Vietnam: Difference between revisions
m China |
Cyberbot II (talk | contribs) Rescuing 1 sources. #IABot |
||
Line 578: | Line 578: | ||
*[http://www.gso.gov.vn/default_en.aspx?tabid=491 General Statistics Office] |
*[http://www.gso.gov.vn/default_en.aspx?tabid=491 General Statistics Office] |
||
*[http://www.mofa.gov.vn/en/ Ministry of Foreign Affairs] |
*[http://www.mofa.gov.vn/en/ Ministry of Foreign Affairs] |
||
*[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/world-leaders-v/vietnam.html Chief of State and Cabinet Members] |
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20081210074101/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/world-leaders-v/vietnam.html Chief of State and Cabinet Members] |
||
;Media and censorship |
;Media and censorship |
Revision as of 02:20, 28 February 2016
16°10′N 107°50′E / 16.167°N 107.833°E
Socialist Republic of Vietnam [Cộng Hòa Xã Hội Chủ Nghĩa Việt Nam] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) | |
---|---|
Motto: "Độc lập – Tự do – Hạnh phúc" "Independence – Freedom – Happiness" | |
Anthem: ["Tiến Quân Ca"] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (English: "Army March")[a] | |
![]() | |
Capital | Hanoi |
Largest city | Ho Chi Minh City[b] |
Official languages | Vietnamese |
Official scripts | Vietnamese |
Ethnic groups | |
Demonym(s) | Vietnamese |
Government | Socialist one-party state |
Nguyễn Phú Trọng | |
Trương Tấn Sang | |
Nguyễn Tấn Dũng | |
Nguyễn Sinh Hùng | |
Legislature | National Assembly |
Formation | |
2 September 1945 | |
30 April 1975 | |
2 July 1976[2] | |
28 November 2013[d] | |
Area | |
• Total | 332,698 km2 (128,455 sq mi) (65th) |
• Water (%) | 6.4[3] |
Population | |
• 2015 estimate | 91,700,000[4] (13th) |
• Density | 276.03/km2 (714.9/sq mi) (46th) |
GDP (PPP) | 2015 estimate |
• Total | $593,509 billion[4] |
• Per capita | $6,414[4] |
GDP (nominal) | 2015 estimate |
• Total | $214,750 billion[4] |
• Per capita | $2,321[4] |
Gini (2005–2013) | 35.6[5] medium inequality |
HDI (2014) | ![]() medium (116th) |
Currency | đồng (₫) (VND) |
Time zone | UTC+07:00 (Indochina Time) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+7 (No DST) |
Driving side | right |
Calling code | +84 |
ISO 3166 code | VN |
Internet TLD | .vn |
Vietnam (UK: /ˌvjɛtˈnæm, -ˈnɑːm/, US: /ˌviːətˈnɑːm, -ˈnæm/ ;[6] Vietnamese: Việt Nam [viət˨ næm˧] ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV; Vietnamese: Cộng Hòa Xã Hội Chủ Nghĩa Việt Nam ( )), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 90.5 million inhabitants as of 2014, it is the world's 14th-most-populous country, and the eighth-most-populous Asian country. The name Vietnam translates as "Southern Viet" (synonymous with the much older term Nam Viet); it was first officially adopted in 1802 by Emperor Gia Long, and was adopted again in 1945 with the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh. The country is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and Malaysia across the South China Sea to the southeast.[e] Its capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1975.
Vietnam was part of Imperial China for over a millennium, from 111 BC to AD 939. The Vietnamese became independent in 939, following the Vietnamese victory in the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Successive Vietnamese royal dynasties flourished as the nation expanded geographically and politically into Southeast Asia, until the Indochina Peninsula was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. Following a Japanese occupation in the 1940s, the Vietnamese fought French rule in the First Indochina War, eventually expelling the French in 1954. Thereafter, Vietnam was divided politically into two rival states, North and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified, with heavy intervention from the United States, in what is known as the Vietnam War. The war ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975.
Vietnam was then unified under a communist government but remained impoverished and politically isolated. In 1986, the government initiated a series of economic and political reforms which began Vietnam's path towards integration into the world economy.[8] By 2000, it had established diplomatic relations with all nations. Since 2000, Vietnam's economic growth rate has been among the highest in the world,[8] and, in 2011, it had the highest Global Growth Generators Index among 11 major economies.[9] Its successful economic reforms resulted in its joining the World Trade Organization in 2007.
Etymology
The name Việt Nam (Vietnamese pronunciation: [viə̀t naːm]) is a variation of Nam Việt (Chinese: 南越; pinyin: Nányuè; literally Southern Việt), a name that can be traced back to the Triệu Dynasty of the 2nd century BC.[10] The word Việt originated as a shortened form of Bách Việt (Chinese: 百越; pinyin: Bǎiyuè), a word applied to a group of peoples then living in southern China and Vietnam.[11] The form "Vietnam" (越南) is first recorded in the 16th-century oracular poem Sấm Trạng Trình. The name has also been found on 12 steles carved in the 16th and 17th centuries, including one at Bao Lam Pagoda in Haiphong that dates to 1558.[12]
Between 1804 and 1813, the name was used officially by Emperor Gia Long.[f] It was revived in the early 20th century by Phan Bội Châu's History of the Loss of Vietnam, and later by the Vietnamese Nationalist Party.[13] The country was usually called Annam until 1945, when both the imperial government in Huế and the Viet Minh government in Hanoi adopted Việt Nam.[14]
History
Prehistory and ancient history
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Trong_dong_Dong_Son_Guimet.jpg/220px-Trong_dong_Dong_Son_Guimet.jpg)
Archaeological excavations have revealed the existence of humans in what is now Vietnam as early as the Paleolithic age. Homo erectus fossils dating to around 500,000 BC have been found in caves in Lạng Sơn and Nghệ An provinces in northern Vietnam.[15] The oldest Homo sapiens fossils from mainland Southeast Asia are of Middle Pleistocene provenance, and include isolated tooth fragments from Tham Om and Hang Hum.[16] Teeth attributed to Homo sapiens from the Late Pleistocene have also been found at Dong Can,[17] and from the Early Holocene at Mai Da Dieu,[17] Lang Gao[18] and Lang Cuom.[19]
By about 1000 BC, the development of wet-rice cultivation and bronze casting in the Ma River and Red River floodplains led to the flourishing of the Đông Sơn culture, notable for its elaborate bronze drums. At this time, the early Vietnamese kingdoms of Văn Lang and Âu Lạc appeared, and the culture's influence spread to other parts of Southeast Asia, including Maritime Southeast Asia, throughout the first millennium BC.[20][21][22]
Dynastic Vietnam
The Hồng Bàng dynasty of the Hùng kings is considered the first Vietnamese state, known in Vietnamese as Văn Lang. In 257 BC, the last Hùng king was defeated by Thục Phán, who consolidated the Lạc Việt and Âu Việt tribes to form the Âu Lạc, proclaiming himself An Dương Vương. In 207 BC, a Chinese general named Zhao Tuo defeated An Dương Vương and consolidated Âu Lạc into Nanyue. However, Nanyue was itself incorporated into the empire of the Chinese Han dynasty in 111 BC after the Han–Nanyue War.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Territorial_expansion_of_Vietnam_from_L%C3%BD_dynasty_to_Nguy%E1%BB%85n_dynasty_%281009%E2%80%931834%29.gif/190px-Territorial_expansion_of_Vietnam_from_L%C3%BD_dynasty_to_Nguy%E1%BB%85n_dynasty_%281009%E2%80%931834%29.gif)
For the next thousand years, Vietnam remained mostly under Chinese rule.[23] Early independence movements, such as those of the Trưng Sisters and Lady Triệu, were only temporarily successful, though the region gained a longer period of independence as Vạn Xuân under the Anterior Lý dynasty between AD 544 and 602.[24] By the early 10th century, Vietnam had gained autonomy, but not true independence, under the Khúc family.
In AD 938, the Vietnamese lord Ngô Quyền defeated the forces of the Chinese Southern Han state at Bạch Đằng River and achieved full independence for Vietnam after a millennium of Chinese domination.[25] Renamed as Đại Việt (Great Viet), the nation enjoyed a golden era under the Lý and Trần dynasties. During the rule of the Trần Dynasty, Đại Việt repelled three Mongol invasions.[26] Meanwhile, Buddhism flourished and became the state religion.
Following the 1406–7 Ming–Hồ War which overthrew the Hồ dynasty, Vietnamese independence was briefly interrupted by the Chinese Ming dynasty, but was restored by Lê Lợi, the founder of the Lê dynasty. The Vietnamese dynasties reached their zenith in the Lê dynasty of the 15th century, especially during the reign of Emperor Lê Thánh Tông (1460–1497). Between the 11th and 18th centuries, Vietnam expanded southward in a process known as [nam tiến] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("southward expansion"),[27] eventually conquering the kingdom of Champa and part of the Khmer Empire.[28][29]
From the 16th century onwards, civil strife and frequent political infighting engulfed much of Vietnam. First, the Chinese-supported Mạc dynasty challenged the Lê dynasty's power. After the Mạc dynasty was defeated, the Lê dynasty was nominally reinstalled, but actual power was divided between the northern Trịnh lords and the southern Nguyễn lords, who engaged in a civil war for more than four decades before a truce was called in the 1670s. During this time, the Nguyễn expanded southern Vietnam into the Mekong Delta, annexing the Central Highlands and the Khmer lands in the Mekong Delta.
The division of the country ended a century later when the Tây Sơn brothers established a new dynasty. However, their rule did not last long, and they were defeated by the remnants of the Nguyễn lords, led by Nguyễn Ánh and aided by the French.[30] Nguyễn Ánh unified Vietnam, and established the Nguyễn dynasty, ruling under the name Gia Long.
