Fast Facts

The long 'S' shaped outline of Viet Nam comprises the eastern most edge of the Southeast Asian peninsula. — The long ‘S’ shaped outline of Viet Nam comprises the eastern most edge of the Southeast Asian peninsula.

The flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam with a single gold star on a red field.

Land mass: 329,247 sq km (127,123 sq miles or slightly larger than the U.S. State of New Mexico)

Terrain: low and flat in north and south; central highlands; mountainous in far north

Climate: south tropical; north monsoonal

Language: Vietnamese (official); various ethnic minority languages

Capital city: Hanoi (Ha Noi)

Largest city: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Government: Communist

President: Truong Tan Sang

Secretary-general of the Communist Party: Nguyen Phu Trong

Prime minister: Nguyen Tan Dung

Population: 91.5 million (July 2012 est.)

Ethnic groups (2009 census):

85.7% Kinh (Viet)
1.9% Tay
1.7% Tai
1.5% Mường
1.4% Khơ me
1.1% Hoa
1.1% Nùng
1% Hmong
4.1% Others (The government of Viet Nam recognizes a total of 54 minority groups within the country though other sources may list 70-80.)

Population growth rate: 1.054% (2012 est.)

Urban population: 30% (2010)

Life expectancy: 73 years (men), 77 years (women)

HIV/AIDS: 0.4% (2009 est.)

Abortions per year: 1.3 million (1/3 of pregnancies; 1995 est.)

Structured Religion: Buddhism: 50% Catholicism: 9% Hoa Hao: 2.75% Cao Dai: 2.25% Protestantism: 1.25% Islam: 0.1% Other: 34.65% (Syncretism abounds in Viet Nam so giving a single identification for religion is problematic. Estimates are as high as 98% of Vietnamese actively practice ancestor worship regardless of structured religion professed.)

Exchange rate: 20,586 VND = 1 USD (2011 est.)

Inflation rate: 18.6% (2011 est.)

GDP growth rate: 5.8% (2011 est.)

Unemployed: 2.3% (2011 est.)

People in poverty: 14.5% (2010 est.)

Main exports: Petroleum, rice, coffee, clothing, fish

Internet domain: .vn

International dialing code: +84