President: Nguyen Minh Triet Secretary-general of the Communist Party : Nguyen Phu Trong
President: Ilham Aliyev
Population
91,519,289
9,493,600
Life Expectancy
72.410 years
71.320 years
Capital City
Hanoi
Baku (Baki, Baky)
Largest city
Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh (population: 3,467,330)
Baku (population: 1,116,510)
Human Development Index
0.718
0.758
GDP per capita
$3,400 US
$10,300 US
Literacy Rate
90.3%
98.8%
Corruption Perception Index
2.7
1.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
25.8%
11.4%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
2.300%
1.000%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
Communist state
republic
Independence date
2 September 1945 (from France)
30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Religions
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)
Muslim 93.4%, Russian Orthodox 2.5%, Armenian Orthodox 2.3%, other 1.8% (1995 est.) note: religious affiliation is still nominal in Azerbaijan; percentages for actual practicing adherents are much lower
Languages
Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Azerbaijani (Azeri) 90.3%, Lezgi 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.3%, unspecified 1% (1999 census)
dong (VND) per US dollar - 16,548.3 (2008 est.), 16,119 (2007), 15,983 (2006), 15,746 (2005), NA (2004)
Azerbaijani manats (AZN) per US dollar - 0.8219 (2008 est.), 0.8581 (2007), 0.8934 (2006), 4,727.1 (2005), 4,913.48 (2004) note: on 1 January 2006 Azerbaijan revalued its currency, with 5,000 old manats equal to 1 new manat
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.500%
2.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
7
Location
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia
Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range
Area
331,210 km sq
86,600 km sq
Coastline
3,444 km
0 km
Climate
tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March)