1862–1945: French Indochina
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Indochine_fran%C3%A7aise_%281913%29.jpg/220px-Indochine_fran%C3%A7aise_%281913%29.jpg)
Vietnam's independence was gradually eroded by France – aided by large Catholic militias – in a series of military conquests between 1859 and 1885. In 1862, the southern third of the country became the French colony of Cochinchina. By 1884, the entire country had come under French rule and was formally integrated into the union of French Indochina in 1887. The French administration imposed significant political and cultural changes on Vietnamese society. A Western-style system of modern education was developed, and Roman Catholicism was propagated widely. Most French settlers in Indochina were concentrated in Cochinchina, particularly in the region of Saigon.[31] The royalist Cần Vương movement rebelled against French rule and was defeated in the 1890s after a decade of resistance. Guerrillas of the Cần Vương movement murdered around a third of Vietnam's Christian population during this period.[32]
Developing a plantation economy to promote the export of tobacco, indigo, tea and coffee, the French largely ignored increasing calls for Vietnamese self-government and civil rights. A nationalist political movement soon emerged, with leaders such as Phan Bội Châu, Phan Chu Trinh, Phan Đình Phùng, Emperor Hàm Nghi and Ho Chi Minh fighting or calling for independence. However, the 1930 Yên Bái mutiny of the Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng was suppressed easily.[33] The French maintained full control of their colonies until World War II, when the war in the Pacific led to the Japanese invasion of French Indochina in 1940. Afterwards, the Japanese Empire was allowed to station its troops in Vietnam while permitting the pro-Vichy French colonial administration to continue. Japan exploited Vietnam's natural resources to support its military campaigns, culminating in a full-scale takeover of the country in March 1945 and the Vietnamese Famine of 1945, which caused up to two million deaths.[34]
1946–54: First Indochina War
In 1941, the Viet Minh – a communist and nationalist liberation movement – emerged under the Marxist–Leninist revolutionary Ho Chi Minh, who sought independence for Vietnam from France and the end of the Japanese occupation. Following the military defeat of Japan and the fall of its puppet Empire of Vietnam in August 1945, the Viet Minh occupied Hanoi and proclaimed a provisional government, which asserted national independence on 2 September. In the same year, the Provisional Government of the French Republic sent the French Far East Expeditionary Corps to restore colonial rule, and the Viet Minh began a guerrilla campaign against the French in late 1946.[35] The resulting First Indochina War lasted until July 1954.[36]
The defeat of French and Vietnamese loyalists in the 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu allowed Ho Chi Minh to negotiate a ceasefire from a favorable position at the subsequent Geneva Conference. The colonial administration was ended and French Indochina was dissolved under the Geneva Accords of 1954, which separated the loyalist forces from the communists at the 17th parallel north with the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone.[g] Two states formed after the partition – Ho Chi Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the north and Emperor Bảo Đại's State of Vietnam in the south. A 300-day period of free movement was permitted, during which almost a million northerners, mainly Catholics, moved south, fearing persecution by the communists.[40]
The partition of Vietnam was not intended to be permanent by the Geneva Accords, which stipulated that Vietnam would be reunited after elections in 1956.[41] However, in 1955, the State of Vietnam's Prime Minister, Ngô Đình Diệm, toppled Bảo Đại in a fraudulent referendum organised by his brother Ngô Đình Nhu, and proclaimed himself president of the Republic of Vietnam.[42]
1954–1975: Vietnam War
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Defoliation_agent_spraying.jpg/220px-Defoliation_agent_spraying.jpg)
The pro-Hanoi Viet Cong began a guerrilla campaign in the late 1950s to overthrow Diệm's government.[43] In the North, the communist government launched a land reform program,[44] and executed between 50,000[45] and 172,000[44] people in campaigns against wealthy farmers and landowners, amid broader purges.[44][46][47][48] In 1960 and 1962, the Soviet Union and North Vietnam signed treaties providing for further Soviet military support. In the South, Diệm went about crushing political and religious opposition, imprisoning or executing tens of thousands.[49][50]
In 1963, Buddhist discontent with Diệm's regime erupted into mass demonstrations, leading to a violent government crackdown.[51] This led to the collapse of Diệm's relationship with the United States, and ultimately to the 1963 coup in which Diệm and Nhu were assassinated.[52] The Diệm era was followed by more than a dozen successive military governments, before the pairing of Air Marshal Nguyễn Cao Kỳ and General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu took control in mid-1965. Thieu gradually outmaneuvered Ky and cemented his grip on power in fraudulent elections in 1967 and 1971.[53] Under this political instability, the communists began to gain ground.
To support South Vietnam's struggle against the communist insurgency, the United States began increasing its contribution of military advisers, using the 1964 Tonkin Gulf incident as a pretext for such intervention. US forces became involved in ground combat operations in 1965, and at their peak they numbered more than 500,000.[54][55] The US also engaged in a sustained aerial bombing campaign. Meanwhile, China and the Soviet Union provided North Vietnam with significant material aid and 15,000 combat advisers.[56][57] Communist forces supplying the Viet Cong carried supplies along the Ho Chi Minh trail, which passed through Laos.[58]
The communists attacked South Vietnamese targets during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Although the campaign failed militarily, it shocked the American establishment, and turned US public opinion against the war.[59][60] Facing an increasing casualty count, rising domestic opposition to the war, and growing international condemnation, the US began withdrawing from ground combat roles in the early 1970s. This process also entailed an unsuccessful effort to strengthen and stabilize South Vietnam.[61]
Following the Paris Peace Accords of 27 January 1973, all American combat troops were withdrawn by 29 March 1973. In December 1974, North Vietnam captured the province of Phước Long and started a full-scale offensive, culminating in the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975.[62] South Vietnam was briefly ruled by a provisional government while under military occupation by North Vietnam. On 2 July 1976, North and South Vietnam were merged to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.[2] The war left Vietnam devastated, with the total death toll standing at between 800,000 and 3.1 million.[34][63][64]
1976–present: reunification and reforms
In the aftermath of the war, under Lê Duẩn's administration, the government embarked on a mass campaign of collectivization of farms and factories.[65] This caused economic chaos and resulted in triple-digit inflation, while national reconstruction efforts progressed slowly. At least one million South Vietnamese were sent to reeducation camps, with an estimated 165,000 prisoners dying.[66][67] Between 100,000[66][68][69] and 200,000[70] South Vietnamese were executed in extrajudicial killings;[71] another 50,000 died performing hard labor in "New Economic Zones".[66][72] In the late 1970s and early 1980s, millions of people fled the country in crudely built boats, creating an international humanitarian crisis;[73][74] hundreds of thousands died at sea.[75]
In 1978, the Vietnamese military invaded Cambodia to remove from power the Khmer Rouge, who had been attacking Vietnamese border villages.[76] Vietnam was victorious, installing a government in Cambodia which ruled until 1989.[77] This action worsened relations with the Chinese, who launched a brief incursion into northern Vietnam in 1979.[78] This conflict caused Vietnam to rely even more heavily on Soviet economic and military aid.
At the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam in December 1986, reformist politicians replaced the "old guard" government with new leadership.[79][80] The reformers were led by 71-year-old Nguyễn Văn Linh, who became the party's new general secretary.[79][80] Linh and the reformers implemented a series of free-market reforms – known as Đổi Mới ("Renovation") – which carefully managed the transition from a planned economy to a "socialist-oriented market economy".[81][82]
Though the authority of the state remained unchallenged under Đổi Mới, the government encouraged private ownership of farms and factories, economic deregulation and foreign investment, while maintaining control over strategic industries.[82] The Vietnamese economy subsequently achieved strong growth in agricultural and industrial production, construction, exports and foreign investment. However, these reforms have also caused a rise in income inequality and gender disparities.[83][84][85]
Government and politics
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Presidential_Palace_Hanoi_388606781_40a24f0ceb.jpg/220px-Presidential_Palace_Hanoi_388606781_40a24f0ceb.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Ho_Chi_Minh_Mausoleum_2006.jpg/220px-Ho_Chi_Minh_Mausoleum_2006.jpg)
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam, along with China, Cuba, and Laos, is one of the world's four remaining one-party socialist states officially espousing communism. Its current state constitution, 2013 Constitution, asserts the central role of the Communist Party of Vietnam in all organs of government, politics and society. The General Secretary of the Communist Party performs numerous key administrative and executive functions, controlling the party's national organization and state appointments, as well as setting policy. Only political organizations affiliated with or endorsed by the Communist Party are permitted to contest elections in Vietnam. These include the Vietnamese Fatherland Front and worker and trade unionist parties. Although the state remains officially committed to socialism as its defining creed, its economic policies have grown increasingly capitalist,[86] with The Economist characterizing its leadership as "ardently capitalist communists".[87]
Legislature
The National Assembly of Vietnam is the unicameral legislature of the state, composed of 498 members. Headed by a Chairman, it is superior to both the executive and judicial branches, with all government ministers being appointed from members of the National Assembly.
Executive
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B4_%D0%B2_%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C_70-%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%92%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%B4%D1%8B_-_18.jpg/220px-%D0%9F%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B4_%D0%B2_%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C_70-%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%92%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%B4%D1%8B_-_18.jpg)
The President of Vietnam is the titular head of state and the nominal commander-in-chief of the military, serving as the Chairman of the Council of Supreme Defense and Security. The Prime Minister of Vietnam is the head of government, presiding over a council of ministers composed of three deputy prime ministers and the heads of 26 ministries and commissions.
Judiciary
The Supreme People's Court of Vietnam, headed by a Chief Justice, is the country's highest court of appeal, though it is also answerable to the National Assembly. Beneath the Supreme People's Court stand the provincial municipal courts and numerous local courts. Military courts possess special jurisdiction in matters of national security. Vietnam maintains the death penalty for numerous offences; as of February 2014, there are around 700 inmates on death row in Vietnam.[88]
Military
The Vietnam People's Armed Forces consists of the Vietnam People's Army, the Vietnam People's Public Security and the Vietnam Civil Defense Force. The Vietnam People's Army (VPA) is the official name for the active military services of Vietnam, and is subdivided into the Vietnam People's Ground Forces, the Vietnam People's Navy, the Vietnam People's Air Force, the Vietnam Border Defense Force and the Vietnam Coast Guard. The VPA has an active manpower of around 450,000, but its total strength, including paramilitary forces, may be as high as 5,000,000.[89] In 2011, Vietnam's military expenditure totalled approximately US$2.48 billion, equivalent to around 2.5% of its 2010 GDP.[90]
International relations
Throughout its history, Vietnam's key foreign relationship has been with its largest neighbour and one-time imperial master, China. Vietnam's sovereign principles and insistence on cultural independence have been laid down in numerous documents over the centuries, such as the 11th-century patriotic poem Nam quốc sơn hà and the 1428 proclamation of independence Bình Ngô đại cáo. Though China and Vietnam are now formally at peace, significant territorial tensions remain between the two countries.[91]
Currently, the formal mission statement of Vietnamese foreign policy is to: "Implement consistently the foreign policy line of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development; the foreign policy of openness and diversification and multi-lateralization of international relations. Proactively and actively engage in international economic integration while expanding international cooperation in other fields."[92] Vietnam furthermore declares itself to be "a friend and reliable partner of all countries in the international community, actively taking part in international and regional cooperation processes."[92]
By December 2007, Vietnam had established diplomatic relations with 172 countries, including the United States, which normalized relations in 1995.[93][94] Vietnam holds membership of 63 international organizations, including the United Nations, ASEAN, NAM, Francophonie and WTO. It also maintains relations with over 650 non-government organizations.[95]
Administrative subdivisions
Vietnam is divided into 58 provinces (Vietnamese: tỉnh, from the Chinese 省, shěng). There are also five municipalities (thành phố trực thuộc trung ương), which are administratively on the same level as provinces. Template:Vietnam Provinces Image Map
Bắc Ninh |
Bắc Giang |
|
Hà Tĩnh |
|
Bình Định |
Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu |
An Giang |
The provinces are subdivided into provincial municipalities (thành phố trực thuộc tỉnh), townships (thị xã) and counties (huyện), which are in turn subdivided into towns (thị trấn) or communes (xã). The centrally controlled municipalities are subdivided into districts (quận) and counties, which are further subdivided into wards (phường).
Geography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Vietnam_Topography.png/220px-Vietnam_Topography.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Vietnam_map_of_K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification.svg/220px-Vietnam_map_of_K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification.svg.png)
Vietnam is located on the eastern Indochina Peninsula between the latitudes 8° and 24°N, and the longitudes 102° and 110°E. It covers a total area of approximately 331,210 km2 (127,881 sq mi),[3] making it almost the size of Germany. The combined length of the country's land boundaries is 4,639 km (2,883 mi), and its coastline is 3,444 km (2,140 mi) long.[3] At its narrowest point in the central Quảng Bình Province, the country is as little as 50 kilometres (31 mi) across, though it widens to around 600 kilometres (370 mi) in the north. Vietnam's land is mostly hilly and densely forested, with level land covering no more than 20%. Mountains account for 40% of the country's land area, and tropical forests cover around 42%.
The northern part of the country consists mostly of highlands and the Red River Delta. Phan Xi Păng, located in Lào Cai Province, is the highest mountain in Vietnam, standing 3,143 m (10,312 ft) high. Southern Vietnam is divided into coastal lowlands, the mountains of the Annamite Range, and extensive forests. Comprising five relatively flat plateaus of basalt soil, the highlands account for 16% of the country's arable land and 22% of its total forested land. The soil in much of southern Vietnam is relatively poor in nutrients.
The Red River Delta, a flat, roughly triangular region covering 15,000 km2 (5,792 sq mi),[96] is smaller but more intensely developed and more densely populated than the Mekong River Delta. Once an inlet of the Gulf of Tonkin, it has been filled in over the millennia by riverine alluvial deposits. The delta, covering about 40,000 km2 (15,444 sq mi), is a low-level plain no more than 3 meters (9.8 ft) above sea level at any point. It is criss-crossed by a maze of rivers and canals, which carry so much sediment that the delta advances 60 to 80 meters (196.9 to 262.5 ft) into the sea every year.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/HaLongBayBIG.jpg/750px-HaLongBayBIG.jpg)
Climate
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Mai_Chau_-_Haus_im_Reisfeld%2C_Palmen.jpg/220px-Mai_Chau_-_Haus_im_Reisfeld%2C_Palmen.jpg)
Because of differences in latitude and the marked variety in topographical relief, the climate tends to vary considerably from place to place. During the winter or dry season, extending roughly from November to April, the monsoon winds usually blow from the northeast along the Chinese coast and across the Gulf of Tonkin, picking up considerable moisture. Consequently, the winter season in most parts of the country is dry only by comparison with the rainy or summer season. The average annual temperature is generally higher in the plains than in the mountains, and higher in the south than in the north. Temperatures vary less in the southern plains around Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta, ranging between 21 and 28 °C (69.8 and 82.4 °F) over the course of the year. Seasonal variations in the mountains and plateaus and in the north are much more dramatic, with temperatures varying from 5 °C (41.0 °F) in December and January to 37 °C (98.6 °F) in July and August.
Ecology and biodiversity
Vietnam has two World Natural Heritage Sites – Hạ Long Bay and Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park – and six biosphere reserves, including Cần Giờ Mangrove Forest, Cát Tiên, Cát Bà, Kiên Giang, the Red River Delta, and Western Nghệ An.
Vietnam lies in the Indomalaya ecozone. According to the 2005 National Environmental Present Condition Report.[97] Vietnam is one of twenty-five countries considered to possess a uniquely high level of biodiversity. It is ranked 16th worldwide in biological diversity, being home to approximately 16% of the world's species. 15,986 species of flora have been identified in the country, of which 10% are endemic, while Vietnam's fauna include 307 nematode species, 200 oligochaeta, 145 acarina, 113 springtails, 7,750 insects, 260 reptiles, 120 amphibians, 840 birds and 310 mammals, of which 100 birds and 78 mammals are endemic.[97]
Vietnam is furthermore home to 1,438 species of freshwater microalgae, constituting 9.6% of all microalgae species, as well as 794 aquatic invertebrates and 2,458 species of sea fish.[97] In recent years, 13 genera, 222 species, and 30 taxa of flora have been newly described in Vietnam.[97] Six new mammal species, including the saola, giant muntjac and Tonkin snub-nosed monkey have also been discovered, along with one new bird species, the endangered Edwards's pheasant.[98] In the late 1980s, a small population of Javan rhinoceros was found in Cát Tiên National Park. However, the last individual of the species in Vietnam was reportedly shot in 2010.[99]
In agricultural genetic diversity, Vietnam is one of the world's twelve original cultivar centers. The Vietnam National Cultivar Gene Bank preserves 12,300 cultivars of 115 species.[97] The Vietnamese government spent US$49.07 million on the preservation of biodiversity in 2004 alone, and has established 126 conservation areas, including 28 national parks.[97]
Economy
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Rice_fields_near_Sapa%2C_Vi%C3%AAt_Nam.jpg/220px-Rice_fields_near_Sapa%2C_Vi%C3%AAt_Nam.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/LANDMARK72.jpg/220px-LANDMARK72.jpg)
In 2012, Vietnam's nominal GDP reached US$138 billion, with a nominal GDP per capita of $1,527, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).[4] According to a December 2005 forecast by Goldman Sachs, the Vietnamese economy will become the world's 21st-largest by 2025, with an estimated nominal GDP of $436 billion and a nominal GDP per capita of $4,357.[100] According to a 2008 forecast by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Vietnam may be the fastest-growing of the world's emerging economies by 2025, with a potential growth rate of almost 10% per annum in real dollar terms.[101] In 2012, HSBC predicted that Vietnam's total GDP would surpass those of Norway, Singapore and Portugal by 2050.[102]
Vietnam has been, for much of its history, a predominantly agricultural civilization based on wet rice cultivation. There is also an industry for bauxite mining in Vietnam, an important material for the production of aluminum. However, the Vietnam War destroyed much of the country's agrarian economy, leading the post-war government to implement a planned economy to revitalise agriculture and industrialise the nation. The collectivization of farms, factories and economic capital was implemented, and millions of people were put to work in government programs. For a decade following the Vietnam War, Vietnam's economy was plagued with inefficiency and corruption in state programs, poor quality and underproduction, and restrictions on economic activity. It also suffered from the post-war trade embargo instituted by the United States and most of Europe. These problems were compounded by the erosion of the Soviet bloc, which included Vietnam's main trading partners, in the late 1980s.
In 1986, the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party introduced socialist-oriented market economic reforms as part of the Đổi Mới reform program. Private ownership was encouraged in industries, commerce and agriculture.[103] Thanks largely to these reforms, Vietnam achieved around 8% annual GDP growth between 1990 to 1997, and the economy continued to grow at an annual rate of around 7% from 2000 to 2005, making Vietnam one of the world's fastest growing economies. Growth remained strong even in the face of the late-2000s global recession, holding at 6.8% in 2010, but Vietnam's year-on-year inflation rate hit 11.8% in December 2010, according to a GSO estimate. The Vietnamese dong was devalued three times in 2010 alone.[104]
Manufacturing, information technology and high-tech industries now form a large and fast-growing part of the national economy. Though Vietnam is a relative newcomer to the oil industry, it is currently the third-largest oil producer in Southeast Asia, with a total 2011 output of 318,000 barrels per day (50,600 m3/d).[105] In 2010, Vietnam was ranked as the 8th largest crude petroleum producers in the Asia and Pacific region.[106] Like its Chinese neighbours, Vietnam continues to make use of centrally planned economic five-year plans.
