Vietnam History

Vietnam Historical Images – Hình Ảnh Lịch Sử Việt Nam (in ManhHai’s Photo Stream)

Vietnam Historical Images – Hình Ảnh Việt Nam (in ManhHai’s Photo)

Vietnam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Historical Vietnamese flags The three red stripes in the former flag of South Vietnam (1948-1975) represent the three regions of Vietnam, while the colors are associated with the expression, “red blood and yellow skin”. Traditional images show the Trung sisters wearing yellow turbans during their revolt against China in AD 40.[13] These were unwrapped and waved to signal the beginning of a fight.[14] A yellow banner with a red circle in the center was adopted as a standard by Emperor Gia Long (r. 1802–1820).[15] This standard was used by supporters of the anti-French Cần Vương, or “Save the king”, movement in 1885, effectively making it Vietnam’s first national flag.[15] Emperor Thành Thái‘s flag, adopted in 1890, had a yellow background and three red stripes (cờ vàng ba sọc đỏ).[16] The three stripes represented the Quẻ Càn, or Qian trigram, one of eight trigrams used in the I-Ching, a Taoist scripture.[14][17] Quẻ Càn is the divination sign for heaven.[14] Later, the stripes were reinterpreted to represent the northern, central and southern regions of Vietnam.[16] The French, who gradually gained control of Vietnam in the late 19th century, flew the Tricolour, the French national flag. As the colony of Cochinchina (1864–1945), the South was under exclusive French authority. In contrast, North and Central Vietnam were protectorates with parallel systems of Vietnamese and French administration. Several flags were flown in these regions: the French flag, the Vietnamese imperial flag, and a “protectorate flag.”[18] From 1920 to 1945, the Vietnamese imperial flag had a yellow background with a single, broad red stripe.[18] Japan occupied Vietnam in 1941-1945. In March 1945, the Japanese deposed the French colonial authorities and proclaimed an Empire of Vietnam with Bảo Đại as emperor. The Quẻ Ly Flag, also a red trigram on a yellow background, was adopted in June. Among other things, Quẻ Ly symbolizes the direction south. Bảo Đại abdicated in August when Japan surrendered. The French returned in October 1945, but were challenged by the Vietminh, especially in the North. The French proclaimed Cochinchina a republic in June 1946. This puppet state adopted a Quẻ Càn flag with blue stripes on a yellow background.[18] In May 1948, the name of the Cochinchina government was changed to “Provisional Central Government of Vietnam” in preparation for a merger with the North outlined in the Hạ Long Bay agreements between France and Bảo Đại. Artist Lê Văn Đệ (1906–1966) met Bảo Đại in Hong Kong in 1948 and proposed that the Quẻ Càn flag of Emperor Thành Thái be restored. On 2 June 1948, Chief of State Nguyễn Văn Xuân, signed an ordinance to adopt this flag: “The national emblem is a flag of yellow background, the height of which is equal to two-thirds of its width. In the middle of the flag and along its entire width, there are three horizontal red bands. Each band has a height equal to one-fifteenth of the width. These three red bands are separated from one another by a space of the band’s height.”[14] This flag was used in the South until 1975. It continues to be used by overseas Vietnamese as the “Heritage and Freedom Flag“, but is de facto banned in Vietnam. Flag Duration Use Name/Description 1863–1885 Flag of emperors Gia Long and Tự Đức. This was originally the personal banner of Emperor Gia Long (r. 1802–1820). It was used as a national flag beginning in 1863. The Long tinh or Dragon Spirit Flag. Influences: Yellow is the color of an emperor. [“Emperor” is hoàng đế (皇帝). Hoàng (黃) is Sino-Vietnamese for “yellow”.] The color red is connected to “south”. 1885–1890 Flag of Emperor Đồng Khánh Đại Nam Kỳ (National Flag of the Great South). Đại Nam (大南, great south) was the official name of Vietnam at this time. “大” is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise, while “南” is rotated 90 degree clockwise. 1890–1920 Flag of Emperor Thành Thái A yellow field with three red stripes. The stripes represent the Quẻ Càn, or Qian trigram, also interpreted as representing the three regions of Vietnam (North, Central, and South). Influences: 1920–1945 Flag of emperors Khải Định and Bảo Đại A yellow field with a single red stripe. Referred to as the Long tinh or Dragon Spirit Flag. Influences: 1923 – March 1945 The “protectorate flag” of French Indochina French flag canton on a yellow field. Influences: May 8 – August 30, 1945 Flag of emperors Bảo Đại A yellow field with a single red stripe. Referred to as the Long tinh or Dragon Spirit Emperor Flag. Influences: May 8 – August 30, 1945 Flag of the Empire of Vietnam (Japanese puppet state) A yellow field with three red stripes. The stripes represent the Quẻ Ly, or Li trigram. Influences: 1946–1948 Flag of the Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina (Nam Kỳ Cộng hòa quốc) A yellow field with three blue strips. Cochinchina is a precursor of South Vietnam. Influences: June 2, 1948 – April 30, 1975 Flag of the Provisional Central Government of Vietnam (1948-1949), the State of Vietnam (1949-1955) and South Vietnam (1955-1975) A yellow field, with three red stripes. Identical to Thành Thái’s flag: August 18, 1945 – November 30, 1955 Flag of the Viet Minh state in northern Vietnam. Adopted by the Viet Minh in 1941. A red field with a large yellow star. November 30, 1955 – present Flag of North Vietnam (1955-1976) and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1976–present) A red field with a large yellow star. Influences: Previous Flag of North Vietnam with the star sharpened following a similar modification of the Flag of the Soviet Union. 1960–1975 Flag of the Vietcong. This was briefly the legal flag of South Vietnam after Saigon fell in 1975. A yellow star on a red and blue background. Influences: .
Location of  Vietnam  (green) in ASEAN  (dark grey)  —  [Legend]
Capital		Hanoi 21°2′N 105°51′E
Largest city		Ho Chi Minh City
Official languages		Vietnamese
Official scripts		Vietnamese
Ethnic groups		86.2% Kinh (Viet) 1.9% Tay 1.7% Tai 1.5% Mường 1.4% Khmer Krom 1.1% Hoa 1.1% Nùng 1% Hmong 4.1% Others
Demonym		Vietnamese
Government		Marxist–Leninist single-party state
–	President	Trương Tấn Sang
–	Prime Minister	Nguyễn Tấn Dũng
–	Chairman of National Assembly	Nguyễn Sinh Hùng
–	Chief Justice	Trương Hòa Bình
–	Communist Party General Secretary	Nguyễn Phú Trọng
Legislature		National Assembly
Formation
–	Independence from China	938
–	Independence from France	2 September 1945
–	Vietnam War	1955–1975
–	Reunification	2 July 1976[1]
–	Current constitution	15 April 1992
Area
–	Total	331,210 km2 (65th) 128,565 sq mi
–	Water (%)	6.4[2]
Population
–	2012 estimate	90,388,000[3] (13th)
–	Density	272/km2 (46th) 703/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2012 estimate
–	Total	$320.677 billion[3]
–	Per capita	$3,547[3]
GDP (nominal)		2012 estimate
–	Total	$138.071 billion[3]
–	Per capita	$1,527[3]
Gini (2008)		35.6[4] medium
HDI (2012)		0.617[5] medium · 127th
Currency		đồng (₫)[6] (VND)
Time zone		ICT (Indochina Time) UTC+7 (UTC+7)
–	Summer (DST)	No DST (UTC+7)
Drives on the		right
Calling code		+84
ISO 3166 code		VN
Internet TLD		.vn
Map of the Indochina Peninsula showing Vietnam and its neighbors.

Vietnam (ⁱ/ˌviːətˈnɑːm/, /viˌɛt–/, /–ˈnæm/, /ˌvjɛt–/;^[7] Vietnamese pronunciation: [viət˨ naːm˧] ( listen)) officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam ( listen)), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 90.3 million inhabitants as of 2012, it is the world’s 13th-most-populous country, and the eighth-most-populous Asian country. The name Vietnam translates as “South Viet”, and was officially adopted in 1945. The country is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east.^[8] Its capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1976.
The Vietnamese became independent from Imperial China in 938 AD, following the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Successive Vietnamese royal dynasties flourished as the nation expanded geographically and politically into Southeast Asia, until the Indochina Peninsula was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. The First Indochina War eventually led to the expulsion of the French in 1954, leaving Vietnam divided politically into two states, North and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified, with heavy foreign intervention, during the Vietnam War, which ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975.
Vietnam was then unified under a Communist government, but was politically isolated and impoverished. In 1986, the government initiated a series of economic and political reforms, which began Vietnam’s path towards integration into the world economy.^[9] By 2000, it had established diplomatic relations with most nations. Vietnam’s economic growth has been among the highest in the world since 2000,^[9] and in 2011 it had the highest Global Growth Generators Index among 11 major economies.^[10] Its successful economic reforms resulted in it joining the World Trade Organization in 2007. However, the country still suffers from relatively high levels of income inequality, disparities in healthcare provision, and poor gender equality.^{[11][12][13][14][15]}

Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 Prehistory 2.2 Bronze Age 2.3 Dynastic Vietnam 2.4 1887–1940: French Vietnam 2.5 1945–1954: First Indochina War 2.6 1954–1975: Vietnam War 2.7 1976–present: reunification and reforms 3 Government and politics 3.1 Military 3.2 International relations 3.3 Administrative subdivisions 4 Geography 4.1 Climate 4.2 Ecology and biodiversity 5 Economy 5.1 Trade 5.2 Science and technology 5.3 Transport 5.3.1 Air 5.3.2 Road 5.3.3 Rail 5.3.4 Water 6 Demographics 6.1 Population 6.2 Languages 6.3 Religion 6.4 Education 6.5 Health 7 Culture 7.1 Media 7.2 Music 7.3 Literature 7.4 Festivals 7.5 Tourism 7.6 Clothing 7.7 Sport 7.8 Cuisine 8 See also 9 References 10 Notes 11 Further reading 12 External links

Etymology

Main article: Names of Vietnam

The name Việt Nam (Vietnamese pronunciation: [viə̀t naːm]) is a variation of “Nam Việt” (Chinese: 南越; pinyin: Nányuè; literally “Southern Việt“), a name that can be traced back to the Trieu dynasty of the 2nd century BC.^[16] The word Việt originated as a shortened form of Bách Việt (Chinese: 百越; pinyin: Bǎiyuè), a word applied to a group of peoples then living in southern China and Vietnam.^[17] The form “Vietnam” (越南) is first recorded in the 16th-century oracular poem Sấm Trạng Trình.^[18] The name has also been found on 12 steles carved in the 16th and 17th centuries, including one at Bao Lam Pagoda in Haiphong that was carved in 1558.^[19]
Between 1804 and 1813, the name was used officially by Emperor Gia Long.^[20] It was revived in the early 20th century by Phan Boi Chau‘s History of the Loss of Vietnam, and later by the Vietnamese Nationalist Party.^[21] The country was usually called Annam until 1945, when both the imperial government in Hue and the Viet Minh government in Hanoi adopted Việt Nam.^[22] Since the use of Chinese characters was discontinued in 1918, the alphabetic spelling of Vietnam is official.

History

Main article: History of Vietnam

Prehistory

Archaeological excavations have revealed the existence of humans in what is now Vietnam as early as the Paleolithic age. Homo erectus fossils dating to around 500,000 BC have been found in caves in Lang Son and Nghe An provinces in northern Vietnam.^[23] The oldest Homo sapiens fossils from mainland Southeast Asia are of Middle Pleistocene provenance, and include isolated teeth fragments from Tham Om and Hang Hum.^[24] Teeth attributed to Homo sapiens from the Late Pleistocene have also been found at Dong Can,^[25] and from the Early Holocene at Mai Da Dieu,^[25] Lang Gao^[26] and Lang Cuom.^[27]

Bronze Age

Main article: Dong Son Culture

A Dong Son bronze drum.

By about 1000 BC, the development of wet-rice cultivation and bronze casting in the Ma River and Red River floodplains led to the flourishing of the Đông Sơn culture, notable for its elaborate bronze drums. At this time, the early Vietnamese kingdoms of Văn Lang and Âu Lạc appeared, and the culture’s influence spread to other parts of Southeast Asia, including the Indo-Malayan Archipelago, throughout the first millennium BC.^[28][29][30]

Dynastic Vietnam

Map showing ancient Nam Viet at its greatest extent.

Map of Vietnam showing the conquest of the south (the Nam tiến), 1069–1757.

The legendary Hồng Bàng Dynasty of the Hùng kings is considered the first Vietnamese state, known in Vietnamese as Văn Lang. In 257 BC, the last Hùng king was defeated by Thục Phán, who consolidated the Lạc Việt and Âu Việt tribes to form the Âu Lạc, proclaiming himself An Dương Vương. In 207 BC, a Chinese general named Zhao Tuo defeated An Dương Vương and consolidated Âu Lạc into Nanyue. However, Nanyue was itself incorporated into the empire of the Chinese Han Dynasty in 111 BC.
For the next thousand years, Vietnam remained mostly under Chinese rule.^[31] Early independence movements, such as those of the Trưng Sisters and Lady Triệu, were only temporarily successful, but the region did become independent as Vạn Xuân under the Anterior Lý Dynasty between 544 and 602 AD. By the early 10th century, Vietnam had gained autonomy, but not independence, under the Khúc family.
In 938 AD, the Vietnamese lord Ngô Quyền defeated the Chinese forces of the Southern Han state at Bạch Đằng River and regained independence after a millennium of Chinese domination.^[32] Renamed as Đại Việt (Great Viet), the nation enjoyed a golden era under the Lý and Trần Dynasties. During the rule of the Trần Dynasty, Đại Việt repelled three Mongol invasions.^[33] Meanwhile, Buddhism flourished and became the state religion.
Following the brief rule of the Hồ Dynasty, Vietnamese independence was briefly interrupted by the Chinese Ming Dynasty, but was restored by Lê Lợi, the founder of the Lê Dynasty. The Vietnamese dynasties reached their zenith in the Lê Dynasty of the 15th century, especially during the reign of Emperor Lê Thánh Tông (1460–1497).
Between the 11th and 18th centuries, Vietnam expanded southward in a process known as nam tiến (“southward expansion“),^[34] eventually conquering the kingdom of Champa and part of the Khmer Empire.^[35][36]
From the 16th century onwards, civil strife and frequent political infighting engulfed much of Vietnam. First, the Chinese-supported Mạc Dynasty challenged the Lê Dynasty’s power. After the Mạc Dynasty was defeated, the Lê Dynasty was nominally reinstalled, but actual power was divided between the northern Trịnh Lords and the southern Nguyễn Lords, who engaged in a civil war for more than four decades before a truce was called in the 1670s. During this time, the Nguyễn expanded southern Vietnam into the Mekong Delta, annexing the central highlands of Tay Nguyen and the Khmer lands in the Mekong Delta.
The division of the country ended a century later when the Tây Sơn brothers established a new dynasty. However, their rule did not last long, and they were defeated by the remnants of the Nguyễn Lords, led by Nguyễn Ánh and aided by the French.^[37] Nguyễn Ánh unified Vietnam, and established the Nguyễn Dynasty, ruling under the name Gia Long.

The Imperial City in Huế.

The Imperial crown of the Nguyễn emperors.

1887–1940: French Vietnam

French Indochina in 1913.

