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
Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic)
Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Comoran francs (KMF) per US dollar - 361.4 (2007), 391.8 (2006), 395.6 (2005), 396.21 (2004), 435.9 (2003) note: the Comoran franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 491.9677 Comoran francs per euro
dong (VND) per US dollar - 16,548.3 (2008 est.), 16,119 (2007), 15,983 (2006), 15,746 (2005), NA (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.800%
2.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
1
Location
Southern Africa, group of islands at the northern mouth of the Mozambique Channel, about two-thirds of the way between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia
Area
2,235 km sq
331,210 km sq
Coastline
340 km
3,444 km
Climate
tropical marine; rainy season (November to May)
tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March)