Deep poverty, defined as the percentage of the population living on less than $1 per day, has declined significantly in Vietnam, and the relative poverty rate is now less than that of China, India, and the Philippines.[107] This decline in the poverty rate can be attributed to equitable economic policies aimed at improving living standards and preventing the rise of inequality; these policies have included egalitarian land distribution during the initial stages of the Đổi Mới program, investment in poorer remote areas, and subsidising of education and healthcare.[108] According to the IMF, the unemployment rate in Vietnam stood at 4.46% in 2012.[4]
Trade
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/CanThoFloatingMarket.jpg/220px-CanThoFloatingMarket.jpg)
Since the early 2000s, Vietnam has applied sequenced trade liberalisation, a two-track approach opening some sectors of the economy to international markets while protecting others.[108][109] In July 2006, Vietnam updated its intellectual property legislation to comply with TRIPS, and it became a member of the WTO on 11 January 2007. Vietnam is now one of Asia's most open economies: two-way trade was valued at around 160% of GDP in 2006, more than twice the contemporary ratio for China and over four times the ratio for India.[110] Vietnam's chief trading partners include China, Japan, Australia, the ASEAN countries, the United States and Western Europe.
Vietnam's Customs office reported in July 2013 that the total value of international merchandise trade for the first half of 2013 was US$124 billion, which was 15.7% higher than the same period in 2012. Mobile phones and their parts were both imported and exported in large numbers, while in the natural resources market, crude oil was a top-ranking export and high levels of iron and steel were imported during this period. The U.S. was the country that purchased the highest amount of Vietnam's exports, while Chinese goods were the most popular Vietnamese import.[111]
As a result of several land reform measures, Vietnam has become a major exporter of agricultural products. It is now the world's largest producer of cashew nuts, with a one-third global share; the largest producer of black pepper, accounting for one-third of the world's market; and the second-largest rice exporter in the world, after Thailand. Vietnam is the world's second largest exporter of coffee.[112] Vietnam has the highest proportion of land use for permanent crops – 6.93% – of any nation in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Other primary exports include tea, rubber, and fishery products. However, agriculture's share of Vietnam's GDP has fallen in recent decades, declining from 42% in 1989 to 20% in 2006, as production in other sectors of the economy has risen.
In 2014 Vietnam negotiated a free trade agreement with the European Union, giving the country access to the EU's Generalized System of Preferences. This provides preferential access to European markets for developing countries through reduced tariffs.[113]
Science and technology
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/TOPIO_3.jpg/220px-TOPIO_3.jpg)
Vietnamese scholars developed many academic fields during the dynastic era, most notably social sciences and the humanities. The country boasts a millennium-deep legacy of analytical histories, such as the Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư of Ngô Sĩ Liên. Vietnamese monks led by the abdicated Emperor Trần Nhân Tông developed the Trúc Lâm Zen branch of philosophy in the 13th century. Arithmetics and geometry have been widely taught in Vietnam since the 15th century, using the textbook Đại thành toán pháp by Lương Thế Vinh as a basis. Lương Thế Vinh introduced Vietnam to the notion of zero, while Mạc Hiển Tích used the term số ẩn (en: "unknown/secret/hidden number") to refer to negative numbers. Vietnamese scholars furthermore produced numerous encyclopedias, such as Lê Quý Đôn's Vân đài loại ngữ.
In recent times, Vietnamese scientists have made many significant contributions in various fields of study, most notably in mathematics. Hoàng Tụy pioneered the applied mathematics field of global optimization in the 20th century, while Ngô Bảo Châu won the 2010 Fields Medal for his proof of fundamental lemma in the theory of automorphic forms. Vietnam is currently working to develop an indigenous space program, and plans to construct the US$600 million Vietnam Space Center by 2018.[114] Vietnam has also made significant advances in the development of robots, such as the TOPIO humanoid model.[115] In 2010, Vietnam's total state spending on science and technology equalled around 0.45% of its GDP.[116]
Transport
Much of Vietnam's modern transport network was originally developed under French rule to facilitate the transportation of raw materials, and was reconstructed and extensively modernized following the Vietnam War.
Air
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Vietnam_Airlines_Boeing_777-200ER_VN-A141_SGN_2008-4-6.png/220px-Vietnam_Airlines_Boeing_777-200ER_VN-A141_SGN_2008-4-6.png)
Vietnam operates 21 major civil airports, including three international gateways: Noi Bai in Hanoi, Da Nang International Airport in Da Nang, and Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City. Tan Son Nhat is the nation's largest airport, handling 75% of international passenger traffic. According to a state-approved plan, Vietnam will have 10 international airports by 2015 – besides the aforementioned three, these include Lien Khuong International Airport, Phu Bai International Airport, Cam Ranh International Airport, Phu Quoc International Airport, Cat Bi International Airport, Cần Thơ International Airport and Long Thanh International Airport. The planned Long Thanh International Airport will have an annual service capacity of 100 million passengers once it becomes fully operational in 2020.
Vietnam Airlines, the state-owned national airline, maintains a fleet of 69 passenger aircraft,[117][118] and aims to operate 150 by 2020. Several private airlines are also in operation in Vietnam, including Air Mekong, Jetstar Pacific Airlines, VASCO and VietJet Air.
Road
Vietnam's road system includes national roads administered at the central level; provincial roads managed at the provincial level; district roads managed at the district level; urban roads managed by cities and towns; and commune roads managed at the commune level. Bicycles, motor scooters and motorcycles remain the most popular forms of road transport in Vietnam's urban areas, although the number of privately owned automobiles is also on the rise, especially in the larger cities. Public buses operated by private companies are the main mode of long-distance travel for much of the population.
Road safety is a serious issue in Vietnam – on average, 30 people are killed in traffic accidents every day.[119] Traffic congestion is a growing problem in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, as the cities' roads struggle to cope with the boom in automobile use.
Rail
Vietnam's primary cross-country rail service is the Reunification Express, which runs from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, covering a distance of nearly 2,000 kilometres. From Hanoi, railway lines branch out to the northeast, north and west; the eastbound line runs from Hanoi to Hạ Long Bay, the northbound line from Hanoi to Thái Nguyên, and the northeast line from Hanoi to Lào Cai.
In 2009, Vietnam and Japan signed a deal to build a high-speed railway using Japanese technology; numerous Vietnamese engineers were later sent to Japan to receive training in the operation and maintenance of high-speed trains. The railway will be a 1,630-km-long[120] express route, serving a total of 26 stations, including Hanoi and the Thu Thiem terminus in Ho Chi Minh City.[121] Using Japan's Shinkansen technology,[122] the line will support trains travelling at a maximum speed of 360 kilometres (220 mi) per hour. The high-speed lines linking Hanoi to Vinh, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City will be laid by 2015. From 2015 to 2020, construction will begin on the routes between Vinh and Nha Trang and between Hanoi and the northern provinces of Lào Cai and Lạng Sơn.
Water
As a coastal country, Vietnam has many major sea ports, including Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Gai, Qui Nhơn, Vũng Tàu and Nha Trang. Further inland, the country's extensive network of rivers play a key role in rural transportation, with over 17,700 kilometres (11,000 mi) of navigable waterways carrying ferries, barges and water taxis.[123][124]
In addition, the Mekong Delta and Red River Delta are vital to Vietnam's social and economic welfare – most of the country's population lives along or near these river deltas, and the major cities of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are situated near the Mekong and Red River deltas, respectively. Further out in the South China Sea, Vietnam currently controls the majority of the disputed Spratly Islands, which are the source of longstanding disagreements with China and other nearby nations.[125]
Water supply and sanitation
Water supply and sanitation in Vietnam is characterized by challenges and achievements. Among the achievements is a substantial increase in access to water supply and sanitation between 1990 and 2010, nearly universal metering, and increased investment in wastewater treatment since 2007. Among the challenges are continued widespread water pollution, poor service quality, low access to improved sanitation in rural areas, poor sustainability of rural water systems, insufficient cost recovery for urban sanitation, and the declining availability of foreign grant and soft loan funding as the Vietnamese economy grows and donors shift to loan financing. The government also promotes increased cost recovery through tariff revenues and has created autonomous water utilities at the provincial level, but the policy has had mixed success as tariff levels remain low and some utilities have engaged in activities outside their mandate.
Demographics
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Hmong_women_at_Coc_Ly_market%2C_Sapa%2C_Vietnam.jpg/170px-Hmong_women_at_Coc_Ly_market%2C_Sapa%2C_Vietnam.jpg)
As of 2014, the population of Vietnam as standing at approximately 90.7 million people. The population had grown significantly from the 1979 census, which showed the total population of reunified Vietnam to be 52.7 million.[126] In 2012, the country's population was estimated at approximately 90.3 million.[4] Currently, the total fertility rate of Vietnam is 1.8 (births per woman),[127] which is largely due to the government's family planning policy, the two-child policy.
