Vietnam's economy today is as varied as its country and people. The vast majority of the inhabitants are farmers, as 80 per cent of its 31 million people till the land and live mainly in the delta and lowland coastal areas. The major food crop is rice. Approximately 46 per cent of Vietnam's land area is considered suitable for farming, yet only 20 per cent is currently under cultivation. The less fertile land in the northern regions contains deposits of coal and ores which serve as an industrial base for the country's future.
Rubber is an important product in the lightly industrialized, mineral deficient South.
Fish is a principal source of food for the Vietnamese. Rapidly developing as a major industry, saltwater fishing is done in 20 provinces along 900 miles of coastline, employing 250,000 Vietnamese people and 57,000 fishing boats. In land rivers and canals are fished, and in natural and artificial ponds, fish are bred and fattened for the family or for the market. New factories and industrial centers have developed in the cities, serving to develop finished products from the raw materials obtained from the rural areas. As Vietnam's growth continues, its cities will serve as the hub of the economy.