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Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Cộng Hòa Xã Hội Chủ Nghĩa Việt Nam
Motto: Độc lập – Tự do – Hạnh phúc
(Independence, freedom, happiness)
Anthem: Tiến Quân Ca
Location of Vietnam
CapitalHanoi
Largest cityHo Chi Minh City
Official languagesVietnamese
GovernmentSocialist republic1
Nông Đức Mạnh
• President
Nguyễn Minh Triết
Nguyễn Tấn Dũng
Independence 
From France
• Declared
September 2, 1945
• Recognized
1954
• Water (%)
1.3
Population
• July 2005 estimate
84,238,000 (12th)
• 1999 census
76,323,173
GDP (PPP)2005 estimate
• Total
$251.8 billion (36th)
• Per capita
$3,000 (123rd)
HDI (2003)0.704
high (108th)
Currencyđồng (₫) (VND)
Time zoneUTC+7
• Summer (DST)
UTC+7
Calling code84
ISO 3166 codeVN
Internet TLD.vn
1. According to the official name and its 1992 Constitution

Vietnam (Vietnamese: Việt Nam), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is a socialist republic in Southeast Asia. Situated in eastern Indochina—bordering China, Laos, Cambodia, as well as the South China Sea—it is the most populous country among the mainland Southeast Asian countries.

The name of the country comes from the Vietnamese Việt Nam, which is in turn a reordering of Nam Việt—the name of an ancient kingdom from the ancestral Vietnamese that covered much of today's northern Vietnam and southern China. Its Chinese cognate, Yue/Yuet, was also a name for ethnic groups living in the proximity of southern China during ancient times.

History

Main article: History of Vietnam

Foundation Legend

The famous Vietnamese legend tells that the Vietnamese people of various tribes were born outside the womb following the marriage of Lạc Long Quân (Dragon Chief) and Âu Cơ. However, most Vietnamese historians consider the Dong Son civilization that covered much of Southeast Asia to be the beginning of Vietnam's history. In 208 BC, a Qin general named Triệu Đà (Zhao Tuo) established a country called Nam Việt which encompassed Southern China and the Red River Delta. The historical significance of the original Nam Việt remains controversial because some historians consider it a Chinese occupation while some believe it was an independent era.

The Kingdom of Dai Viet

What is known for sure is that for most of the period from 111 BC to the early 10th century, it was under the rule of successive Chinese Dynasties. Sporadic independence movements were attempted, but were quickly extinguished by Chinese forces. In 939, the Vietnamese defeated Chinese forces at the Bạch Đằng River and gained independence. They gained complete autonomy a century later. During the rule of the Trần Dynasty, it defeated three Mongol attempts of invasion by the Yuan Dynasty. Feudalism in Vietnam reached its zenith in the Lê Dynasty of the 15th century, especially during the reign of Emperor Le Thanh Tong. Between the 11th and 18th centuries, the Vietnamese expanded southward in a process known as nam tiến (southward expansion). They eventually conquered the kingdom of Champa and much of the Khmer empire. The independent period ended in the mid-19th century, when the country was colonized by France.

French Colonial Rule and Division

The French maintained dominant control of their colony until World War II, when Japanese forces invaded and occupied Vietnam, using the country as a base to launch attacks against Southeast Asia and India. After the war France attempted to reestablish its colony, however a communist insurgency that had arisen during Japanese occupation forced the French into the First Indochina War that lasted until 1954. The French suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and shortly afterwards withdrew from the country. The world community divided the country at the 17th parallel into North Vietnam and South Vietnam during the Geneva Accords. This division was meant to be temporary, pending democratic elections and reunification.

This did not turn out to be the case. North and South Vietnam both formed geopolitical alliances, the North aligning itself with Communist China and the Soviet Union and the South with the United States. The Northern government sought implementation of the Geneva Accords, including reunification following an election that would likely lead to a victory for the Communists, while the government of the South sought to make the division of the country permanent, and was supported in this by the United States, which saw the "nation of South Vietnam" as a bulwark against the spread of "international communism" in the region.