Ethnicity
According to the 2009 census, the dominant Viet or Kinh ethnic group constituted nearly 73.6 million people, or 85.8% of the population. The Kinh population is concentrated mainly in the alluvial deltas and coastal plains of the country. A largely homogeneous social and ethnic group, the Kinh possess significant political and economic influence over the country. However, Vietnam is also home to 54 ethnic minority groups, including the Hmong, Dao, Tay, Thai, and Nùng. Many ethnic minorities – such as the Muong, who are closely related to the Kinh – dwell in the highlands, which cover two-thirds of Vietnam's territory. Before the Vietnam War, the population of the Central Highlands was almost exclusively Degar (including over 40 tribal groups); however, Ngô Đình Diệm's South Vietnamese government enacted a program of resettling Kinh in indigenous areas.[128] The Hoa (ethnic Chinese)[129] and Khmer Krom people are mainly lowlanders. As Sino-Vietnamese relations soured in 1978 and 1979, some 450,000 Hoa left Vietnam.[130]
Languages
The official national language of Vietnam is Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt), a tonal Mon–Khmer language which is spoken by the majority of the population. In its early history, Vietnamese writing used Chinese characters. In the 13th century, the Vietnamese developed their own set of characters, referred to as Chữ nôm. The folk epic [[[The Tale of Kieu|Truyện Kiều]]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("The Tale of Kieu", originally known as Đoạn trường tân thanh) by Nguyễn Du was written in Chữ nôm. Quốc ngữ, the romanized Vietnamese alphabet used for spoken Vietnamese, was developed in the 17th century by the Jesuit Alexandre de Rhodes and several other Catholic missionaries.[131] Quốc ngữ became widely popular and brought literacy to the Vietnamese masses during the French colonial period.[131]
Vietnam's minority groups speak a variety of languages, including Tày, Mường, Cham, Khmer, Chinese, Nùng, and H'Mông. The Montagnard peoples of the Central Highlands also speak a number of distinct languages.[132] A number of sign languages have developed in the cities.
The French language, a legacy of colonial rule, is spoken by many educated Vietnamese as a second language, especially among the older generation and those educated in the former South Vietnam, where it was a principal language in administration, education and commerce; Vietnam remains a full member of the Francophonie, and education has revived some interest in the language.[133][134] Russian – and to a much lesser extent German, Czech and Polish – are known among some Vietnamese whose families had ties with the Soviet bloc during the Cold War.[135] In recent years, as Vietnam's contacts with Western nations have increased, English has become more popular as a second language. The study of English is now obligatory in most schools, either alongside or in many cases, replacing French.[135][136] Japanese and Korean have also grown in popularity as Vietnam's links with other East Asian nations have strengthened.
Religion
According to an analysis by the Pew Research Center, in 2010 about 45.3% of the Vietnamese adhere to indigenous religions, 16.4% to Buddhism, 8.2% to Christianity, 0.4% to other faiths, and 29.6% of the population isn't religious.[137]
According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam's report for 1 April 2009, 6.8 million (or 7.9% of the total population) are practicing Buddhists, 5.7 million (6.6%) are Catholics, 1.4 million (1.7%) are adherents of Hòa Hảo, 0.8 million (0.9%) practise Caodaism, and 0.7 million (0.9%) are Protestants. In total, 15,651,467 Vietnamese (18.2%) are formally registered in a religion.[138] According to the 2009 census, while over 10 million people have taken refuge in the Three Jewels of Buddhism,[139][140] the vast majority of Vietnamese people practice ancestor worship in some form. According to a 2007 report, 81% of the Vietnamese people do not believe in God.[141]
About 8% of the population are Christians, totalling around six million Roman Catholics and fewer than one million Protestants. Christianity was first introduced to Vietnam by Portuguese and Dutch traders in the 16th and 17th centuries, and was further propagated by French missionaries in the 19th and 20th centuries, and to a lesser extent, by American Protestant missionaries during the Vietnam War, largely among the Montagnards of South Vietnam.
The largest Protestant churches are the Evangelical Church of Vietnam and the Montagnard Evangelical Church. Two-thirds of Vietnam's Protestants are reportedly members of ethnic minorities.[142] Although a small religious minority, Protestantism is claimed to be the country's fastest-growing religion, expanding at a rate of 600% in the previous decade.[143]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/CaoDaiMain.jpg/220px-CaoDaiMain.jpg)
The Vietnamese government is widely seen as suspicious of Roman Catholicism. This mistrust originated during the 19th century, when some Catholics collaborated with the French colonists in conquering and ruling the country and in helping French attempts to install Catholic emperors, such as in the Lê Văn Khôi revolt of 1833. Furthermore, the Catholic Church's strongly anti-communist stance has made it an enemy of the Vietnamese state. The Vatican Church is officially banned, and only government-controlled Catholic organisations are permitted. However, the Vatican has attempted to negotiate the opening of diplomatic relations with Vietnam in recent years.[144]
Several other minority faiths exist in Vietnam. A significant number of people are adherents of Caodaism, an indigenous folk religion which has structured itself on the model of the Catholic Church. Sunni and Cham Bani Islam is primarily practiced by the ethnic Cham minority, though there are also a few ethnic Vietnamese adherents in the southwest. In total, there are approximately 70,000 Muslims in Vietnam,[145] while around 50,000 Hindus and a small number of Baha'is are also in evidence.
The Vietnamese government rejects allegations that it does not allow religious freedom. The state's official position on religion is that all citizens are free to their belief, and that all religions are equal before the law.[146] Nevertheless, only government-approved religious organisations are allowed; for example, the South Vietnam-founded Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam is banned in favour of a communist-approved body.[147]
Education
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Hanoi_dhyk.jpg/220px-Hanoi_dhyk.jpg)
Vietnam has an extensive state-controlled network of schools, colleges and universities, and a growing number of privately run and partially privatised institutions. General education in Vietnam is divided into five categories: kindergarten, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and universities. A large number of public schools have been constructed across the country to raise the national literacy rate, which stood at 90.3% in 2008.[148]
A large number of Vietnam's most acclaimed universities are based in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Facing serious crises, Vietnam's education system is under a holistic program of reform launched by the government. Education is not free; therefore, some poor families may have trouble paying tuition for their children without some form of public or private assistance. Regardless, school enrollment is among the highest in the world,[149][150] and the number of colleges and universities increased dramatically in the 2000s, from 178 in 2000 to 299 in 2005.
Health
In 2009, Vietnam's national life expectancy stood at 76 years for women and 72 for men,[151] and the infant mortality rate was 12 per 1,000 live births.[152] By 2009, 85% of the population had access to improved water sources.[151] However, malnutrition is still common in the rural provinces.[153] In 2001, government spending on health care corresponded to just 0.9% of Vietnam's gross domestic product (GDP), with state subsidies covering only about 20% of health care expenses.[154]
In 1954, North Vietnam established a public health system that reached down to the hamlet level.[155] After the national reunification in 1975, a nationwide health service was established. In the late 1980s, the quality of healthcare declined to some degree as a result of budgetary constraints, a shift of responsibility to the provinces, and the introduction of charges. Inadequate funding has also contributed to a shortage of nurses, midwives, and hospital beds; in 2000, Vietnam had only 250,000 hospital beds, or 14.8 beds per 10,000 people, according to the World Bank.[154]
Since the early 2000s, Vietnam has made significant progress in combating malaria, with the malaria mortality rate falling to about 5% of its 1990s equivalent by 2005, after the country introduced improved antimalarial drugs and treatment. However, tuberculosis cases are on the rise, with 57 deaths per day reported in May 2004. With an intensified vaccination program, better hygiene, and foreign assistance, Vietnam hopes to reduce sharply the number of TB cases and annual new TB infections.[154]
As of September 2005, Vietnam had diagnosed 101,291 HIV cases, of which 16,528 progressed to AIDS, and 9,554 died. However, the actual number of HIV-positive individuals is estimated to be much higher. On average, 40–50 new infections are reported every day in Vietnam. As of 2007, 0.5% of the population is estimated to be infected with HIV, and this figure has remained stable since 2005.[156] In June 2004, the United States announced that Vietnam would be one of 15 nations to receive funding as part of a US$15 billion global AIDS relief plan.[154]
Culture
Vietnam's culture has developed over the centuries from indigenous ancient Đông Sơn culture with wet rice agriculture as its economic base. Some elements of the national culture have Chinese origins, drawing on elements of Confucianism and Taoism in its traditional political system and philosophy. Vietnamese society is structured around làng (ancestral villages); all Vietnamese mark a common ancestral anniversary on the tenth day of the third lunar month.[157] The influences of immigrant peoples – such as the Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien and Hainan cultures – can also be seen, while the national religion of Buddhism is strongly entwined with popular culture. In recent centuries, the influences of Western cultures, most notably France and the United States, have become evident in Vietnam.
The traditional focuses of Vietnamese culture are humanity (nhân nghĩa) and harmony (hòa); family and community values are highly regarded. Vietnam reveres a number of key cultural symbols, such as the Vietnamese dragon, which is derived from crocodile and snake imagery; Vietnam's National Father, Lạc Long Quân, is depicted as a holy dragon. The lạc – a holy bird representing Vietnam's National Mother, Âu Cơ – is another prominent symbol, while turtle and horse images are also revered.[158]
In the modern era, the cultural life of Vietnam has been deeply influenced by government-controlled media and cultural programs. For many decades, foreign cultural influences – especially those of Western origin – were shunned. However, since the 1990s, Vietnam has seen a greater exposure to Southeast Asian, European and American culture and media.[159]
Media
Vietnam's media sector is regulated by the government in accordance with the 2004 Law on Publication.[160] It is generally perceived that Vietnam's media sector is controlled by the government to follow the official Communist Party line, though some newspapers are relatively outspoken.[161] The Voice of Vietnam is the official state-run national radio broadcasting service, broadcasting internationally via shortwave using rented transmitters in other countries, and providing broadcasts from its website. Vietnam Television is the national television broadcasting company.
