94,500 km (1993 est.)

total:

112 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 569,269 GRT/947,938 DWT

ships by type:

bulk 3, cargo 95, oil tanker 10, refrigerated cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1

note: Vietnam owns an additional 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 120,320 DWT operating under the registries of Honduras, Panama, The Bahamas, and Malta (1995 est.)

• while Vietnam's telecommunication sector lags far behind other countries in Southeast Asia, Hanoi has made considerable progress since 1991 in upgrading the system;
• Vietnam has digitized fully 100% of provincial switch boards, while fiber-optic and microwave transmission systems have been extended from Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City to all provinces;
• the density of telephone receivers nationwide doubled from 1993 to 1995, but is still far behind other countries in the region;
• Vietnam's telecommunications strategy aims to increase telephone density to 30 per 1,000 inhabitants by the year 2000 and authorities estimate that approximately $2.7 billion will be spent on telecommunications upgrades through the end of the decade

domestic:

NA

international:

satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)

males age 15-49:

18,593,129

males fit for military service:

11,769,955

males reach military age (17) annually:

796,312 (1996 est.)