Main articles: Cochinchina campaign, Sino-French War, French Indochina, and Empire of Vietnam

Vietnam’s independence was gradually eroded by France – aided by large Catholic collaborator militias – in a series of military conquests between 1859 and 1885. In 1887, the entire country formally became part of French Indochina. The French administration imposed significant political and cultural changes on Vietnamese society. A Western-style system of modern education was developed, and Roman Catholicism was propagated widely in Vietnamese society. Most of the French settlers in Indochina were concentrated in Cochinchina – the southern third of Vietnam – based around the city of Saigon.^[38]
Developing a plantation economy to promote the export of tobacco, indigo, tea and coffee, the French largely ignored increasing calls for Vietnamese self-government and civil rights. A nationalist political movement soon emerged, with leaders such as Phan Boi Chau, Phan Chu Trinh, Phan Dinh Phung, Emperor Hàm Nghi and Ho Chi Minh fighting or calling for independence. However, the royalist Can Vuong was defeated in the 1890s after a decade of resistance, and the 1930 Yen Bai mutiny of the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang was put down easily. The French maintained control of their colonies until World War II, when the war in the Pacific led to the Japanese invasion of French Indochina in 1941.
With the defeat of France in Europe in 1940, the French Third Republic was replaced by the Vichy Regime, to which the colony remained loyal. Heavily dependent on Nazi Germany, Vichy France was forced to surrender control of French Indochina to Germany’s ally, Japan. The natural resources of Vietnam were exploited for the purposes of the Japanese Empire’s military campaigns into the British Indochinese colonies of Burma, the Malay Peninsula and India. The Japanese occupation was a key cause of the Vietnamese Famine of 1945, which caused between 400,000 and two million deaths,^[39] equivalent to as much as 10% of the contemporary population.^[40]

1945–1954: First Indochina War

Main articles: First Indochina War, Democratic Republic of Vietnam, State of Vietnam, State of Vietnam referendum, 1955, and Operation Passage to Freedom

In 1941, the Viet Minh – a communist and nationalist liberation movement – emerged under the Marxist-Leninist revolutionary Ho Chi Minh, who sought independence for Vietnam from France and the end of the Japanese occupation. Following the military defeat of Japan and the fall of its puppet Empire of Vietnam in August 1945, the Viet Minh occupied Hanoi and proclaimed a provisional government, which asserted national independence on 2 September.^[41]

A French-marked USAF C-119 flown by CIA pilots releases paratroopers over Dien Bien Phu in 1954.

In the same year, the Provisional French Republic sent the French Far East Expeditionary Corps – originally created to fight the Japanese occupation forces – to pacify the Vietnamese liberation movement and to restore French colonial rule. On 23 November 1946, French vessels bombarded the port city of Hai Phong, and the Viet Minh’s guerrilla campaign against French forces began soon after. The resulting First Indochina War lasted until 20 July 1954.

French soldiers fight off a Viet Minh ambush in 1952.

Despite taking fewer losses during the course of the war – the Expeditionary Corps suffered one-third of the casualties of the Chinese and Soviet-backed Viet Minh – the French and Vietnamese loyalists eventually suffered a major strategic setback at during their defeat at the Siege of Dien Bien Phu, which allowed Ho Chi Minh to negotiate a ceasefire from a favorable position at the Geneva Conference of 1954. The colonial administration ended and French Indochina was dissolved under the Geneva Accords of 1954, which separated the forces of former French supporters and communist nationalists at the 17th parallel north with the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone.^{[N 2]} A 300-day period of free movement was given, during which almost a million northerners, mainly Catholic, moved south, fearing persecution by the communists.
The partition of Vietnam, with Ho Chi Minh’s Democratic Republic of Vietnam in North Vietnam, and Emperor Bảo Đại‘s State of Vietnam in South Vietnam, was not intended to be permanent by the Geneva Accords, and the Accords expressly forbade the interference of third powers. However, in 1955, the State of Vietnam’s Prime Minister, Ngo Dinh Diem, toppled Bảo Đại in a fraudulent referendum organised by his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu, and proclaimed himself president of the Republic of Vietnam.

1954–1975: Vietnam War

Main articles: Vietnam War and Role of the United States in the Vietnam War

The pro-Hanoi Vietcong began a guerrilla campaign in the late 1950s to overthrow Diem’s government, which an official Vietcong statement described as a “disguised colonial regime.”^[45] In the North, the communist government launched a land reform program, which, according to Steven Rosefielde, was “aimed at exterminating class enemies.”^[46] It is estimated that between 50,000^[47] and 172,000^[46] people perished in the campaigns against wealthy farmers and landowners. Rosefielde discusses much higher estimates, ranging from 200,000 to 900,000, which include summary executions of National People’s Party members.^[46][48] In 1960, the Soviet Union and North Vietnam signed a treaty opening the way for further Soviet military support, cementing this with a further treaty in 1962. In the South, Diem went about crushing political and religious opposition, imprisoning, torturing or killing tens of thousands.^[49][50]

A Vietcong soldier stands guard during a prisoner exchange with American forces in 1973.

In 1963, Buddhist discontent with Diem’s pro-Catholic regime erupted into mass demonstrations following the banning of the Buddhist flag and the Hue Vesak shootings. With Diem unwilling to compromise, Nhu orchestrated the Xa Loi Pagoda raids; estimates of the death toll range into the hundreds. As a result, America’s relationship with Diem broke down, resulting in the 1963 coup that saw Diem and Nhu assassinated.
The Diem era was followed by a series of corrupt military regimes that often lasted only months before being toppled by other military officers. With South Vietnam paralyzed by instability, the communists began to gain ground. There were more than a dozen South Vietnamese governments between 1961 and 1965, before the pairing of Air Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky and General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu took control in mid-1965. Thieu gradually outmaneuvered Ky and cemented his grip on power in fraudulent elections in 1967 and 1971.^[51]
To support South Vietnam’s struggle against the communist insurgency, the United States began increasing its contribution of military advisers, using the staged 1964 Tonkin Gulf incident as a pretext for such intervention.^[52] US forces became embroiled in ground combat operations in 1965, and at their peak they numbered more than 500,000.^[53][54] The US also engaged in a sustained aerial bombing campaign. Meanwhile, China and the Soviet Union furnished North Vietnam with a huge volume of military aid, including aircraft, radar, artillery, air defense systems, small arms, ammunition, food, medical supplies and 15,000 combat advisers.^[55][56]
Communist forces attacked major targets in South Vietnam en masse during the 1968 Tet Offensive, and although their campaign failed militarily, it shocked the American establishment, and turned US public opinion against the war.^[57] In the former capital city of Huế, communist troops captured the Imperial Citadel and much of the city, which led to the Battle of Huế. During the interim between the capture of the Citadel and end of the Battle of Huế, the communist forces massacred over 3,000 unarmed civilians. Communist forces supplying the Vietcong carried supplies along the Ho Chi Minh trail, which passed through Laos and Cambodia.
Its own casualties mounting, and facing opposition to the war at home and condemnation abroad, the US began withdrawing from ground combat roles according to the Nixon Doctrine; the process was subsequently called Vietnamization. The effort had mixed results, ultimately failing to stabilize South Vietnam. The Paris Peace Accords of 27 January 1973 formally recognized the sovereignty of Vietnam “as recognized by the 1954 Geneva Agreements.” Under the terms of the accords, all American combat troops were withdrawn by 29 March 1973. Limited fighting continued, before North Vietnam captured the province of Phuoc Long in December 1974 and started a full-scale offensive, culminating in the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. South Vietnam briefly came under the nominal rule of a Provisional Revolutionary Government while under military occupation by North Vietnam. On 2 July 1976, North and South Vietnam were merged to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.^[1] The war left Vietnam devastated, with the total death toll standing at between 800,000 and 3.1 million, and many thousands more crippled by the use of chemical weapons such as Agent Orange.^[39][58][59]

1976–present: reunification and reforms

Main article: Doi Moi

Saigon Trade Center, one of the first skyscrapers to emerge in Ho Chi Minh City after the Doi Moi reforms.