Since 1997, Vietnam has extensively regulated public Internet access, using both legal and technical means. The resulting lockdown is widely referred to as the "Bamboo Firewall".[162] The collaborative project OpenNet Initiative classifies Vietnam's level of online political censorship to be "pervasive",[163] while Reporters Without Borders considers Vietnam to be one of 15 global "internet enemies".[164] Though the government of Vietnam claims to safeguard the country against obscene or sexually explicit content through its blocking efforts, many politically and religiously sensitive websites are also banned.[165]
Music
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Vietnamese_musical_instrument_Dan_bau_2.jpg/200px-Vietnamese_musical_instrument_Dan_bau_2.jpg)
Traditional Vietnamese music varies between the country's northern and southern regions. Northern classical music is Vietnam's oldest musical form, and is traditionally more formal. The origins of Vietnamese classical music can be traced to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, when the Vietnamese captured a Chinese opera troupe.[166] Throughout its history, Vietnamese has been most heavily impacted by the Chinese musical tradition, as an integral part, along with Korea, Mongolia and Japan.[167] Nhã nhạc is the most popular form of imperial court music. Chèo is a form of generally satirical musical theatre. Xẩm or Hát xẩm (Xẩm singing) is a type of Vietnamese folk music. Quan họ (alternate singing) is popular in Hà Bắc (divided into Bắc Ninh and Bắc Giang Provinces) and across Vietnam. Hát chầu văn or hát văn is a spiritual form of music used to invoke spirits during ceremonies. Nhạc dân tộc cải biên is a modern form of Vietnamese folk music which arose in the 1950s. Ca trù (also hát ả đào) is a popular folk music. "Hò" can not be thought of as the southern style of Quan họ. There are a range of traditional instruments, including the Đàn bầu (a monochord zither), the Đàn gáo (a two-stringed fiddle with coconut body), and the Đàn nguyệt (a two-stringed fretted moon lute).
Literature
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Hanoi_Temple_of_Literature.jpg/220px-Hanoi_Temple_of_Literature.jpg)
Vietnamese literature has a centuries-deep history. The country has a rich tradition of folk literature, based on the typical 6–to-8-verse poetic form named ca dao, which usually focuses on village ancestors and heroes.[168] Written literature has been found dating back to the 10th-century Ngô dynasty, with notable ancient authors including Nguyễn Trãi, Trần Hưng Đạo, Nguyễn Du and Nguyễn Đình Chiểu. Some literary genres play an important role in theatrical performance, such as hát nói in ca trù.[169] Some poetic unions have also been formed in Vietnam, such as the Tao Đàn. Vietnamese literature has in recent times been influenced by Western styles, with the first literary transformation movement – Thơ Mới – emerging in 1932.[170]
Festivals
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Hoa_mai.jpg/220px-Hoa_mai.jpg)
Vietnam has a plethora of festivals based on the lunar calendar, the most important being the Tết New Year celebration. Traditional Vietnamese weddings remain widely popular, and are often celebrated by expatriate Vietnamese in Western countries.
Tourism
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/PhoCoHoiAn.jpg/220px-PhoCoHoiAn.jpg)
Vietnam has become a major tourist destination since the 1990s, assisted by significant state and private investment, particularly in coastal regions.[171] About 3.77 million international tourists visited Vietnam in 2009 alone.[172]
Popular tourist destinations include the former imperial capital of Hué, the World Heritage Sites of Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, Hội An and Mỹ Sơn, coastal regions such as Nha Trang, the caves of Hạ Long Bay and the Marble Mountains. Numerous tourist projects are under construction, such as the Bình Dương tourist complex, which possesses the largest artificial sea in Southeast Asia.[173]
On 14 February 2011, Joe Jackson, the father of American pop star Michael Jackson, attended a ground breaking ceremony for what will be Southeast Asia's largest entertainment complex, a five-star hotel and amusement park called Happyland. The US$2 billion project, which has been designed to accommodate 14 million tourists annually, is located in southern Long An Province, near Ho Chi Minh City. It is expected that the complex will be completed in 2014.[174]
Clothing
The áo dài, a formal girl's dress, is worn for special occasions such as weddings and religious festivals. White áo dài is the required uniform for girls in many high schools across Vietnam. Áo dài was once worn by both genders, but today it is mostly the preserve of women, although men do wear it to some occasions, such as traditional weddings.[175] Other examples of traditional Vietnamese clothing include the áo tứ thân, a four-piece woman's dress; the áo ngũ, a form of the thân in 5-piece form, mostly worn in the north of the country; the yếm, a woman's undergarment; the áo bà ba, rural working "pyjamas" for men and women;[176] the áo gấm, a formal brocade tunic for government receptions; and the áo the, a variant of the áo gấm worn by grooms at weddings. Traditional headwear includes the standard conical nón lá and the "lampshade-like" nón quai thao.
Sport
The Vovinam and Bình Định martial arts are widespread in Vietnam,[177] while soccer is the country's most popular team sport.[178] Its national team won the ASEAN Football Championship in 2008. Other Western sports, such as badminton, tennis, volleyball, ping-pong and chess, are also widely popular.
Vietnam has participated in the Summer Olympic Games since 1952, when it competed as the State of Vietnam. After the partition of the country in 1954, only South Vietnam competed in the Games, sending athletes to the 1956 and 1972 Olympics. Since the reunification of Vietnam in 1976, it has competed as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, attending every Summer Olympics from 1988 onwards. The present Vietnam Olympic Committee was formed in 1976 and recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1979.[179] As of 2014, Vietnam has never participated in the Winter Olympics.
Cuisine
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Pho_in_Ho_Chi_Minh_City_by_joshua.jpg/220px-Pho_in_Ho_Chi_Minh_City_by_joshua.jpg)
Vietnamese cuisine traditionally features a combination of five fundamental taste "elements" (Vietnamese: ngũ vị): spicy (metal), sour (wood), bitter (fire), salty (water) and sweet (earth).[180] Common ingredients include fish sauce, shrimp paste, soy sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables. Vietnamese recipes use lemongrass, ginger, mint, Vietnamese mint, long coriander, Saigon cinnamon, bird's eye chili, lime and basil leaves.[181] Traditional Vietnamese cooking is known for its fresh ingredients, minimal use of oil, and reliance on herbs and vegetables, and is considered one of the healthiest cuisines worldwide.[182]
In northern Vietnam, local foods are often less spicy than southern dishes, as the colder northern climate limits the production and availability of spices. Black pepper is used in place of chilis to produce spicy flavors. The use of such meats as pork, beef, and chicken was relatively limited in the past, and as a result freshwater fish, crustaceans – particularly crabs – and mollusks became widely used. Fish sauce, soy sauce, prawn sauce, and limes are among the main flavoring ingredients. Many signature Vietnamese dishes, such as bún riêu and bánh cuốn, originated in the north and were carried to central and southern Vietnam by migrants.[183]
See also
- Vietnam Coast Guard
- Vietnam People's Public Security
- Outline of Vietnam
- Corruption in Vietnam
- Index of Vietnam-related articles
- CIVETS, a grouping of emerging economies including Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa
- ASEAN
- Agent Orange's Effects on the Vietnamese People
Notes
- ^ Only the first verse of the "Army March" is recognized as the official national anthem of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
- ^ Or (formerly) Saigon
- ^ Also called Kinh people[1]
- ^ In effect since 1 January 2014
- ^ The South China Sea is referred to in Vietnam as the East Sea ([Biển Đông] Error: [undefined] Error: {{Lang}}: no text (help): text has italic markup (help)).[7]
- ^ At first, Gia Long requested the name Nam Việt, but the Jiaqing Emperor refused.[10]
- ^ Neither the United States government nor Ngô Đình Diệm's State of Vietnam signed anything at the 1954 Geneva Conference. The non-communist Vietnamese delegation objected strenuously to any division of Vietnam; however, the French accepted the Viet Minh proposal[37] that Vietnam be united by elections under the supervision of "local commissions".[38] The United States, with the support of South Vietnam and the United Kingdom, countered with the "American Plan,"[39] which provided for United Nations-supervised unification elections. The plan, however, was rejected by Soviet and other communist delegations.[39]
References
- Footnotes
- ^ "Dân tộc Kinh" (in Vietnamese). Communist Party of Vietnam. 15 October 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ^ a b Robbers, Gerhard (30 January 2007). Encyclopedia of world constitutions. Infobase Publishing. p. 1021. ISBN 978-0-8160-6078-8. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ a b c "Vietnam – Geography". Index Mundi. 12 July 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "World Economic Outlook: Vietnam". International Monetary Fund. October 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ a b "2015 Human Development Report Summary" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 2015. pp. 13, 17. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ Jones, Daniel (2003) [1917], English Pronouncing Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 3-12-539683-2
{{citation}}
: Unknown parameter|editors=
ignored (|editor=
suggested) (help) - ^ "China continues its plot in the East Sea". Vietnamnet News. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ a b "Vietnam's new-look economy". BBC News. 18 October 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ^ Weisenthal, Joe (22 February 2011). "3G Countries". Business Insider. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
- ^ a b Woods 2002, p. 38
- ^ Yue-Hashimoto 1972, p. 1
- ^ Thành Lân (14 March 2003). "Ai đặt quốc hiệu Việt Nam đầu tiên?" (in Vietnamese). Vietnam Embassy in the United States. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- ^ Tonnesson & Antlov 1996, p. 117
- ^ Tonnesson & Antlov 1996, p. 126
- ^ "The Human Migration: Homo erectus and the Ice Age". Yahoo!. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ Kha and Bao, 1967; Kha, 1975; Kha, 1976; Long et al., 1977; Cuong, 1985; Ciochon and Olsen, 1986; Olsen and Ciochon, 1990.
- ^ a b Cuong, 1986.
- ^ Colani, 1927.
- ^ Demeter, 2000.
- ^ "Dong Son culture". LittleVietnamTours.com.vn. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
- ^ Nola Cooke, Tana Li, James Anderson (2011). The Tongking Gulf Through History. p.46: "Nishimura actually suggested the Đông Sơn phase belonged in the late metal age, and some other Japanese scholars argued that, contrary to the conventional belief that the Han invasion ended Đông Sơn culture, Đông Sơn artifacts, ..."
- ^ Vietnam Fine Arts Museum (2000). "... the bronze cylindrical jars, drums, Weapons and tools which were sophistically carved and belonged to the World famous Đông Sơn culture dating from thousands of years; the Sculptures in the round, the ornamental architectural Sculptures ..."
