Vietnam

Geography

Location: Vietnam lies in South-eastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos and Cambodia. Area: 329,560 sq. km. Principal cities: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Haiphong, Da Nang, and Hue. Tourist attractions: Ba Be National Park, Bac Ha Market, Cua Dai Beach, Mariamman Hindu Temple, Museum of Ho Chi Minh City, and My Son. Time zone: GMT -4 hours.

People

Population: 85,262,356 (July 2007 est.). Population growth rate:
1.004% (2007 est.). Sex ratio: 0.982 male(s)/female (2007 est.). Religions: Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly Ro-man Catholic, some Protestant), indigenous beliefs, Muslim. Languages: Vietnamese (official), En­glish, French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian). Literacy rate: Total 94%, Male 95.8%, Female 92 3% (2003 est.)- Infant mortality rate: 24.37 deaths/I ,000 live births (2007 est.). Life expectancy: Total 71.07  years, Male 68.27 years. Female 74.8 years (2007 est.).

Government

Capital: Hanoi. National anthem: Tien Quan Ca. Government type: Communist state- Independence: 2 September 1945 (from France). Legal system: Based on communist legal theory and French civil law system. Executive branch: Chief of state: President Nguyen Minh Triet (since 27 June 2006). Head of government: Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (since 27 June 2006). Elections and election results: The National Assembly elects the president from among its members for a five-year term. The last elections were t held on 27 June 2006 and the next elections will be held in 201 I. Legisla­tive branch: Vietnam has a unicarneral National Assembly or Quoc-Hoi that has 498 seats. Judicial branch: Supreme people's court.

Economy

Currency: Dong. Currency conver­sion: Dong per Indian rupee— 399.5419 (June 2007 est.). GDP: Purchasing power parity—$262.8 billion (2006 est.). GDP—real growth rate: 8.2% (2006 est.). GDP—per capita: Purchasing power parity—$3,1 00 (2006 est.). Inflation rate: 7.5% (2006 est.). Exports: $39.92 billion f.o.b. (2006 est). Imports: $39.16 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.). External debt: $21.86 billion {2006 est.).

Transport and Communications

Railways: 2,600 km. Roads: 93,300 km. Airports: Noi Bai International Airport. Telephones: 15.845 million (2005). Mobile cellular: 9.593 million (2005). Internet users: 13.1 million (2006). Internet country code: .vn. ISD code: 84.