President: Nguyen Minh Triet Secretary-general of the Communist Party : Nguyen Phu Trong
President: The presidency rotates every eight months between a Serb, a Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) and a Croat. Prime minister: Vjekoslav Bevanda
Population
91,519,289
3,879,296
Life Expectancy
72.410 years
78.960 years
Capital City
Hanoi
Sarajevo
Largest city
Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh (population: 3,467,330)
Sarajevo (population: 696,731)
Human Development Index
0.718
0.802
GDP per capita
$3,400 US
$8,200 US
Literacy Rate
90.3%
96.7%
Corruption Perception Index
2.7
3.2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
25.8%
12.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
2.300%
43.300%
Death Penalty
Legal
NA
Political System
Communist state
emerging federal democratic republic
Independence date
2 September 1945 (from France)
1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia; referendum for independence completed 1 March 1992; independence declared 3 March 1992)
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 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, other 14%
Languages
Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
dong (VND) per US dollar - 16,548.3 (2008 est.), 16,119 (2007), 15,983 (2006), 15,746 (2005), NA (2004)
konvertibilna markas (BAM) per US dollar - 1.3083 (2008 est.), 1.4419 (2007), 1.5576 (2006), 1.5727 (2005), 1.5752 (2004) note: the convertible mark is pegged to the euro
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.500%
1.400%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
0
Location
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia
Area
331,210 km sq
51,197 km sq
Coastline
3,444 km
20 km
Climate
tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March)
hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast
