President: Nguyen Minh Triet Secretary-general of the Communist Party : Nguyen Phu Trong
Population
8,296,693
91,519,289
Life Expectancy
70.710 years
72.410 years
Capital City
Tegucigalpa
Hanoi
Largest city
Tegucigalpa (population: 850,848)
Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh (population: 3,467,330)
Human Development Index
0.714
0.718
GDP per capita
$4,400 US
$3,400 US
Literacy Rate
80%
90.3%
Corruption Perception Index
2.6
2.7
Percentage of Women in Parliament
23.4%
25.8%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
4.800%
2.300%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Legal
Political System
democratic constitutional republic
Communist state
Independence date
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
2 September 1945 (from France)
Religions
Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%
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
Spanish, Amerindian dialects
Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
lempiras (HNL) per US dollar - 18.983 (2008 est.), 18.9 (2007), 18.895 (2006), 18.92 (2005), 18.206 (2004)
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
0.600%
2.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
1
Location
Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia
Area
112,090 km sq
331,210 km sq
Coastline
820 km
3,444 km
Climate
subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March)