The Vietnam War and Reunification

Main article: Vietnam War

Beginning with supplying military observers during the years 1962 and 1963 it was not until 1964 with the Gulf Of Tonkin incident that America ceased its advisory role to the South Vietnamese government and upon direct order of President Lyndon B Johnson moved to targeting military installations such as naval dockyards and military airfields. Following the Tet offensive in 1968, the United States eventually committed some three million troops in an attempt to defeat the communist insurgency in the South. However with military support from the communist North, as well as material, intelligence and logistical support from China and the Soviet Union, the southern communists entrenched the U.S. in a costly war. Graphic televised reporting by the US news media played no small role in influencing the American public to hold demonstrations demanding US withdrawal from the war. Beginning in 1970 US combat roles were turned over to the South Vietnamese military under a program known as Vietnamization. The effort had mixed results, but with US support the South Vietnamese were able to hold their own. The Paris Peace Accords on January 27, 1973 formally recognized the sovereignty of both sides. Under the terms of the Accords all American combat troops were withdrawn by March 29, 1973. Limited fighting continued, but all major fighting ended until the North once again invaded in strength and overpowered the South on April 30, 1975. The country was reunified under the communist rule as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

After the reunification, political and economic conditions remained difficult. Millions of South Vietnamese fled the communist government and became boat people over the next two decades. In late 1978 the Vietnamese army removed their former allies, the murderous Khmer Rouge from power in Cambodia. Only one month later, however, partially in retaliation, China launched a short-lived incursion into Vietnam, which became known as the Sino-Vietnamese War. Both sides claimed to have been victorious in the brief conflict.

In 1986, the Communist Party of Vietnam implemented economic reforms known as Đổi Mới (renovation). During much of the 1990s, economic growth was rapid, and Vietnam reintegrated into the international community. It re-established diplomatic relations with the United States in 1995, one year after the United States' trade embargo on Vietnam was repealed.

Politics

Template:Morepolitics Vietnam is a single-party socialist republic. A new state constitution was approved in April 1992, reaffirming the central role of the Communist Party of Vietnam in politics and society, and outlining government reorganization and increased market reforms in the economy. Though Vietnam remains a one-party state, adherence to ideological orthodoxy has become less important than economic development as a national priority.

Administrative divisions

File:HCMC View.jpg
Ho Chi Minh City, the largest municipal area in Vietnam
Map of Vietnam
Main article: Provinces of Vietnam

Vietnam is divided into 64 provinces (including five municipalities existing at provincial level: Cần Thơ, Đà Nẵng, Haiphong, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City), and subdivided into a number of districts. Ho Chi Minh City was formerly known as Saigon, and is still often referred to as such. Vietnam's capital is Hanoi.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Vietnam

The country is approximately 331,688 square km (128,066 sq mi) in area, which is slightly smaller than Germany. The topography consists of hills and densely forested mountains, with level land covering no more than 20 percent. Mountains account for 40 percent, hills 40 percent and forests 42 percent. 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 at 3,143 m (10,312 ft). The south is divided into coastal lowlands, Annamite Chain (central mountains) with high plateaus, and the Mekong River Delta.

The climate is tropical and monsoonal; humidity averages 84 percent throughout the year. Annual rainfall ranges from 120 to 300 cm (47 to 118 in), and annual temperatures vary between 5°C (41°F) and 37°C (99°F).

Land boundaries: Total: 4,639 km (2,883 mi)
Border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km (763 mi), China 1,281 km (796 mi), Laos 2,130 km (1,324 mi)

Economy

Main article: Economy of Vietnam

In 1986, the Sixth Party Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam formally abandoned its centralized planned economy and began introducing market elements as part of a broad economic reform package called "đổi mới" ("Renovation").

In many ways, this followed the Chinese model and achieved similar results. On one hand, Vietnam achieved around 8% annual GDP growth from 1990 to 1997 and continued at around 7% from 2000 to 2002, making it the world's second-fastest growing economy. Simultaneously, investment grew three-fold and domestic savings quintupled.