In the aftermath of the war, under Lê Duẩn‘s administration, the government embarked on a mass campaign of collectivization of farms and factories. This caused an economic collapse and resulted in triple-digit inflation. Reconstruction of the war-ravaged country was slow, and serious humanitarian and economic problems confronted the communist regime. At least one million South Vietnamese were sent to reeducation camps, with an estimated 165,000 prisoners dying.^[60][61] Between 100,000^[60][62][63] and 200,000^[64] South Vietnamese were executed.^[65] R.J. Rummel, an analyst of political killings, estimated that about 50,000 South Vietnamese deported to “New Economic Zones” died performing hard labor,^[66] out of the 1 million that were sent.^[60] In the late 1970s and early 1980s, millions of people fled the country in crudely built boats, creating an international humanitarian crisis.^[67][68] Between 200,000 and 400,000 boat people died at sea.^[69] (See: Indochina refugee crisis)
In 1978, the Vietnamese military invaded Cambodia to remove from power the Khmer Rouge, who had been razing Vietnamese border villages and massacring the inhabitants.^[70] Vietnam was victorious, installing a regime in Cambodia whose leaders ruled until 1989.^[71] This action worsened relations with the Chinese, who launched a brief incursion into northern Vietnam in 1979.^[72] This conflict caused Vietnam to rely even more heavily on Soviet economic and military aid.
At the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam in December 1986, reformist politicians upset by the country’s lack of economic progress replaced the “old guard” government with new leadership.^[73][74] The reformers were led by 71-year-old Nguyen Van Linh, who became the party’s new general secretary.^[74] Linh was a native of northern Vietnam who had served in the south both during and after the Vietnam War.^[73][74] In a historic shift, Linh and the reformers implemented a series of free-market reforms – known as Đổi Mới (Renovation) – which carefully managed the transition from a planned economy to a “socialist-oriented market economy“.^[75][76]
Though the authority of the state remained unchallenged, the government encouraged private ownership of farms and factories, economic deregulation and foreign investment, while maintaining control over strategic industries.^[76] The Vietnamese economy subsequently achieved rapid growth in agricultural and industrial production, construction, exports and foreign investment. However, these reforms have also caused a rise in income inequality and gender disparities.^[13][14][15]

Government and politics

Main articles: Politics of Vietnam and Military of Vietnam

The Presidential Palace in Hanoi, formerly the Palace of The Governor-General of French Indochina.

The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi.

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam, along with China, Cuba, and Laos, is one of the world’s four remaining single-party socialist states espousing communism. Its current state constitution, which replaced the 1975 constitution in April 1992, asserts the central role of the Communist Party of Vietnam in all organs of government, politics and society. The General Secretary of the Communist Party performs numerous key administrative and executive functions, controlling the party’s national organization and state appointments, as well as setting policy. Only political organizations affiliated with or endorsed by the Communist Party are permitted to contest elections in Vietnam. These include the Vietnamese Fatherland Front and worker and trade unionist parties. Although the state remains officially committed to socialism as its defining creed, its economic policies have grown increasingly capitalist,^[77] with The Economist characterizing its leadership as “ardently capitalist communists”.^[78]
The President of Vietnam is the titular head of state and the nominal commander-in-chief of the military, serving as the Chairman of the Council of Supreme Defense and Security. The Prime Minister of Vietnam is the head of government, presiding over a council of ministers composed of three deputy prime ministers and the heads of 26 ministries and commissions.
The National Assembly of Vietnam is the unicameral legislature of the state, composed of 498 members. Headed by a Chairman, it is superior to both the executive and judicial branches, with all government ministers being appointed from members of the National Assembly. The Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam, headed by a Chief Justice, is the country’s highest court of appeal, though it is also answerable to the National Assembly. Beneath the Supreme People’s Court stand the provincial municipal courts and numerous local courts. Military courts possess special jurisdiction in matters of national security.

Military

The Vietnam People’s Armed Forces consists of the Vietnam People’s Army, the Vietnam People’s Public Security and the Vietnam Civil Defense Force. The Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) is the official name for the active military services of Vietnam, and is subdivided into the Vietnam People’s Ground Forces, the Vietnam People’s Navy, the Vietnam People’s Air Force, the Vietnam Border Defense Force and the Vietnam Marine Police. The VPA has an active manpower of around 450,000, but its total strength, including paramilitary forces, may be as high as 5,000,000.^[79] In 2011, Vietnam’s military expenditure totalled approximately US$2.48 billion, equivalent to around 2.5% of its 2010 GDP.^[80]

International relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Vietnam

Vietnamese troops on one of the disputed Spratly Islands in 2009.

Throughout its history, Vietnam’s key foreign relationship has been with its largest neighbour and one-time imperial master, China. Vietnam’s sovereign principles and insistence on cultural independence have been laid down in numerous documents over the centuries, such as the 11th-century patriotic poem Nam quốc sơn hà and the 1428 proclamation of independence Bình Ngô đại cáo. Though China and Vietnam are now formally at peace, significant territorial tensions remain between the two countries.^[81]
Currently, the formal mission statement of Vietnamese foreign policy is to: “Implement consistently the foreign policy line of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development; the foreign policy of openness and diversification and multi-lateralization of international relations. Proactively and actively engage in international economic integration while expanding international cooperation in other fields.”^[82] Vietnam furthermore declares itself to be “a friend and reliable partner of all countries in the international community, actively taking part in international and regional cooperation processes.”^[82]
By December 2007, Vietnam had established diplomatic relations with 172 countries, including the United States, which normalized relations in 1995.^[83][84] Vietnam holds membership of 63 international organizations, including the United Nations, ASEAN, NAM, Francophonie and WTO. It is furthermore a member of around 650 non-government organizations.^[85]

Administrative subdivisions

Main articles: Provinces of Vietnam, Municipalities of Vietnam, and Districts of Vietnam

Vietnam is divided into 58 provinces (Vietnamese: tỉnh, from the Chinese 省, shěng). There are also five municipalities (thành phố trực thuộc trung ương), which are administratively on the same level as provinces.

A clickable map of Vietnam exhibiting its 58 provinces and 5 centrally controlled municipalities.

Red River Delta Bắc Ninh Ha Nam Hai Duong Hung Yen Nam Dinh Ninh Binh Thai Binh Vĩnh Phúc Hanoi (municipality) Hai Phong (municipality)	Northeast Bắc Giang Bắc Kạn Cao Bang Ha Giang Lang Son Lao Cai Phu Tho Quang Ninh Thái Nguyên Tuyen Quang Yen Bai	Northwest Dien Bien Hoa Binh Lai Chau Son La	North Central Coast Ha Tinh Nghe An Quang Binh Quảng Trị Thanh Hóa Thừa Thiên-Huế
Central Highlands Dak Lak Dak Nong Gia Lai Kon Tum Lam Dong	South Central Coast Binh Dinh Binh Thuan Khanh Hoa Ninh Thuan Phu Yen Quang Nam Quang Ngai Da Nang (municipality)	Southeast Ba Ria-Vung Tau Binh Duong Binh Phuoc Dong Nai Tay Ninh Ho Chi Minh (municipality)	Mekong River Delta An Giang Bạc Liêu Bến Tre Ca Mau Dong Thap Hau Giang Kien Giang Long An Soc Trang Tien Giang Tra Vinh Vĩnh Long Cần Thơ (municipality)

The provinces are subdivided into provincial municipalities (thành phố trực thuộc tỉnh), townships (thị xã) and counties (huyện), which are in turn subdivided into towns (thị trấn) or communes (xã). The centrally controlled municipalities are subdivided into districts (quận) and counties, which are further subdivided into wards (phường).

Geography

Main article: Geography of Vietnam

Topographic map of Vietnam.

Vietnam is located on the eastern Indochina Peninsula between the latitudes 8° and 24°N, and the longitudes 102° and 110°E. It covers a total area of approximately 331,210 km² (127,881 sq mi),^[2] making it almost the size of Germany. The combined length of the country’s land boundaries is 4,639 km (2,883 mi), and its coastline is 3,444 km (2,140 mi) long.^[2] Vietnam’s land is mostly hilly and densely forested, with level land covering no more than 20%. Mountains account for 40% of the country’s land area, and tropical forests cover around 42%.
The northern part of the country consists mostly of highlands and the Red River Delta. Phan Xi Păng, located in Lào Cai province, is the highest mountain in Vietnam, standing 3,143 m (10,312 ft) high. Southern Vietnam is divided into coastal lowlands, the mountains of the Annamite Range, and extensive forests. Comprising five relatively flat plateaus of basalt soil, the highlands account for 16% of the country’s arable land and 22% of its total forested land. The soil in much of southern Vietnam is relatively poor in nutrients.
The Red River Delta, a flat, roughly triangular region covering 15,000 km² (5,792 sq mi),^[86] is smaller but more intensely developed and more densely populated than the Mekong River Delta. Once an inlet of the Gulf of Tonkin, it has been filled in over the millennia by riverine alluvial deposits. The delta, covering about 40,000 km² (15,444 sq mi), is a low-level plain no more than 3 meters (9.8 ft) above sea level at any point. It is criss-crossed by a maze of rivers and canals, which carry so much sediment that the delta advances 60 to 80 meters (196.9 to 262.5 ft) into the sea every year.

A panorama of Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Climate

Main article: Climate of Vietnam

Because of differences in latitude and the marked variety in topographical relief, the climate tends to vary considerably from place to place. During the winter or dry season, extending roughly from November to April, the monsoon winds usually blow from the northeast along the Chinese coast and across the Gulf of Tonkin, picking up considerable moisture. Consequently, the winter season in most parts of the country is dry only by comparison with the rainy or summer season. The average annual temperature is generally higher in the plains than in the mountains, and higher in the south than in the north. Temperatures vary less in the southern plains around Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta, ranging between 21 and 28 °C (69.8 and 82.4 °F) over the course of the year. Seasonal variations in the mountains and plateaus and in the north are much more dramatic, with temperatures varying from 5 °C (41.0 °F) in December and January to 37 °C (98.6 °F) in July and August.

Ecology and biodiversity

See also: Environmental issues in Vietnam

Vietnam has two World Natural Heritage Sites – Ha Long Bay and Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park – and six biosphere reserves, including Can Gio Mangrove Forest, Cat Tien, Cat Ba, Kien Giang, the Red River Delta, and Western Nghe An.

The saola, one of the world’s rarest mammals, is native to Vietnam.

Vietnam lies in the Indomalaya ecozone. According to the 2005 National Environmental Present Condition Report.^[87] Vietnam is one of twenty-five countries considered to possess a uniquely high level of biodiversity. It is ranked 16th worldwide in biological diversity, being home to approximately 16% of the world’s species. 15,986 species of flora have been identified in the country, of which 10% are endemic, while Vietnam’s fauna include 307 nematode species, 200 oligochaeta, 145 acarina, 113 springtails, 7,750 insects, 260 reptiles, 120 amphibians, 840 birds and 310 mammals, of which 100 birds and 78 mammals are endemic.^[87]
Vietnam is furthermore home to 1,438 species of freshwater microalgae, constituting 9.6% of all microalgae species, as well as 794 aquatic invertebrates and 2,458 species of sea fish.^[87] In recent years, 13 genera, 222 species, and 30 taxa of flora have been newly described in Vietnam.^[87] Six new mammal species, including the saola, giant muntjac and Tonkin snub-nosed monkey have also been discovered, along with one new bird species, the endangered Edwards’s Pheasant.^[88] In the late 1980s, a small population of Javan Rhinoceros was found in Cát Tiên National Park. However, the last individual of the species in Vietnam was reportedly shot in 2010.^[89]
In agricultural genetic diversity, Vietnam is one of the world’s twelve original cultivar centers. The Vietnam National Cultivar Gene Bank preserves 12,300 cultivars of 115 species.^[87] The Vietnamese government spent US$49.07 million on the preservation of biodiversity in 2004 alone, and has established 126 conservation areas, including 28 national parks.^[87]

Economy

Main articles: Economy of Vietnam and Five-Year Plans of Vietnam

The Saigon River cargo port in Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho Chi Minh City’s Bitexco Financial Tower, the second-tallest building in Vietnam.

In 2012, Vietnam’s nominal GDP reached US$138 billion, with a nominal GDP per capita of $1,527, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).^[3] According to a December 2005 forecast by Goldman Sachs, the Vietnamese economy will become the world’s 17th-largest by 2025, with an estimated nominal GDP of $436 billion and a nominal GDP per capita of $4,357.^[90] According to a 2008 forecast by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Vietnam may be the fastest-growing of the world’s emerging economies by 2025, with a potential growth rate of almost 10% per annum in real dollar terms.^[91] In 2012, HSBC predicted that Vietnam’s total GDP would surpass those of Norway, Singapore and Portugal by 2050.^[92]
Vietnam has been, for much of its history, a predominantly agricultural civilization based on wet rice cultivation. However, the Vietnam War destroyed much of the country’s agrarian economy, leading the post-war government to implement a planned economy to revitalise agriculture and industrialise the nation. The collectivization of farms, factories and economic capital was implemented, and millions of people were put to work in government programs. For a decade following the Vietnam War, Vietnam’s economy was plagued with inefficiency and corruption in state programs, poor quality and underproduction, and restrictions on economic activity. It also suffered from the post-war trade embargo instituted by the United States and most of Europe. These problems were compounded by the erosion of the Soviet bloc, which included Vietnam’s main trading partners, in the late 1980s.
In 1986, the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party introduced socialist-oriented market economic reforms as part of the Đổi Mới reform program. Private ownership was encouraged in industries, commerce and agriculture.^[93] Thanks largely to these reforms, Vietnam achieved around 8% annual GDP growth between 1990 to 1997, and the economy continued to grow at an annual rate of around 7% from 2000 to 2005, making Vietnam one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Growth remained strong even in the face of the late-2000s global recession, holding at 6.8% in 2010, but Vietnam’s year-on-year inflation rate hit 11.8% in December 2010, according to a GSO estimate. The Vietnamese dong was devalued three times in 2010 alone.^[94]
Manufacturing, information technology and high-tech industries now form a large and fast-growing part of the national economy. Though Vietnam is a relative newcomer to the oil industry, it is currently the third-largest oil producer in Southeast Asia, with a total 2011 output of 318,000 barrels per day (50,600 m³/d).^[95] Like its Chinese neighbours, Vietnam continues to make use of centrally planned economic five-year plans.
Deep poverty, defined as the percentage of the population living on less than $1 per day, has declined significantly in Vietnam, and the relative poverty rate is now less than that of China, India, and the Philippines.^[96] This decline in the poverty rate can be attributed to equitable economic policies aimed at improving living standards and preventing the rise of inequality; these policies have included egalitarian land distribution during the initial stages of Đổi Mới, investment in poorer remote areas, and subsidising of education and healthcare.^[97] According to the IMF, the unemployment rate in Vietnam stood at 4.46% in 2012.^[3]

Trade

Since the early 2000s, Vietnam has applied sequenced trade liberalisation, a two-track approach opening some sectors of the economy to international markets while protecting others.^[97][98] In July 2006, Vietnam updated its intellectual property legislation to comply with TRIPS, and it became a member of the WTO on 11 January 2007. Vietnam is now one of Asia’s most open economies: two-way trade was valued at around 160% of GDP in 2006, more than twice the contemporary ratio for China and over four times the ratio for India.^[99] Vietnam’s chief trading partners include China, Japan, Australia, the ASEAN countries, the United States and Western Europe. In 2011, Vietnam’s total international trade, including both exports and imports, was valued at approximately $200 billion.^[100]
As a result of several land reform measures, Vietnam has become a major exporter of agricultural products. It is now the world’s largest producer of cashew nuts, with a one-third global share; the largest producer of black pepper, accounting for one-third of the world’s market; and the second-largest rice exporter in the world, after Thailand. Vietnam has the highest proportion of land use for permanent crops – 6.93% – of any nation in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Other primary exports include coffee, tea, rubber, and fishery products. However, agriculture’s share of Vietnam’s GDP has fallen in recent decades, declining from 42% in 1989 to 20% in 2006, as production in other sectors of the economy has risen.

Science and technology

Vietnamese scholars developed many academic fields during the dynastic era, most notably social sciences and the humanities. The country boasts a millennium-deep legacy of analytical histories, such as the Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư of Ngô Sĩ Liên. Vietnamese monks led by the abdicated Emperor Tran Nhan Tong developed the Trúc Lâm Zen branch of philosophy in the 13th century. Arithmetics and geometry have been widely taught in Vietnam since the 15th century, using the textbook Đại thành toán pháp by Lương Thế Vinh as a basis. Lương Thế Vinh introduced Vietnam to the notion of zero, while Mạc Hiển Tích used the term số ẩn (en: “unknown/secret/hidden number”) to refer to negative numbers. Vietnamese scholars furthermore produced numerous encyclopedias, such as Lê Quý Đôn‘s Vân đài loại ngữ.
In recent times, Vietnamese scientists have made many significant contributions in various fields of study, most notably in mathematics. Hoàng Tụy pioneered the applied mathematics field of global optimization in the 20th century, while Ngô Bảo Châu won the 2010 Fields Medal for his proof of fundamental lemma in the theory of automorphic forms. Vietnam is currently working to develop an indigenous space program, and plans to construct the US$600 million Vietnam Space Center by 2018.^[101] Vietnam has also made significant advances in the development of robots, such as the TOPIO humanoid model.^[102] In 2010, Vietnam’s total state spending on science and technology equalled around 0.45% of its GDP.^[103]

Transport

Main article: Transport in Vietnam

Much of Vietnam’s modern transport network was originally developed under French rule to facilitate the transportation of raw materials, and was reconstructed and extensively modernized following the Vietnam War.

Air

Main article: Air transport in Vietnam

A Vietnam Airlines Boeing 777.

Vietnam operates 17 major civil airports, including three international gateways: Noi Bai in Hanoi, Da Nang International Airport in Da Nang, and Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City. Tan Son Nhat is the nation’s largest airport, handling 75 percent of international passenger traffic. According to a state-approved plan, Vietnam will have 10 international airports by 2015 – besides the aforementioned three, these include Lien Khuong International Airport, Phu Bai International Airport, Cam Ranh International Airport, Phu Quoc International Airport, Cat Bi International Airport, Cần Thơ International Airport and Long Thanh International Airport. The planned Long Thanh International Airport will be built on an area of 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi), and will have an annual service capacity of 100 million passengers.
Vietnam Airlines, the state-owned national airline, maintains a fleet of 69 passenger aircraft,^[104][105] and aims to operate 150 by 2020. Several private airlines are also in operation in Vietnam, including Air Mekong, Jetstar Pacific Airlines, VASCO and VietJet Air.

Road

Buses in Ho Chi Minh City.

A section of the North–South Expressway linking Cầu Giẽ and Ninh Bình.

Vietnam’s road system includes national roads administered at the central level; provincial roads managed at the provincial level; district roads managed at the district level; urban roads managed by cities and towns; and commune roads managed at the commune level. Bicycles, motor scooters and motorcycles remain the most popular forms of road transport in Vietnam’s urban areas, although the number of privately owned automobiles is also on the rise, especially in the larger cities. Public buses operated by private companies are the main mode of long-distance travel for much of the population.
Road safety is a serious issue in Vietnam – on average, 30 people are killed in traffic accidents every day.^[106] Traffic congestion is a growing problem in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, as the cities’ roads struggle to cope with the boom in automobile use.

Rail

Main article: Rail transport in Vietnam

Vietnam’s primary cross-country rail service is the Reunification Express, which runs from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, covering a distance of nearly 2,000 kilometres. From Hanoi, railway lines branch out to the northeast, north and west; the eastbound line runs from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay, the northbound line from Hanoi to Thai Nguyen, and the northeast line from Hanoi to Lao Cai.
In 2009, Vietnam and Japan signed a deal to build a high-speed railway using Japanese technology; numerous Vietnamese engineers were later sent to Japan to receive training in the operation and maintenance of high-speed trains. The railway will be a 1,630-km-long^[107] express route, serving a total of 26 stations, including Hanoi and the Thu Thiem terminus in Ho Chi Minh City.^[108] Using Japan’s Shinkansen technology,^[109] the line will support trains travelling at a maximum speed of 360 kilometres (220 mi) per hour. The high-speed lines linking Hanoi to Vinh, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City will be laid by 2015. From 2015 to 2020, construction will begin on the routes between Vinh and Nha Trang and between Hanoi and the northern provinces of Lao Cai and Lang Son.

Sunset on the South China Sea off the village of Mui Ne on the south-east coast of Vietnam.

Water

As a coastal country, Vietnam has many major sea ports, including Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Gai, Qui Nhơn, Vung Tau and Nha Trang. Further inland, the country’s extensive network of rivers play a key role in rural transportation, with over 17,700 kilometres (11,000 mi) of navigable waterways carrying ferries, barges and water taxis.^[110][111]
In addition, the Mekong and Red River deltas are vital to Vietnam’s social and economic welfare – most of the country’s population lives along or near these river deltas, and the major cities of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are situated near the Mekong and Red River deltas, respectively. Further out in the South China Sea, Vietnam currently controls the majority of the disputed Spratly islands.^[112]

Demographics

Hmong women in traditional dress in Bac Ha, northern Vietnam.

Main article: Demographics of Vietnam

Population

Main articles: Vietnamese people and Ethnic groups in Vietnam

The census of 1 April 2009 recorded the population of Vietnam as standing at approximately 85.8 million, of which the Viet or Kinh ethnic group constituted nearly 73.6 million, or 85.8% of the population. The population had grown significantly from the 1979 census, which showed the total population of reunified Vietnam to be 52.7 million.^[113] The dominant Kinh population is concentrated mainly in the alluvial deltas and coastal plains of the country. A largely homogeneous social and ethnic group, the Kinh possess significant political and economic influence over the country. However, Vietnam is also home to 54 ethnic minority groups, including the Hmong, Dao, Tay, Thai, and Nung.
Many ethnic minorities – such as the Muong, who are closely related to the Kinh – dwell in the highlands, which cover two-thirds of Vietnam’s territory. Before the Vietnam War, the population of the Central Highlands was almost exclusively Degar (including over 40 tribal groups); however, Ngo Dinh Diem‘s South Vietnamese government enacted a program of resettling Kinh in indigenous areas.^[114] The Hoa (ethnic Chinese)^[115] and Khmer Krom people are mainly lowlanders. As Sino-Vietnamese relations soured in 1978 and 1979, some 450,000 Hoa left Vietnam.^[116]

v t e Largest cities or towns of Vietnam 2009 Census
	Rank	City name	Province	Pop.
Ho Chi Minh City Hanoi	1	Ho Chi Minh City	Ho Chi Minh City	7,396,446	Hai Phong Can Tho
	2	Hanoi	Hanoi	6,472,200
	3	Hai Phong	Hai Phong	1,907,705
	4	Can Tho	Can Tho	1,187,089
	5	Da Nang	Da Nang	887,069
	6	Bien Hoa	Dong Nai	784,398
	7	Nha Trang	Khanh Hoa	392,279
	8	Buon Ma Thuot	Dak Lak	340,000
	9	Hue	Thua Thien-Hue	333,715
	10	Thai Nguyen	Thai Nguyen	330,707

Languages

Main article: Vietnamese language

The official national language of Vietnam is Vietnamese, a tonal monosyllabic Mon–Khmer language which is spoken by the majority of the population. In its early history, Vietnamese writing used Chinese characters. In the 13th century, the Vietnamese developed their own set of characters, referred to as Chữ nôm. The folk epic Đoạn trường tân thanh (also known as Truyện Kiều or The Tale of Kieu) by Nguyễn Du was written in Chữ nôm. Quốc ngữ, the romanized Vietnamese alphabet used for spoken Vietnamese, was developed in 17th century by the Jesuit Alexandre De Rhodes and several other Catholic missionaries. Quốc ngữ became widely popular and brought literacy to the Vietnamese masses during the French colonial period.
Vietnam’s minority groups speak a variety of languages, including Tày, Mường, Cham, Khmer, Chinese, Nùng, and H’Mông. The Montagnard peoples of the Central Highlands also speak a number of distinct languages.
The French language, a legacy of colonial rule, is spoken by some educated Vietnamese as a second language, especially by the older generation; Vietnam is also a full member of the Francophonie, and education has revived some interest in the language. Russian – and to a much lesser extent German, Czech and Polish – are known among some Vietnamese whose families had ties with the Soviet bloc during the Cold War. In recent years, as Vietnam’s contacts with Western nations have increased, English has become more popular as a second language; the study of English is now obligatory in most schools, replacing French, though the latter is used at times in higher education. Chinese, Japanese, and Korean have also grown in popularity as Vietnam’s links with China, Japan and South Korea have strengthened.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Vietnam

Bell Tower of Bái Đính Temple in Ninh Binh Province.

For much of Vietnamese history, Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism have been the dominant religions, strongly influencing the national culture. About 85% of Vietnamese identify with Buddhism, though not all practice on a regular basis.^{[117][118][119][120][121][122][123]} According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam’s report for 1 April 2009, 6.8 million (or 7.9% of the total population) are practicing Buddhists, 5.7 milion (6.6%) are Catholics, 1.4 million (1.7%) are adherents of Hòa Hảo, 0.8 million (0.9%) practise Cao Đài, and 0.7 million (0.9%) are Protestants. In total, 15,651,467 Vietnamese (18.2%) are formally registered in a religion.^[124] Reportedly, 81% of Vietnamese people do not believe in God.^[125]
According to the 2009 census, while over 10 million people have taken refuge in the Three Jewels,^[126][127] the vast majority of Vietnamese people practice ancestor worship in some form.
About 8% of the population are Christians, totalling around six million Roman Catholics and fewer than one million Protestants, according to the census of 2007. Christianity was first introduced to Vietnam by Portuguese and Dutch traders in the 16th and 17th centuries, and was further propagated by French missionaries in the 19th and 20th centuries, and to a lesser extent, by American Protestant missionaries during the Vietnam War, largely among the Montagnards of South Vietnam. The largest Protestant churches are the Evangelical Church of Vietnam and the Montagnard Evangelical Church. Two-thirds of Vietnam’s Protestants are reportedly members of ethnic minorities.^[128]

The main Cao Dai temple in the city of Tay Ninh.

The Vietnamese government is widely seen as suspicious of Roman Catholicism. This mistrust originated during the 19th century, when some Catholics collaborated with the French colonists in conquering and ruling the country and in helping French attempts to install Catholic emperors, such as in the Lê Văn Khôi revolt of 1833. Furthermore, the Catholic Church’s strongly anti-communist stance has made it an enemy of the Vietnamese state. The Vatican Church is officially banned, and only government-controlled Catholic organisations are permitted. However, the Vatican has attempted to negotiate the opening of diplomatic relations with Vietnam in recent years.^[129]
Several other minority faiths exist in Vietnam. About 3% of the population are adherents of Cao Dai, a syncretic modern religion whose followers are largely concentrated in Tay Ninh Province. Sunni and Cham Bani Islam is primarily practiced by the ethnic Cham minority, though there are also a few ethnic Vietnamese adherents in the southwest. In total, there are approximately 70,000 Muslims in Vietnam,^[130] while around 50,000 Hindus and a small number of Baha’is are also in evidence.
The Vietnamese government rejects allegations that it does not allow religious freedom. The state’s official position on religion is that all citizens are free to their belief, and that all religions are equal before the law.^[131] Nevertheless, only government-approved religious organisations are allowed; for example, the South Vietnam-founded Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam is banned in favour of a communist-approved body.^[132]

Education

Main article: Education in Vietnam

The University of Medicine in Hanoi.

Vietnam has an extensive state-controlled network of schools, colleges and universities, and a growing number of privately run and partially privatised institutions. General education in Vietnam is divided into five categories: kindergarten, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and universities. A large number of public schools have been organized across the country to raise the national literacy rate, which stood at 90.3% in 2008.^[133]
A large number of Vietnam’s most acclaimed universities are based in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Facing serious crises, Vietnam’s education system is under a holistic program of reform launched by the government. Education is not free; therefore, some poor families may have trouble paying tuition for their children without some form of public or private assistance. Regardless, school enrollment is among the highest in the world,^{[citation needed]} and the number of colleges and universities increased dramatically in the 2000s, from 178 in 2000 to 299 in 2005.

Health

Main article: Health in Vietnam

Tam Duc Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.

In 2009, Vietnam’s national life expectancy stood at 76 years for women and 72 for men,^[134] and the infant mortality rate was 12 per 1,000 live births.^[135] As of 2009, 85% of the population has access to improved water sources.^[134] However, malnutrition is still common in the rural provinces.^{[citation needed]} In 2001, government spending on health care corresponded to just 0.9% of Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP), with state subsidies covering only about 20% of health care expenses.^[136]
In 1954, North Vietnam established a public health system that reached down to the hamlet level.^[137] After the national reunification in 1975, this system was extended to the provinces of former South Vietnam.^{[citation needed]} In the late 1980s, the quality of healthcare declined to some degree as a result of budgetary constraints, a shift of responsibility to the provinces, and the introduction of charges. Inadequate funding has also contributed to a shortage of nurses, midwives, and hospital beds; in 2000, Vietnam had only 250,000 hospital beds, or 14.8 beds per 10,000 people, according to the World Bank.^[136]
Since the early 2000s, Vietnam has made significant progress in combating malaria, with the malaria mortality rate falling to about 5% of its 1990s equivalent by 2005, after the country introduced improved antimalarial drugs and treatment. However, tuberculosis cases are on the rise, with 57 deaths per day reported in May 2004. With an intensified vaccination program, better hygiene, and foreign assistance, Vietnam hopes to reduce sharply the number of TB cases and annual new TB infections.^[136]
As of September 2005, Vietnam had diagnosed 101,291 HIV cases, of which 16,528 progressed to AIDS, and 9,554 died. However, the actual number of HIV-positive individuals is estimated to be much higher. On average, 40–50 new infections are reported every day in Vietnam. As of 2007, 0.5% of the population is estimated to be infected with HIV, and this figure has remained stable since 2005.^[138] In June 2004, the United States announced that Vietnam would be one of 15 nations to receive funding as part of a US$15 billion global AIDS relief plan.^[136]

Culture

Main article: Culture of Vietnam

See also: Vietnamese art, theatre, dance, literature, and List of Vietnamese traditional games

The Municipal Theatre in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam’s culture has developed over the centuries from indigenous ancient Dong Son culture with wet rice agriculture as its economic base. Some elements of the national culture have Chinese origins, drawing on elements of Confucianism and Taoism in its traditional political system and philosophy. Vietnamese society is structured around làng (ancestral villages); all Vietnamese mark a common ancestral anniversary on the tenth day of the third lunar month.^[139] The influences of immigrant peoples – such as the Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien and Hainan cultures – can also be seen, while the national religion of Buddhism is strongly entwined with popular culture. In recent centuries, the influences of Western cultures, most notably France and the United States, have become evident in Vietnam.
The traditional focuses of Vietnamese culture are humanity (nhân nghĩa) and harmony (hòa); family and community values are highly regarded. Vietnam reveres a number of key cultural symbols, such as the Vietnamese dragon, which is derived from crocodile and snake imagery; Vietnam’s National Father, Lạc Long Quân, is depicted as a holy dragon. The lạc – a holy bird representing Vietnam’s National Mother, Âu Cơ – is another prominent symbol, while turtle and horse images are also revered.^[140]
In the modern era, the cultural life of Vietnam has been deeply influenced by government-controlled media and cultural programs. For many decades, foreign cultural influences – especially those of Western origin – were shunned. However, since the 1990s, Vietnam has seen a greater exposure to Southeast Asian, European and American culture and media.^[141]

Media

Main article: Media of Vietnam

Vietnam’s media sector is regulated by the government in accordance with the 2004 Law on Publication.^[142] It is generally perceived that Vietnam’s media sector is controlled by the government to follow the official communist party line, though some newspapers are relatively outspoken.^[143] The Voice of Vietnam is the official state-run national radio broadcasting service, broadcasting internationally via shortwave using rented transmitters in other countries, and providing broadcasts from its website. Vietnam Television is the national television broadcasting company.
Since 1997, Vietnam has extensively regulated public Internet access, using both legal and technical means. The resulting lockdown is widely referred to as the “Bamboo Firewall“.^[144] The collaborative project OpenNet Initiative classifies Vietnam’s level of online political censorship to be “pervasive”,^[145] while Reporters without Borders considers Vietnam to be one of 15 global “internet enemies”.^[146] Though the government of Vietnam claims to safeguard the country against obscene or sexually explicit content through its blocking efforts, many politically and religiously sensitive websites are also banned.^[147]

Music

Traditional Vietnamese music varies between the country’s northern and southern regions. Northern classical music is Vietnam’s oldest musical form, and is traditionally more formal. The origins of Vietnamese classical music can be traced to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, when the Vietnamese captured a Chinese opera troupe.^[148]

Literature

The Temple of Literature in Hanoi.

Vietnamese literature has a centuries-deep history. The country has a rich tradition of folk literature, based around the typical 6–to-8-verse poetic form named ca dao, which usually focuses on village ancestors and heroes.^[149] Written literature has been found dating back to the 10th-century Ngô Dynasty, with notable ancient authors including Nguyễn Trãi, Trần Hưng Đạo, Nguyễn Du and Nguyễn Đình Chiểu. Some literary genres play an important role in theatrical performance, such as hát nói in ca trù.^[150] Some poetic unions have also been formed in Vietnam, such as the Tao Đàn. Vietnamese literature has in recent times been influenced by Western styles, with the first literary transformation movement – Thơ Mới – emerging in 1932.^[151]

Festivals

Main article: List of festivals in Vietnam

A traditional Tết (Lunar New Year) tree.

Vietnam has a plethora of festivals based on the lunar calendar, the most important being the Tết New Year celebration. Traditional Vietnamese weddings remain widely popular, and are often celebrated by expatriate Vietnamese in Western countries.

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Vietnam

Hoi An Ancient Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Vietnam has become a major tourist destination since the 1990s, assisted by significant state and private investment, particularly in coastal regions.^[152] About 3.77 million international tourists visited Vietnam in 2009 alone.^[153]
Popular destinations include Hanoi, Saigon, the former imperial capital of Hué, the World Heritage Sites of Hoi An and Mỹ Sơn, coastal regions such as Nha Trang, the caves of Ha Long Bay and the Marble Mountains. Numerous tourist projects are under construction, such as the Binh Duong tourist complex, which possesses the largest artificial sea in Southeast Asia.^[154]
On February 14, 2011, Joe Jackson, the father of American pop star Michael Jackson, attended a ground breaking ceremony for what will be Southeast Asia’s largest entertainment complex, a five-star hotel and amusement park called Happyland. The US$2 billion project, which has been designed to accommodate 14 million tourists annually, is located in southern Long An province, near Ho Chi Minh City. It is expected that the complex will be completed in 2014.^[155]

Clothing

The áo dài, a formal girl’s dress, is worn for special occasions such as weddings and religious festivals. White áo dài is the required uniform for girls in many high schools across Vietnam. Áo dài was once worn by both genders, but today it is mostly the preserve of women, although men do wear it to some occasions, such as traditional weddings.^[156] Other examples of traditional Vietnamese clothing include the áo tứ thân, a four-piece woman’s dress; the áo ngũ, thân in 5-piece form, mostly worn in the north of the country; the yếm, a woman’s undergarment; the áo bà ba, rural working “pyjamas” for men and women;^[157] and the áo gấm, a formal brocade tunic for government receptions, or áo the for grooms at weddings. Traditional headwear includes the standard conical nón lá and the “lampshade-like” nón quai thao.

Sport

See also: Vietnam at the Olympics

The Vovinam and Bình Ðịnh martial arts are widespread in Vietnam,^[158] while soccer is the country’s most popular team sport.^[159] Other Western sports, such as badminton, tennis, volleyball, ping-pong and chess, are also widely popular. Vietnam has participated in the Summer Olympic Games since 1952.
Vietnam first competed in the Olympic Games in 1952 as the State of Vietnam. After the Partition of Vietnam in 1954, only South Vietnam competed in the Games, sending athletes to the 1956 and 1972 Olympics. Since the reunification of Vietnam in 1976, they have competed as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, attending every Olympics from 1988 onwards. The present Vietnam Olympic Committee was formed in 1976 and recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1979.^[160] Vietnam has never competed in the Winter Olympics, but will begin in 2014.

Cuisine

Main article: Vietnamese cuisine

Pho is one of the most popular Vietnamese dishes. It can be found in most major cities in the world.

Vietnamese cuisine traditionally features a combination of five fundamental taste “elements” (Vietnamese: ngũ vị) in the overall meal: spicy (metal), sour (wood), bitter (fire), salty (water) and sweet (earth).^[161] Common ingredients include fish sauce, shrimp paste, soy sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables. Vietnamese recipes use lemongrass, ginger, mint, Vietnamese mint, long coriander, Saigon cinnamon, bird’s eye chili, lime and basil leaves.^[162] Traditional Vietnamese cooking is known for its fresh ingredients, minimal use of oil, and reliance on herbs and vegetables, and is considered one of the healthiest cuisines worldwide.^[163]
In northern Vietnam, a colder climate limits the production and availability of spices. As a result, northern foods are often less spicy than those in other regions. Black pepper is used in place of chilis as the most popular ingredient to produce spicy flavors. Most northern Vietnamese foods feature light and balanced flavors that result from subtle combinations of many different flavoring ingredients. The use of meats such as pork, beef, and chicken were relatively limited in the past, and as a result freshwater fish, crustaceans – particularly crabs – and mollusks became widely used. Fish sauce, soy sauce, prawn sauce, and limes are among the main flavoring ingredients. Many signature Vietnamese dishes, such as bún riêu and bánh cuốn, originated in the north and were carried to central and southern Vietnam by migrants.^[164]

See also

	Geography portal
	Asia portal
	Southeast Asia portal
	Vietnam portal

Book: Vietnam

• Outline of Vietnam
• Index of Vietnam-related articles
• CIVETS, a grouping of emerging economies including Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa

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Notes

1. ^ Only the first verse of the “Army March” is recognized as the official national anthem of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
2. ^ Neither the United States government nor Ngo Dinh Diem’s State of Vietnam signed anything at the 1954 Geneva Conference. With respect to the question of reunification, the non-communist Vietnamese delegation objected strenuously to any division of Vietnam, but lost out when the French accepted the proposal of Viet Minh delegate Pham Van Dong,^[42] who proposed that Vietnam eventually be united by elections under the supervision of “local commissions”.^[43] The United States countered with what became known as the “American Plan,” with the support of South Vietnam and the United Kingdom.^[44] It provided for unification elections under the supervision of the United Nations to prevent fraud, but was rejected by the Soviet and other communist delegations.^[44]

Further reading

• Herring, George C. (2001). America’s Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950–1975 (4th edition).
• Jahn, G.C. (2006). “The dream is not yet over”. In Fredenburg P., Hill B. (eds.): Sharing rice for peace and prosperity in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Victoria, Australia: Sid Harta Publishers. p. 237–240.
• Karrnow, Stanley (1997). Vietnam: A History (2nd edition). Penguin. ISBN 0-14-026547-3.
• McMahon, Robert J. (1995). Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War: Documents and Essays.
• Tucker, Spencer (ed.) (1998). Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. 3-volume reference set; also one-volume abridged edition (2001).

External links

Find more about Vietnam at Wikipedia’s sister projects
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks
	Travel information from Wikivoyage

• Country Profile from BBC News
• Vietnam entry at The World Factbook
• Vietnam from UCB Libraries GovPubs
• Vietnam at the Open Directory Project
• Vietnam at Encyclopædia Britannica
• Wikimedia Atlas of Vietnam
• Key Development Forecasts for Vietnam from International Futures

Government

• Portal of the Government of Vietnam
• Communist Party of Vietnam – official website (in Vietnamese)
• National Assembly – the Vietnamese legislative body
• General Statistics Office
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Chief of State and Cabinet Members

Media and censorship

• Robert N. Wilkey. “Vietnam’s Antitrust Legislation and Subscription to E-ASEAN: An End to the Bamboo Firewall Over Internet Regulation?” The John Marshall Journal of Computer and Information Law. Vol. XX, No. 4. Summer 2002. Retrieved 16 February 2013.

Tourism

• Vietnam travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official tourism website

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[hide] v t e Subdivisions of Vietnam
Regions	Northwest Northeast Red River Delta North Central Coast South Central Coast Central Highlands Southeast Mekong Delta
Municipalities	Can Tho Da Nang Haiphong Hanoi Ho Chi Minh City
Provinces	An Giang Bac Giang Bac Kan Bac Lieu Bac Ninh Ba Ria-Vung Tau Ben Tre Binh Dinh Binh Duong Binh Phuoc Binh Thuan Ca Mau Cao Bang Dak Lak Dak Nong Dien Bien Dong Nai Dong Thap Gia Lai Ha Giang Ha Nam Ha Tinh Hai Duong Hoa Binh Hau Giang Hung Yen Khanh Hoa Kien Giang Kon Tum Lai Chau Lam Dong Lang Son Lao Cai Long An Nam Dinh Nghe An Ninh Binh Ninh Thuan Phu Tho Phu Yen Quang Binh Quang Nam Quang Ngai Quang Ninh Quang Tri Soc Trang Son La Tay Ninh Thai Binh Thai Nguyen Thanh Hoa Thua Thien-Hue Tien Giang Tra Vinh Tuyen Quang Vinh Long Vinh Phuc Yen Bai
List of Districts List of district-level subdivisions in Vietnam