From: cnguyen@ssf-sys.dhl.com (Chi Nguyen)
Subject: Viet Nam according to the CIA 
Reply-To: cnguyen@taipan.ssf-sys.dhl.com (Chi Nguyen)
Organization: DHL
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 23:12:44 GMT


I ran accross this Executive-Summary about VietNam by the CIA from its
"World Facts Book".
Though it may be of interest to some of the SCV netters.

Cheers.

Chi'
cnguyen@ssf-sys.dhl.com

----------------------------------------------------
Country:  Vietnam
- Geography
Total area: 329,560 km2; land area: 325,360
 
Comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico
 
Land boundaries: 3,818 km total; Cambodia 982 km, China 1,281 km,
Laos 1,555 km
 
Coastline: 3,444 km (excluding islands)
 
Maritime claims:
 
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
 
Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
 
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
 
Territorial sea: 12 nm
 
Disputes: offshore islands and three sections of the boundary with
Cambodia are in dispute; maritime boundary with Cambodia not defined;
occupied Cambodia on 25 December 1978; sporadic border clashes with
China; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China,
Malaysia, Philippines, and Taiwan; maritime boundary dispute with China
in the Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied by China but claimed by
Vietnam and Taiwan
 
Climate: tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season
(mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March)
 
Terrain: low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands;
hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest
 
Natural resources: phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate,
offshore oil deposits, forests
 
Land use: 22% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures;
40% forest and woodland; 35% other; includes 5% irrigated
 
Environment: occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive
flooding
 
- People
Population: 66,170,889 (July 1990), growth rate 2.1% (1990)
 
Birth rate: 30 births/1,000 population (1990)
 
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
 
Net migration rate: - 1 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
 
Infant mortality rate: 50 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
 
Life expectancy at birth: 62 years male, 66 years female (1990)
 
Total fertility rate: 3.8 children born/woman (1990)
 
Nationality: noun--Vietnamese (sing. and pl.); adjective--Vietnamese
 
Ethnic divisions: 85-90% predominantly Vietnamese; 3% Chinese; ethnic
minorities include Muong, Thai, Meo, Khmer, Man, Cham; other mountain tribes
 
Religion: Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist, Roman Catholic, indigenous beliefs,
Islamic, Protestant
 
Language: Vietnamese (official), French, Chinese, English, Khmer, tribal
languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
 
Literacy: 78%
 
Labor force: 35,000,000 (1989 est.)
 
Organized labor: reportedly over 90% of wage and salary earners are
members of the Vietnam Federation of Trade Unions (VFTU)
 
- Government
Long-form name: Socialist Republic of Vietnam; abbreviated SRV
 
Type: Communist state
 
Capital: Hanoi
 
Administrative divisions: 37 provinces (tinh, singular and plural),
3 municipalities* (thanh pho, singular and plural); An Giang,
Bac Thai, Ben Tre, Binh Tri Thien, Cao Bang, Cuu Long, Dac Lac, Dong Nai,
Dong Thap, Gia Lai-Cong Tum, Ha Bac, Hai Hung, Hai Phong*, Ha Nam Ninh,
Ha Noi*, Ha Son Binh, Ha Tuyen, Hau Giang, Hoang Lien Son, Ho Chi Minh*,
Kien Giang, Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Lang Son, Long An, Minh Hai, Nghe Tinh,
Nghia Binh, Phu Khanh, Quang Nam-Da Nang, Quang Ninh, Song Be, Son La,
Tay Ninh, Thai Binh, Thanh Hoa, Thuan Hai, Tien Giang, Vinh Pu,
Vung Tau-Con Dao; note--diacritical marks are not included; the number
of provinces may have been changed with the elimination of
Binh Tri Thien, Nghia Binh, and Phu Khanh and the addition of Binh Dinh,
Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Ngai, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien
 
Independence: 2 September 1945 (from France)
 
Constitution: 18 December 1980
 
Legal system: based on Communist legal theory and French civil law system
 
National holiday: Independence Day, 2 September (1945)
 
Executive branch: chairman of the Council of State, Council of State,
chairman of the Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers
 
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Quoc Hoi)
 
Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court
 
Leaders:
Chief of State--Chairman of the Council of State Vo Chi CONG (since
18 June 1987);
 
Head of Government--Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Premier) Do MUOI
(since 22 June 1988)
 
Political parties and leaders: only party-- Vietnam Communist Party
(VCP), Nguyen Van Linh
 
