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 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7%
Languages
Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
French (official); note - each ethnic group has its own language
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
2.500%
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
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone
Area
331,210 km sq
245,857 km sq
Coastline
3,444 km
320 km
Climate
tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March)
generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds
