President: Nguyen Minh Triet Secretary-general of the Communist Party : Nguyen Phu Trong
Population
9,598,787
91,519,289
Life Expectancy
60.260 years
72.410 years
Capital City
Hanoi
Largest city
Cotonou (population: 690,584)
Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh (population: 3,467,330)
Human Development Index
0.459
0.718
GDP per capita
$3,400 US
Literacy Rate
34.7%
90.3%
Corruption Perception Index
3.1
2.7
Percentage of Women in Parliament
10.8%
25.8%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
2.300%
Death Penalty
Abolished in practice
Legal
Political System
republic
Communist state
Independence date
2 September 1945 (from France)
Religions
Christian 42.8% (Catholic 27.1%, Celestial 5%, Methodist 3.2%, other Protestant 2.2%, other 5.3%), Muslim 24.4%, Vodoun 17.3%, other 15.5% (2002 census)
Buddhist 9.3%, Catholic 6.7%, Hoa Hao 1.5%, Cao Dai 1.1%, Protestant 0.5%, Muslim 0.1%, none 80.8% (1999 census)
Languages
French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