- ^ "Chinese Colonization (200BC – 938AD)". Asia.msu.edu. Archived from the original on 25 August 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
- ^ "Country's Official Name". Easy Riders Vietnam. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ^ "Spears offer insight into early military strategy". Viet Nam News. 22 January 2006. Archived from the original on 4 March 2009.
- ^ "The Trần Dynasty and the Defeat of the Mongols". Countrystudies.us. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
- ^ "The Lê Dynasty and Southward Expansion". Countrystudies.us. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
- ^ "The Kingdom of Champa". Ancientworlds.net. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
- ^ "The Chams: Survivors of a Lost Civilisation". Cpamedia.com. Archived from the original on 10 January 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
- ^ Colonialism by Melvin Eugene Page and Penny M. Sonnenburg via Google Books. p.723. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ "French Counterrevolutionary Struggles: Indochina and Algeria" (PDF). United States Military Academy. 1968. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ^ Fourniau, Annam–Tonkin, pp. 39–77
- ^ "1930: 13 Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang cadres, for the Yen Bai mutiny". ExecutedToday.com. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ^ a b Hirschman, Charles; Preston, Samuel; Vu Manh Loi (1995). "Vietnamese Casualties During the American War: A New Estimate" (PDF). Population and Development Review. 21 (4): 783–812. doi:10.2307/2137774. JSTOR 2137774. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2010.
- ^ "Vietnam Notebook: First Indochina War, Early Years (1946–1950)". Parallel Narratives. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- ^ Declaration of Independence, Democratic Republic of Vietnam (2 September 1945). Vietnam Documents. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
- ^ The Pentagon Papers (1971). Beacon Press. Vol. 3. p. 134.
- ^ The Pentagon Papers (1971). Beacon Press. Vol. 3. p. 119.
- ^ a b The Pentagon Papers (1971). Beacon Press. Vol. 3. p. 140.
- ^ "Vietnam's 300 Days of Open Borders: Operation Passage to Freedom". Library of Economics and Liberty. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ^ Moïse, Edwin (4 November 1998). "The Geneva Accords". Clemson University. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ^ Moïse, Edwin (4 November 1998). "The Aftermath of Geneva, 1954–1961". Clemson University. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ^ The United States in Vietnam – An Analysis in Depth of America's Involvement in Vietnam. George McTurnin Kahin and John W. Lewis (1967). Delta Books.
- ^ a b c Rosefielde (2009), Red Holocaust, Routledge, p. 110.
- ^ Margolin, Jean-Louis (1997) "Vietnam and Laos: the impasse of war communism", pp. 568–569 in The Black Book of Communism. Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-07608-2.
- ^ Turner, Robert F. (1975).Vietnamese Communism: Its Origins and Development. Hoover Institution Press. pp. 141–3, 155–7
- ^ Turner, Robert F. (1972). "Myths of the Vietnam War: The Pentagon Papers Reconsidered". Southeast Asian Perspectives. 7: i–iv, 1–55. JSTOR 30174757.
Although no official figures were made public, the best estimates are that about fifty thousand people were executed, and several hundred thousands more died as a result of the "policy of isolation
- ^ Lam Thanh Liem (1990). "Chinh sach cai cach ruong dat cua Ho Chi Minh: sai lam hay toi ac?" in Jean-François Revel et al., Ho Chi Minh, Nam A. pp. 179–214.
- ^ "Ngo Dinh Diem". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
- ^ "Diem Regime Victims Bare Torture and Blinding". The Milwaukee Sentinel. Google News Archive. 9 November 1963. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ Spencer C. Tucker, ed. (2011). The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO via Google Books. ISBN 9781851099610. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ "JFK and the Diem Coup". National Security Archive. 5 November 2003. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ^ "This Day in History (Sep 3, 1967): Thieu-Ky ticket wins national election". History.com. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
- ^ "Vietnam War". Seasite.niu.edu. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
- ^ "The War's Costs". DigitalHistory.uh.edu. 2006. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ^ "Soviet Aid to North Vietnam". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- ^ "Chinese Support for North Vietnam during the Vietnam War: The Decisive Edge". Military History Online. 2008. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
- ^ "Riding Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh Trail". The Guardian. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ^ "Tet Offensive". Vets With A Mission. Retrieved 10 October 2012. "...NLF/NVA troops and commandos attacked virtually every major town and city in South Vietnam as well as most of the important American bases and airfields...In Saigon, nineteen VC commandos blew their way through the outer walls of the US Embassy..."
- ^ "The Massacre at Hue". TIME. 31 October 1969. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ^ "Vietnamization". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ^ "Saigon's Finale". New York Times. 13 October 1999. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ Shenon, Philip (23 April 1995). "20 Years After Victory, Vietnamese Communists Ponder How to Celebrate". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
- ^ Associated Press (3 April 1995). "Vietnam Says 1.1 Million Died Fighting For North."
- ^ "Vietnam Outlines Collectivization Goal". The Spokesman-Review. Google News Archive. 28 June 1977. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ^ a b c Desbarats, Jacqueline. "Repression in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Executions and Population Relocation", from The Vietnam Debate (1990) by John Morton Moore. "We know now from a 1985 statement by Nguyen Co Tach that two and a half million, rather than one million, people went through reeducation...in fact, possibly more than 100,000 Vietnamese people were victims of extrajudicial executions in the last ten years...it is likely that, overall, at least one million Vietnamese were the victims of forced population transfers."
- ^ Anh Do and Hieu Tran Phan, "Camp Z30-D: The Survivors". Orange County Register. 29 April 2001. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ^ Morris, Stephen J. "Glastnost and the Gulag: The Numbers Game" (PDF). Vietnam Commentary. May–June 1988. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ^ Human Events. 27 August 1977.
- ^ Al Santoli (ed., 1999). To Bear Any Burden Indiana University Press. pp. 272, 292–3, ISBN 0253335434.
- ^ Vo, Nghia M. (2004). The Bamboo Gulag: Political Imprisonment in Communist Vietnam. McFarland, ISBN 0786482109.
- ^ Rummel, Rudolph (1997). "Statistics of Vietnamese Democide" in his Statistics of Democide.
- ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "The State of The World's Refugees 2000 – Chapter 4: Flight from Indochina" (PDF). Retrieved 6 April 2007.
- ^ "Boat people: A Refugee Crisis". CBC News. Retrieved 6 April 2007.
- ^ Associated Press (23 June 1979); San Diego Union (20 July 1986). See generally: Vo, Nghia M. (2006). The Vietnamese Boat People. McFarland, ISBN 0786423455.
- ^ Cambodia – The Fall of Democratic Kampuchea. U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ "Photographer Showcases Legendary Khmer Temple Preah Vihear". National Geographic. 23 June 2009. Archived from the original on 4 August 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ Chinese Invasion of Vietnam – February 1979. GlobalSecurity.org. Updated 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ a b Stowe, Judy (28 April 1998). "Obituary: Nguyen Van Linh". The Independent (London). p. 20.
- ^ a b Ackland, Len (20 March 1988). "Long after U.S. war, Vietnam is still a mess". St. Petersburg Times (Florida). Page 2-D.
- ^ Murray, Geoffrey (1997). Vietnam: Dawn of a New Market. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 24–25. ISBN 0-312-17392-X.
- ^ a b Hoang Thi Bich Loan (18 April 2007). "Consistently pursuing the socialist orientation in developing the market economy in Vietnam". Communist Review. TạpchíCộngsản.org.vn. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011.
- ^ Palace of Supreme Harmony in Hue (Vietnam) Wagstaff, A.; Van Doorslaer, E.; Watanabe, N. (2003). "On decomposing the causes of health sector inequalities with an application to malnutrition inequalities in Vietnam". Journal of Econometrics. 112: 207. doi:10.1016/S0304-4076(02)00161-6.
- ^ Goodkind, D. (1995). "Rising Gender Inequality in Vietnam Since Reunification". Pacific Affairs. 68 (3): 342–359. doi:10.2307/2761129. JSTOR 2761129.
- ^ Gallup, John Luke (2002). "The wage labor market and inequality in Viet Nam in the 1990s". Ideas.repec.org. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
- ^ Johnson, Kay (22 February 2007). "The Spoils of Capitalism". Time. New York. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- ^ "A bit of everything: Vietnam's quest for role models". The Economist. London. 24 April 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2010. (subscription required)
- ^ "UN urged to act on Vietnam over death penalty". The Washington Post. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
- ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies; Hackett, James (ed.) (3 February 2010). The Military Balance 2010. London: Routledge. ISBN 1-85743-557-5.
{{cite book}}
:|author2=
has generic name (help) - ^ The SIPRI Military Expenditure Database. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ^ "Escalating Tensions in the South China Sea". The National Interest. 10 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Vietnam Foreign Policy". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
- ^ "List of countries which maintain diplomatic relations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. December 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
- ^ "US-Vietnamese Relations". US Embassy. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
- ^ "Vietnam and International Organizations". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
- ^ "Agricultural advanced technologies in Red river delta, Viet Nam these days". Agroviet Newsletter. September 2005. Archived from the original on 21 February 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f "Báo cáo Hiện trạng môi trường quốc gia 2005" (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 23 February 2009.
- ^ "Edwards's Pheasant (Lophura edwardsi)". BirdLife International. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
- ^ Kinver, Mark (25 October 2011). "Javan rhino 'now extinct in Vietnam'". BBC News. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
- ^ "The Vietnamese Stock Market" (PDF). Financial Women's Association of New York. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Vietnam may be fastest growing emerging economy" (Press release). PricewaterhouseCoopers. 12 March 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ "Vietnam to be listed among top economies by 2050: HSBC". Tuổi Trẻ News. 14 January 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2012. Template:Wayback
- ^ Vuong, Quan-Hoang; Tran, Tri-Dung (2009). "The cultural dimensions of the Vietnamese private entrepreneurship". Icfai Journal of Entrepreneurship Development, Vol. VI, Nos. 3 & 4 (September & December 2009), pp. 54–78. Icfai University Press via SSRN. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ "Vietnam 2010 growth fastest in three years – Vietnam Banking Finance News". Vietfinancenews.com. 29 December 2010. Archived from the original on 4 January 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
- ^ "Vietnam". United States Energy Information Administration. 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
- ^ Fong-Sam, Yolanda (August 2012) "Vietnam" in 2010 Minerals Yearbook. USGS. Template:Wayback
- ^ Economy of Vietnam. CIA World Factbook. Updated 21 September 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ a b Vandemoortele, Milo; Bird, Kate (2010). "Viet Nam's Progress on Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction: Impressive improvements". London: Overseas Development Institute.
- ^ Vandemoortele, Milo (2010). "The MDG fundamentals: improving equity for development". London: Overseas Development Institute.
- ^ Vietnam Vrooooom: Asia's second-fastest-growing economy takes the global stage. CNN Money. 13 November 2006.
- ^ "Developments and trends of Vietnam international merchandise trade in June and the first half of 2013". Vietnam Customs. General Department of Vietnam Customs. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ^ How Vietnam became a coffee giant - BBC News
- ^ "Vietnam-EU free trade agreement set to fire". Vietnam Tribune. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
{{cite news}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Vietnam To Build US$600m National Space Center By 2018". Asian Scientist, 22 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "Nano technology | Computer | Robot | TOSY TOPIO – Table Tennis Playing Robot". DigInfo News. Tokyo. 5 December 2007.
- ^ "Tech, science spending too low". VietNam News, 21 December 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
- ^ "Vietnam Airlines Details and Fleet History". PlaneSpotters.net. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ "Fleet Information". Vietnam Airlines. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
- ^ Social and economic situation, 8 months of 2011. General Statistics Office of Vietnam. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- ^ "High-speed train planned for Vietnam – Business – International Herald Tribune". The New York Times. 6 February 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ "Vietnam to build high-speed rail". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 November 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ "Vietnam will adopt Japan's bullet-train technology for $56 billion rail link". eTravel Blackboard. 14 August 2009. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ Index Mundi. January 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ^ "Water taxi in Ca Mau city, Vietnam". TravelBlog. 27 January 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ^ "Territorial claims in the Spratly and Paracel Islands". GlobalSecurity.org. 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- ^ "Vietnam – population". Countrystudies.us. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
- ^ "Fertility rate, total (births per woman)". World Bank. World Bank. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ^ "Under South Vietnam Rule". MHRO.org. 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
- ^ World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Vietnam: Chinese (Hoa).UNHCR Refworld. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ Vietnam (08/08). U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ a b "Vietnamese (tiếng việt / 㗂越)". Omniglot.com. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Montagnard Foundation. 12 August 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ^ "Annexe au procès-verbal de la séance du 1er octobre 1997" (in French). French Senate. 1 October 1997. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- ^ Template:Wayback
- ^ a b Ngan Nguyen (December 2012). "How English Has Displaced Russian and Other Foreign Languages in Vietnam Since "Doi Moi"" (PDF). International Journal of Humanities and Social Science. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ^ Education in Vietnam, The World Bank
- ^ Pew Research Center: The Global Religious Landscape 2010.
- ^ "The 2009 Vietnam Population and Housing Census: Completed Results". General Statistics Office of Vietnam: Central Population and Housing Census Steering Committee. June 2010. p. 281. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ "Beliefs and religions". Embassy of Vietnam. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
- ^ "CIA World Factbook- Vietnam". Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
- ^ Zuckerman, Phil. "Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns" (PDF), from the Cambridge Companion to Atheism (2007), edited by Michael Martin. University of Cambridge Press. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ Jordan, Sandra (15 October 2004). "Vietnam's Christians persecuted as state sees hidden enemy". The Independent. London.
- ^ Vietnam
- ^ "Holy See and Vietnam discuss opening of diplomatic relations". AsiaNews.it. 27 February 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
- ^ "History of Islam in Vietnam". Angelfire.com. 30 April 1975. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
- ^ "No: 21/2004/PL-UBTVQH11 Ordinance on Beliefs and Religions". Ministry of Justice. 29 June 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ "Vietnam: The Suppression of the Unified Buddhist Church". Human Rights Watch. March 1995. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
- ^ "At a glance: Viet Nam – Statistics". UNICEF. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
- ^ "School enrollment, primary (% net)". World Bank. 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ "Progression to secondary school (%)". World Bank. 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ a b Pocket World in Figures. The Economist. 2009. ISBN 978-1-84668-123-3.
- ^ "Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births)". World Bank. 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
- ^ "Tackling child malnutrition in rural Vietnam". Plan Vietnam. 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ a b c d Vietnam country profile (PDF). Library of Congress Federal Research Division. December 2005. Retrieved 9 July 2013. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Med School Professor Praises North Vietnam's Medical Care". The Harvard Crimson. 13 December 1972. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ "Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15–49)". World Bank. 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
- ^ "Gio To Hung Vuong 2013". PublicHoliday.org. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "Animism in Vietnam's culture". Vietnam-Holidays.co.uk. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
- ^ "Vietnam's cultural integration seen by researchers". Voice of Vietnam. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ "Law on Publication (No. 30/2004/QH11 of 3 December 2004)". Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ "Muting the Messengers: Vietnam's Press Under Pressure". The Economist. London. 15 January 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
- ^ Wilkey, Robert N (2002). "Vietnam's Antitrust Legislation and Subscription to E-ASEAN: An End to the Bamboo Firewall Over Internet Regulation?". John Marshall Journal of Computer and Information Law. 20 (4).
- ^ OpenNet Initiative (9 May 2007). "Country Profile: Vietnam". Retrieved 15 July 2008.
- ^ Reporters Without Borders. "Internet Enemies: Vietnam". Retrieved 15 July 2008.
- ^ "OpenNet Initiative Vietnam Report: University Research Team Finds an Increase in Internet Censorship in Vietnam". Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. 5 August 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
- ^ "Opera—Vietnam". Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. 2006. Archived from the original on 10 July 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2012 – via BookRags.com.
- ^ "Southeast Asian arts Vietnam". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica. 23 July 2008. p. 36.
- ^ "Folk poetry preservation a labour of love". VietNam News. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "Vietnamese Traditional Music: Hat Ca Tru". Indochina Travel Plan. 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ^ "Vietnamese Poetry". Le Cercle Littéraire – Thế Hữu Văn Đàn – The Literary Forum. 21 June 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "Quyết định số 2473/QĐ - TTG của Thủ tướng Chính phủ : Phê duyệt "Chiến lược phát triển du lịch Việt Nam đến năm 2020, tầm nhìn đến năm 2030"". Cổng Thông tin điện tử Chính phủ. 31 December 2011.
- ^ "Vietnamtourism". Vietnamtourism. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
- ^ "Southeast Asia's largest artificial sea inaugurated in Binh Duong". Look At Vietnam. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
- ^ "Joe Jackson invests in Vietnam theme park". The Star. Toronto. 14 February 2011.
- ^ "Ao Dai (Long Dress)". Active Travel Vietnam. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
- ^ Erik Harms (2011). Saigon's Edge: On the Margins of Ho Chi Minh City. p.56: "She then left the room to change out of her áo Ba Ba into her everyday home clothes, which did not look like peasant clothes at all. In Hóc Môn, traders who sell goods in the city don "peasant clothing" for their trips to the city and change back".
- ^ "Binh Dinh to host Int'l Vovinam festival". TalkVietnam.com. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
- ^ "Soccer is very popular in Vietnam". SaigonNezumi.com. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
- ^ "Vietnam". Olympic.org. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ Vietnamese Food. Asianinfo.org. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- ^ "Vietnamese Ingredients". WokMe. 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- ^ Corapi, Annie (2011). "The 10 healthiest ethnic cuisines". CNN Health. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
- ^ Nguyen, Andrea (13 March 2011). "Heaven in a Bowl: The Original Pho". Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- Sources
- Woods, L. Shelton (2002). Vietnam: a global studies handbook. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-57607-416-1.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Yue-Hashimoto, Oi-kan (1972). Phonology of Cantonese. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-08442-0.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Tonnesson, Stein; Antlov, Hans (1996). Asian Forms of the Nation. Routledge. ISBN 0700704426.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help)
Further reading
- Herring, George C. (2001). America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950–1975 (4th edition).
- K.W.Taylor. A History of the Vietnamese. Cambridge University Press 2013
- Jahn, G.C. (2006). "The dream is not yet over". In Fredenburg P., Hill B. (eds.): Sharing rice for peace and prosperity in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Victoria, Australia: Sid Harta Publishers. p. 237–240.
- Karrnow, Stanley (1997). Vietnam: A History (2nd edition). Penguin. ISBN 0-14-026547-3.
- McMahon, Robert J. (1995). Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War: Documents and Essays.
- Tucker, Spencer (ed.) (1998). Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. 3-volume reference set; also one-volume abridged edition (2001).
External links
- Vietnam profile from BBC News
- "Vietnam". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. (CIA)
- Vietnam from UCB Libraries GovPubs
- Vietnam at Curlie
- Vietnam at Encyclopædia Britannica
Wikimedia Atlas of Vietnam
- Key Development Forecasts for Vietnam from International Futures
- Government
- Portal of the Government of Vietnam
- Communist Party of Vietnam – official website (in Vietnamese)
- National Assembly – the Vietnamese legislative body
- General Statistics Office
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Chief of State and Cabinet Members
- Media and censorship
- Robert N. Wilkey. "Vietnam's Antitrust Legislation and Subscription to E-ASEAN: An End to the Bamboo Firewall Over Internet Regulation?" The John Marshall Journal of Computer and Information Law. Vol. XX, No. 4. Summer 2002. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- Tourism
Vietnam travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Official tourism website