Suffrage: universal at age 18
 
Elections:
National Assembly--last held 19 April 1987
(next to be held April 1992);
results--VCP is the only party;
seats--(496 total) VCP or VCP-approved 496
 
Communists: nearly 2 million
 
Member of: ADB, CEMA, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBEC,
IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, IRC, ITU, Mekong
Committee, NAM, UN, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
 
Diplomatic representation: none
 
Flag: red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center
 
- Economy
Overview: This is a centrally planned, developing economy with
extensive government ownership and control of productive facilities.
The economy is primarily agricultural, employing about 65% of the labor
force and accounting for almost half of GNP. Rice is the staple crop;
substantial amounts of maize, sorghum, cassava, and sweet potatoes are
also grown. The government permits sale of surplus grain on the open
market. Most of the mineral resources are located in the north,
including coal, which is an important export item. Following the
end of the war in 1975, heavy handed government measures undermined
efforts at an efficient merger of the agricultural resources of the
south and the industrial resources of the north. The economy remains
heavily dependent on foreign aid and has received assistance from
Communist countries, Sweden, and UN agencies. Inflation, although down
from recent triple-digit levels, is still a major weakness, and per
capita output is among the world's lowest. Since early 1989 the
government has sponsored a broad reform program that seeks to turn more
economic activity over to the private sector.
 
GNP: $14.2 billion, per capita $215; real growth rate 8% (1989 est.)
 
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 40% (1989 est.)
 
Unemployment rate: 25% (1989 est.)
 
Budget: revenues $3.2 billion; expenditures $4.3 billion, including
capital expenditures of $528 million (1987 est.)
 
Exports: $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--agricultural and
handicraft products, coal, minerals, ores; partners--USSR, Eastern Europe,
Japan, Singapore
 
Imports: $2.5 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--petroleum,
steel products, railroad equipment, chemicals, medicines, raw cotton,
fertilizer, grain; partners--USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, Singapore
 
External debt: $16 billion (1989)
 
Industrial production: growth rate 10% (1989)
 
Electricity: 2,465,000 kW capacity; 6,730 million kWh produced,
100 kWh per capita (1989)
 
Industries: food processing, textiles, machine building, mining,
cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, fishing
 
Agriculture: accounts for half of GNP; paddy rice, corn, potatoes make up
50% of farm output; commercial crops (rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas)
and animal products other 50%; not self-sufficient in food staple rice; fish
catch of 900,000 metric tons (1988 est.)
 
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-74), $3.1 billion;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87),
$2.7 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $61 million; Communist
countries (1970-88), $10.9 million
 
Currency: new dong (plural--new dong); 1 new dong (D) = 100 xu
 
Exchange rates: new dong (D) per US$1--4,000 (March 1990),
900 (1988), 225 (1987), 18 (1986), 12 (1985); note--1985-89 figures
are end of year
 
Fiscal year: calendar year
 
- Communications
Railroads: 3,059 km total; 2,454 1.000-meter gauge, 151 km 1.435-meter
standard gauge, 230 km dual gauge (three rails), and 224 km not restored to
service
 
Highways: about 85,000 km total; 9,400 km bituminous, 48,700 km gravel or
improved earth, 26,900 km unimproved earth
 
Pipelines: 150 km, refined products
 
Inland waterways: about 17,702 km navigable; more than 5,149 km navigable
at all times by vessels up to 1.8 meter draft
 
Ports: Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City
 
Merchant marine: 71 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 290,123 GRT/432,152
DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 55 cargo, 4 refrigerated cargo,
1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 vehicle carrier, 8 petroleum, oils, and lubricants
(POL) tanker, 1 bulk; note--Vietnam owns 10 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 111,028 DWT under the registry of Panama and Malta
 
Civil air: controlled by military
 
Airports: 100 total, 100 usable; 50 with permanent-surface runways; 10
with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 20 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
 
Telecommunications: 35,000 telephones in Ho Chi Minh City (1984);
stations--16 AM, 1 FM, 2 TV; 2,300,000 TV sets; 6,000,000 radio receivers;
at least 2 satellite earth stations, including 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT
 
- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
 
Military manpower: males 15-49, 15,707,629; 10,030,563 fit for military
service; 787,444 reach military age (17) annually
 
Defense expenditures: 19.4% of GNP (1986 est.)
----------------------------------------------------

Newsgroups: soc.culture.vietnamese