Vietnam

Overview

Mainland Territory: 331,211.6 sq. km
Population: 84,115.8 thousand inhabitants (in 2006)
National Capital: Hanoi
Lying on the eastern part of the Indochinese peninsula, Vietnam is a strip of land shaped like the letter “S”. China borders it to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west, the East Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the east and south.
The country’s total length from north to south is 1,650km. Its width, stretching from east to west, is 600km at the widest point in the north, 400km in the south, and 50km at the narrowest part, in the centre, in Quang Binh Province. The coastline is 3,260km long and the inland border is 4,510km.
Latitude: 1020 08' - 1090 28'  east
Longitude: 80 02' - 230 23'  north
Administrative Units: Vietnam is divided into 63 provinces and cities

Climate

Vietnam is located in both a tropical and a temperate zone. It is characterized by strong monsoon influences, but has a considerable amount of sun, a high rate of rainfall, and high humidity. Regions located near the tropics and in the mountainous regions are endowed with a temperate climate. 

Resources

Vietnam has a variety of mineral resources. Located beneath the subsoil are precious stones, coal and valuable minerals such as tin, zinc, silver, gold and antimony. Vietnam also has large deposits of oil and gas on its offshore islands and on the mainland.

Topography

Three quarters of Vietnam's territory consists of mountains and hills. Vietnam is divided into four distinct mountainous zones.

People

At present there are 54 different ethnic groups inhabiting Vietnam, in which Kinh (Viet) people make up nearly 90% of the whole population, and 53 other ethnic groups represent over 10%.

Culture

The Vietnamese people have had very old, diversified, and rich in national characteristics well-known cultures from time immemorial, such as the ones Nui Do (Thanh Hoa) Son Vi (Phu Tho), Hoa Binh Bac Son, especially the one of Dong Son, that flourished gloriously and was closely connected to the Red river wet rice civilization and the kingdoms of Au Lac, and finally the ones of Sa Huynh and Oc Eo...
Through many historical upheavals, a great number of historical vestiges had been destroyed and lost, but up to now, we still have over 7300 vestiges, more than 1500 among them have been classified. The most well-known old cultural vestiges that still remain such as the Phong Chau vestiges of the Hung Kings, the Co Loa citadel, the My Son Holy Land, the Old Capital City of Hue of minor and great feudalistic regimes, and the most representative centres of history and culture of Vietnam are mainly concentrated in Hanoi which has the greatest vestiges density in the whole nation.
Other aspects of Vietnam culture are realized in the non-material ones such as legends, festivals, customs, music and songs bearing quite particular characteristics.

Religions

In the religious community of Vietnam, Buddhism occupies the largest place and was brought into Vietnam since time immemorial. Roman Catholicism is also a religion with a large number of followers, there exist also other religions such as Islamism, Caodaism...