Land area:125,622 sq mi (325,361 sq km);
Total area:127,244 sq mi (329,560 sq km)
Population (2008 est.):86,967,524 (growth rate: 1.0%); birth rate: 16.3/1000; infant mortality rate: 22.9/1000; life expectancy: 71.6; density per sq mi: 679
Capital (2003 est.):Hanoi, 2,543,700 (metro. area), 1,396,500 (city proper)
Largest cities:Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), 5,894,100 (metro. area), 3,415,300 (city proper); Haiphong, 581,600; Da Nang, 452,700; Hué 271,900; Nha Trang, 270,100; Qui Nho'n, 199,700
Monetary unit: Dong
National name: Công Hòa Xa Hôi Chú Nghia Viêt Nam
Languages:Vietnamese (official); English (increasingly favored as a second language); some French, Chinese, Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Ethnicity/race:Kinh (Viet) 86.2%, Tay 1.9%, Thai 1.7%, Muong 1.5%, Khome 1.4%, Hoa 1.1%, Nun 1.1%, Hmong 1%, others 4.1% (1999)
Religions:Buddhist 9%, Catholic 7%, Hoa Hao 2%, Cao Dai 1%, Protestant, Islam, none 81%
Literacy rate:94% (2003 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $221.4 billion; per capita $2,600. Real growth rate: 8.5%. Inflation: 8.3%. Unemployment: 5.3%. Arable land: 20%. Agriculture: paddy rice, coffee, rubber, cotton, tea, pepper, soybeans, cashews, sugar cane, peanuts, bananas; poultry; fish, seafood. Labor force: 46.42 million; agriculture 55.6%, industry 18.9%, services 25.5% (July 2005). Industries: food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building; mining, coal, steel; cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, paper. Natural resources: phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower. Exports: $39.92 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes. Imports: $39.16 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles. Major trading partners: U.S., Japan, China, Australia, Germany, Singapore, UK, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong (2004).
