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SiteVietnam Business Directory (printed publications).
About Vietnam
Geography
Vietnam is located in south-east Asia bordering the South China Sea between
Laos and Philippines. The country occupies a total area of 329,560 sq km of
which 325,360 sq km is on land. It has a 3,818 km long land boundary and
3,444 km of coastline. A map of
Vietnam is available.
The climate is tropical in the south, monsoonal in the north with hot rainy
season from mid-May to mid-September and warm, dry season from mid-October
to mid-March. There is occasional typhoons with extensive flooding. The
terrain is consists mostly of low, flat delta in the south and north with
central highlands, hilly mountainous in the far north and north-west.
Natural resources include phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate,
offshore oil deposits and forests.
People
Vietnam has a total population of 71,787,608 (July 1993 est.). Nationals of
Vietnam are known as Vietnamese. The main ethnic group is Vietnamese (90%)
and religions include Buddhist, Taoist, Roman Catholic, indigenous beliefs,
Islamic and Protestant. Languages spoken include Vietnamese (official),
French, Chinese, English and Khmer.
Government
The country's official name is Socialist Republic of Vietnam and in short,
Vietnam. Vietnam is a communist state. The capital is Hanoi. Independence
was gained on 2 September 1945 from France.
The Vietnamese flag is red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the
center.
Economy
Vietnam has made significant progress in recent years moving away from the
planned economic model and toward a more effective market-based economic
system. Most prices are now fully decontrolled and the Vietnamese currency
has been effectively devalued and floated at world market rates. In
addition, the scope for private sector activity has been expanded, primarily
through decollectivization of the agricultural sector and introduction of
laws giving legal recognition to private business. Despite such positive
indicators, the country's economic turnaround remains tenuous. Nearly
three-quarters of export earnings are generated by only two commodities,
rice and crude oil. Meanwhile, industrial production stagnates, burdened by
uncompetitive state-owned enterprises the government is unwilling or unable
to privatize. Unemployment looms as the most serious problem with over 25%
of the workforce without jobs and population growth swelling the ranks of
the unemployed yearly.
Communications
Vietnam has 3,059 km of railroads, 85,000 km of highways and 17,702 km of
inlang waterways. The ports are in Da Nang, Haiphong and Ho Chi Minh City.
There are 100 (mostly small) airports.
Telecommunication service is poor. The inadequacies of the obsolete
switching equipment and cable system is a serious constraint on the
business sector and on economic growth, and restricts access to the
international links that Vietnam has established with most major countries.
The telephone system is not generally available for private use.
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