On the other hand, urban unemployment has been rising steadily in recent years due to high numbers of migration from the countryside to the cities, and rural unemployment, estimated to be up to 35% during non-harvest periods, is already at critical levels. Layoffs in the state sector and foreign-invested enterprises combined with the lasting effects of a previous military demobilization further exacerbated the unemployment situation. The country aims to become a member of the WTO, perhaps as soon as October 2006. In May 2006, Vietnam negotiated a bilateral trade agreement with the US that marked the completion of the bilateral negotiations with WTO members the country needed to qualify for accession to the organization. Among other steps taken in the process of transitioning to a market economy, Vietnam in July 2006 updated its intellectual property legislation to comply with TRIPS.

Vietnam is still a relatively poor country with GDP of US$251.8 billion (est., 2004). This translates to ~US$3000 per capita. Inflation rate is estimated at 14% per year in 2004. This figure has been scaled down by the Government to 9.5% per annum to avoid the ‘double digit’ classification.

The spending power of the public has noticeably increased. The reason lies in the high prices for property. In Hanoi, the capital, property prices can be as high as those in Tokyo or New York City. This has amazed many people because the average income per capita of this city is around US$1,000 per annum. The booming prices have given poor land owners the opportunity to sell their homes for inflated prices.

Tourism has become an increasingly important industry in Vietnam. There are over 3 to 3.5 million annual visitors.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Vietnam

According to official figures from the 1999 census, of Vietnam's then population of 76.3m, the largest of 54 government recognized ethnic groups of Vietnam were:

  1. Viet/Kinh: 65.8 million (86.21%)
  2. Tay: 1.48 million (1.94%)
  3. Thái: 1.33 million (1.74%)
  4. Mường: 1.14 million (1.49%)
  5. Khmer: 1.06 million (1.38%)
  6. Hoa: 0.862 million (1.13%)
  7. Nung: 0.856 million (1.12%)
  8. Hmong: 0.787 million (1.03%)
  9. Cham: 0.250 million

The majority ethnic Vietnamese, also called Viet or Kinh, make up about 86 percent of the nation's population. They are concentrated largely in the alluvial deltas and in the coastal plains. A homogenous social group, the Viets exert influence on national life through their control of political and economic affairs and their role as purveyors of the dominant culture. By contrast, the ethnic minorities, except for the Khơ-me Crôm (Khmer Krom) and the Hoa (ethnic Han Chinese), are found mostly in the highlands that cover two-thirds of the national territory.

The Mường live in the mountains of north central Vietnam and speak a Mon-Khmer language closely related to the Vietnamese language.

The Tày people live primarily in the mountains and foothills of northern Vietnam. Their language is a member of the Tai languages, belonging to the Central Tai subgroup and closely related to the Zhuang language of southern China.

The Khơ-me Crôm live in the fertile delta of the Mekong River in southern Vietnam and are ethnically the same as the Khmer people who make up the majority of the population of Cambodia.

The Hoa (ethnic Han Chinese) are mainly lowlanders and, more specifically, urban dwellers. They speak predominantly Cantonese (known to the Vietnamese as Quảng Đông), but there are also speakers of Hakka (Khách Gia), Min Nan/Hokkien/Fujian (Mân Nam/Phúc Kiến), Chaozhou (Triều Châu), etc. Until the 1979 Vietnamese census, the Hoa were the largest minority of Vietnam. However, since the North Vietnamese took over South Vietnam in 1975 many Hoa left Vietnam, especially in the 1980s, so that at the 1999 census the Hoa were only the fifth largest minority (or the fourth largest if the Thái are not considered as a homogeneous ethnic group).

Beyond these five largest ethnic minorities, there are 48 other minorities officially recognized by the Vietnamese government, giving a total of 53 minorities altogether. Many of these 53 minority groups only have a few thousand members or so. Vietnam also has a small number of Eurasian from the French colonization and Amerasian of American soldiers and personnel. Furthermore, there are also a few of those descended from Indian settlers also during the colonial era. The biracial people, the products of Vietnam War, faced discrimination very much in Vietnam [often referred to as "Children of the Dust"; many have been migrated to the United States where, due to a lack of education in Vietnam due to discrimination because of their racial mix, assume low paying occupations and live at the subsistence level in the United States; most were migrated as adults and not as children].[citation needed]

Officially, the ethnic minorities are referred to as "national minorities". The French used the name Montagnard (plural Montagnards, meaning "mountain people") to refer to all the minorities (except the Khơ-me Crôm and the Hoa), no matter what their actual language. The name Montagnard is still sometimes used today. Sometimes, the name Montagnard is used specifically for the Central Vietnam minorities.

More details about 54 groups here

See Việt Kiều for a discussion of the Vietnamese diaspora.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Vietnam

According to the 1999 Socialist Republic of Vietnam's census numbers, 80.8% of Vietnamese subscribe to no religion. But according to the majority of other sources[citation needed], Vietnamese people are predominantly Confucian and Mahayana Buddhist (esp. Mainstream Pure Land schools and Zen-inspired syncretists), with a sizeable Roman Catholic following and Protestant, Cao Đài, and Hoa Hao minorities. The largest Protestant churches are the Evangelical Church of Vietnam and the Montagnard Evangelical Church. Membership of Sunni and Bashi Islam is usually accredited to the ethnic Cham minority, but there are also a few ethnic Vietnamese adherents of Islam in the southwest.

According to the 1999 census, 80.8% had no religion, 9.3% were Buddhist, 6.7% were Catholic, 1.5% were Hoa Hao, and 1.1% were Cao Dai.

Languages

According to official figures, 86.2% of the population speak Vietnamese as a native language.

Various other languages are spoken by the several minority groups in Vietnam. The most spoken of these languages are: Tày (1.5 million), Mường (1.2 million), Khmer (1.05 million), Chinese (870,000, this figure also includes speakers of all Chinese dialects), Nùng (860,000), H'Mông (790,000), and Tai Dam (700,000).

French, a legacy of colonial rule, is still spoken by some older Vietnamese as a second language but is losing its popularity. Russian — and to a much lesser extent Czech or Polish — is often known among those whose families had ties with the Soviet bloc. In recent years, Chinese, Japanese and English have become the most popular foreign languages, and English is an obligatory course in most schools.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Vietnam

In its early history, Vietnamese writing used Chinese characters. In the 13th century, the Vietnamese developed their own set of characters called Chữ nôm. The celebrated epic Đoạn trường tân thanh (Truyện Kiều or The Tale of Kieu) by Nguyễn Du was written in Chữ nôm. During the French colonial period, Quốc ngữ, the romanised Vietnamese alphabet representation of spoken Vietnamese which was a collective fruit of several Portuguese missionaries, became popular and brought literacy to the masses.

Due to Vietnam's long association with China, Vietnamese culture remains strongly Confucian with its emphasis on familial duty. Education is highly valued. Historically, passing the imperial Mandarin exams was the only means for Vietnamese people to socially advance themselves.

The traditional uniform called "Áo Dài" is worn in special occasions such as weddings or Lunar New Year celebration or festivals. Áo Dài was once worn by both genders but is worn mainly by female today, becoming a pride of Vietnamese people.

Names often follow the form: Family Name – Middle Name – Given Name (ex: Nguyễn Văn Anh). Children take the family name of their father.

Vietnamese cuisine is very healthy and flavorful, using very little oil and many vegetables. The main dishes are often based on rice, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Its characteristic flavors are sweet (sugar), spicy (serrano peppers), sour (lime), umami (fish sauce), and flavored by a variety of mint and basil.

Music is slightly different according to three regions: Bắc or North, Trung or Central, and Nam or South. Northern classical music is Vietnam's oldest and is traditionally more formal. Vietnamese classical music can be traced to the Mongol invasions, when the Vietnamese captured a Chinese opera troupe. Central classical music shows the influences of Champa culture with its melancholic melodies. Southern music exudes a lively laissez-faire attitude.

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