President: Nguyen Minh Triet Secretary-general of the Communist Party : Nguyen Phu Trong
Interim president: Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo
Population
91,519,289
1,628,603
Life Expectancy
72.410 years
49.110 years
Capital City
Hanoi
Largest city
Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh (population: 3,467,330)
Bissau (population: 388,028)
Human Development Index
0.718
0.383
GDP per capita
$3,400 US
Literacy Rate
90.3%
42.4%
Corruption Perception Index
2.7
1.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
25.8%
14%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
2.300%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
Communist state
republic
Independence date
2 September 1945 (from France)
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 50%, indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 10%
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)
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 and Senegal
Area
331,210 km sq
36,125 km sq
Coastline
3,444 km
350 km
Climate
tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March)
tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds
