China is to the north and Laos and Cambodia to the west.
The Mekong River delta lies in the south, a heavily populated area subject to flooding. Vietnam is a communist state with the capital at Hanoi. The total land area is 325,360 sq. Despite being so strongly associated in the west with the memories of the Vietnam war, the country is managing to rebuild its tourist industry and to show signs that it might become a significant economic force in the region. In the mid 1990's Vietnam welcomed 750,000 tourists a year.