1994 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1994 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
Abbreviation
SRV
Administrative divisions
50 provinces (tinh, singular and plural), 3 municipalities* (thanh pho, singular and plural); An Giang, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Bac Thai, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Binh Thuan, Can Tho, Cao Bang, Dac Lac, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Bac, Ha Giang, Ha Noi*, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hai Hung, Hai Phong*, Ho Chi Minh*, Hoa Binh, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Kon Tum, Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Long An, Minh Hai, Nam Ha, Nghe An, Ninh Binh, Ninh Thuan, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Nam-Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Quang Ninh, Quang Tri, Soc Trang, Son La, Song Be, Tay Ninh, Thai Binh, Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Tuyen Quang, Vinh Long, Vinh Phu, Yen Bai
Agriculture
accounts for almost 40% of GDP; paddy rice, corn, potatoes make up 50% of farm output; commercial crops (rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas) and animal products 50%; since 1989 self-sufficient in food staple rice; fish catch of 943,100 metric tons (1989 est.)
Airports
total: 100 usable: 100 with permanent-surface runways: 50 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 10 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 20
Area
total area: 329,560 sq km land area: 325,360 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico
Birth rate
27.13 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Budget
revenues: $1.9 billion expenditures: $2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992)
Capital
Hanoi
Climate
tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March)
Coastline
3,444 km (excludes islands)
Constitution
15 April 1992
Currency
1 new dong (D) = 100 xu
Death rate
7.76 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures
$NA, NA% of GNP
Digraph
VM
Diplomatic representation in US
none; Ambassador Le Van BANG is the Permanent Representative to the UN
Economic aid
recipient: $1.9 billion in credits and grants pledged by international donors for 1994, Japan largest contributor with $550 million
Electricity
capacity: 3,300,000 kW production: 9 billion kWh consumption per capita: 130 kWh (1992)
Environment
current issues: deforestation; soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threatening marine life populations natural hazards: occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding international agreements: party to - Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
Ethnic divisions
Vietnamese 85-90%, Chinese 3%, Muong, Thai, Meo, Khmer, Man, Cham
Exchange rates
new dong (D) per US$1 - 10,800 (November 1993), 8,100 (July 1991), 7,280 (December 1990), 3,996 (March 1990); note - 1985-89 figures are end of year
Executive branch
chief of state: President Le Duc ANH (since 23 September 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Vo Van KIET (since 9 August 1991); First Deputy Prime Minister Phan Van KHAI (since 10 August 1991); Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen KHANH (since NA February 1987); Deputy Prime Minister Tran Duc LUONG (since NA February 1987) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president on proposal of the prime minister and ratification of the Assembly
Exports
$2.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: petroleum, rice, agricultural products, marine products, coffee partners: Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Germany, Indonesia
External debt
$3.4 billion Western countries; $4.5 billion CEMA debts primarily to Russia; $700 million commercial debts (1993 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Flag
red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center
Highways
total: 85,000 km paved: 9,400 km unpaved: gravel, improved earth 48,700 km; unimproved earth 26,900 km
Illicit drugs
minor opium producer and secondary transit point for Southeast Asian heroin destined for the US and Europe
Imports
$3.1 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: petroleum products, steel products, railroad equipment, chemicals, medicines, raw cotton, fertilizer, grain partners: Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan
Independence
2 September 1945 (from France)
Industrial production
growth rate 15% (1992); accounts for 20% of GDP
Industries
food processing, textiles, machine building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil
Infant mortality rate
45.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
5.2% (1993 est.)
Inland waterways
17,702 km navigable; more than 5,149 km navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 meter draft
International disputes
maritime boundary with Cambodia not defined; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands 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 occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan
Irrigated land
18,300 sq km (1989 est.)
Judicial branch
Supreme People's Court
Labor force
32.7 million by occupation: agricultural 65%, industrial and service 35% (1990 est.)
Land boundaries
total 3,818 km, Cambodia 982 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 1,555 km
Land use
arable land: 22% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 40% other: 35%
Languages
Vietnamese (official), French, Chinese, English, Khmer, tribal languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Legal system
based on Communist legal theory and French civil law system
Legislative branch
unicameral
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 65.41 years male: 63.37 years female: 67.58 years (1994 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 88% male: 93% female: 83%
Location
Southeastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea, between Laos and the Philippines
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 18,281,483; fit for military service 11,602,318; reach military age (17) annually 762,943 (1994 est.)
Map references
Asia, Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or the edge of continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Member of
ACCT, AsDB, ASEAN (observer), ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Merchant marine
101 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 460,225 GRT/741,231 DWT, bulk 3, cargo 86, oil tanker 8, refrigerated cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1
Names
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
National Assembly (Quoc-Hoi)
elections last held 19 July 1992 (next to be held NA July 1997); results - VCP is the only party; seats - (395 total) VCP or VCP-approved 395
National holiday
Independence Day, 2 September (1945)
National product
GNP - purchasing power equivalent - $72 billion (1993 est.)
National product per capita
$1,000 (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate
7% (1993 est.)
Nationality
noun: Vietnamese (singular and plural) adjective: Vietnamese
Natural resources
phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil deposits, forests
Net migration rate
-1.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Overview
Vietnam has made significant progress in recent years moving away from the planned economic model toward a more effective market-based economic system. Most prices are now fully decontrolled, and the Vietnamese currency has been effectively devalued and floated at world market rates. In addition, the scope for private sector activity has been expanded, primarily through decollectivization of the agricultural sector and introduction of laws giving legal recognition to private business. Nearly three-quarters of export earnings are generated by only two commodities, rice and crude oil. Led by industry and construction, the economy did well in 1993 with output rising perhaps 7%. However, the industrial sector remains burdened by uncompetitive state-owned enterprises the government is unwilling or unable to privatize. Unemployment looms as a serious problem with roughly 25% of the workforce without jobs and with population growth swelling the ranks of the unemployed yearly.
People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) including
Ground, Navy (including Naval Infantry), Air Force
Pipelines
petroleum products 150 km
Political parties and leaders
only party - Vietnam Communist Party (VCP), DO MUOI, general secretary
Population
73,103,898 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate
1.78% (1994 est.)
Ports
Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City
Railroads
3,059 km total; 2,454 1.000-meter gauge, 151 km 1.435-meter (standard) gauge, 230 km dual gauge (three rails), and 224 km not restored to service after war damage
Religions
Buddhist, Taoist, Roman Catholic, indigenous beliefs, Islamic, Protestant
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Telecommunications
the inadequacies of the obsolete switching equipment and cable system is a serious constraint on the business sector and on economic growth, and restricts access to the international links that Vietnam has established with most major countries; the telephone system is not generally available for private use (25 telephones for each 10,000 persons); 3 satellite earth stations; broadcast stations - NA AM, 288 FM; 36 (77 repeaters) TV; about 2,500,000 TV receivers and 7,000,000 radio receivers in use (1991)
Terrain
low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest
Total fertility rate
3.33 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Type
Communist state
Unemployment rate
25% (1993 est.)
US diplomatic representation
none