1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
329,707 km2; 14% cultivated, 50% forested, 36% urban inland water, and other
Coastline
3,444 km (excluding islands)
Land boundaries
4,562 km WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
12 nm plus 12 nm contiguous customs and security zone (fishing 200 nm, economic 200 nm)
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
85%-90% predominantly Vietnamese; 3% Chinese; ethnic minorities include Muong, Thai, Meo, Khmer, Man, Cham, and mountain tribesmen
Labor force
approximately 15 million, not including military; about 70% agriculture and 8% industry
Language
Vietnamese, French, Chinese, English, Khmer, tribal languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Nationality
noun—Vietnamese (sing. and pl.); adjective—Vietnamese
Population
56,430,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 2.5%
Religion
Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist, Catholic, Animist, Islamic, and Protestant
Government
Branches
constitution provides for a National Assembly and highly centralized executive nominally subordinate to it Party and government leaders: LE DUAN, Party Secretary General; NGUYEN HUU THO, Chairman, National Assembly; TRUONG CHINH, Chairman, Council of State; PHAM VAN DONG, Chairman, Council of Ministers; Gen. VAN TIEN DUNG, Minister of National Defense; NGUYEN CO THACH, Minister for Foreign Affairs; PHAM HUNG, Minister of Interior
Capital
Hanoi
Communists
probably more than 1 million
Elections
pro forma elections held for national and local assemblies; latest election for National Assembly held on 25 April 1976
Legal system
based on Communist legal theory and French civil law system
Member of
ADB, CEMA, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, ITU, Mekong Committee, NAM, UN, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
2 September
Official name
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Political parties
Vietnam Communist Party, formerly known as the Vietnam Workers Party
Political subdivisions
39 provinces
Suffrage
over age 18
Type
Communist state
Economy
Agriculture
main crops—rice, rubber, fruits and vegetables; some corn, manioc, and sugarcane; major food imports—wheat, corn, dairy products
Aid
accurate data on aid since April 1975 unification unavailable; estimated annual economic aid on annual basis is—USSR, $500 million or more; East European countries, $150 million; non-Communist countries, $230 million; inter-national institutions, $75 million; value of military aid deliveries since 1975 are not available
Electric power
1,610,300 kW capacity (1980); 3.781 billion kWh produced (1980), 69 kWh per capita
Exports
$300 million (1978); agricultural and handicraft products, coal, minerals, ores
Fiscal year
calendar year
Fishing
catch 515,000 metric tons (1980)
GNP
$4.9 billion (calculated by UNO method), less than $91 per capita (1980); no growth in recent years
Imports
$900 million (1978); petroleum, steel products, railroad equipment, chemicals, medicines, raw cotton, fertilizer, grain
Major industries
food processing, textiles, machine building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires
Major trade partners
exports—USSR, East European countries, Japan, other Asian markets; imports—USSR, East Europe, Japan
Monetary conversion rate (official)
9.0 dong=US$1 (late 1981)
Shortages
foodgrains, petroleum, capital goods and machinery, fertilizer
Communications
Airfields
242 total, 128 usable; 55 with permanent-surface runways; 8 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 17 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
military controlled
Inland waterways
about 17,702 km navigable; more than 5,149 km navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8-m draft
Ports
9 major, 23 minor
Railroads
2,587 km total; 2,227 meter gauge, 130 km standard gauge, 230 km dual gauge Highways: 41,190 km total; 5,471 km bituminous, 27,030 km gravel or improved earth, 8,690 km unimproved earth
Military and Security
Military budget
no expenditure estimates are available; military aid from the USSR has been so extensive that actual allocation of Vietnam's domestic resources to defense has not been indicative of total military effort
Military manpower
males 15-49, 13,266,000; 8,085,000 fit for military service; 661,000 reach military age (17) annually
Supply
dependent on the USSR and Eastern European Communist countries for virtually all new, equipment; produces negligible quantities of infantry weapons, ammunition and explosive devices (Vietnam possesses a huge inventory of US-manufactured weapons and equipment captured from the RVN)