Vietnam

(Socialist Republic of Vietnam)

• Red symbolizes revolution and blood

• The five-pointed star represents the five elements of the populace:

• Peasants• Workers• Intellectuals• Traders• Soldiers

- that unite to build socialism

• The flag of Vietnam has a red field with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center

Capital is Hanoi.

Early History

• Southeast Asia (home to Vietnam) was home to some of the earliest human settlements

• The Khmer Empire ruled a large part of SE Asia until the mid 1200’s

• Europe began to take control of this area by the end of the 1800’s

Early History

• Vietnam was part of French Indochina• After a very bloody war, the French

left the area in 1954• The countries of Vietnam, Laos, and

Cambodia were then created

GovernmentVietnam is a communist state.

Executive branch

• President is Nguyen Minh Triet.

• President is elected from the National Assembly, by members of the National Assembly.

• Prime Minister is Nguyen Tan Dung.

• Prime Minister is appointed by President.

Legislative branch

• It has a unicameral legislature

• Members the National Assembly, or Quoc Hoi, are elected by popular vote.

Judicial branch

Chief judge is elected by the National Assembly. Others are appointed.

Religion and Ethnic Groups

Religious GroupsBuddhist 9.3%Catholic 6.7%Hoa Hao 1.5%Cao Dai 1.1%Protestant 0.5%Muslim 0.1%none 80.8%

Ethnic GroupsKinh (Viet) 86.2%Tay 1.9%Thai 1.7%Muong 1.5%Khome 1.4%Hoa 1.1%,Nun 1.1%Hmong 1%others 4.1%

Language

• Vietnamese (official)

• English (increasingly favored as a second language)

• some French, Chinese, and Khmer

• mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)

Economy

• Although they are currently slowly changing, Vietnam still has a very centrally-planned economy.

• It is mostly a command economy, but is becoming more market oriented.

Major Industry

• food processing

• garments

• shoes

• machine-building

• mining

• steel

• chemical fertilizer

• glass

• tires

Natural Resources

• phosphates

• coal

• manganese

• bauxite

• offshore oil and gas deposits

• timber

• hydropower

Geography & ClimateGeography

• low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands

• hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest

Climate

• tropical in south

• monsoons in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March)

Environmental Issues

logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation

water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life populations

groundwater contamination limits potable water supply

growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

• Literacy Rate– Total 90%– Male 94%– Female 87%

• Life Expectancy– Total 72– Male 69.5– Female 74.5

• GDP– $2,900 per capita

• Population

89,571,130

• Below Poverty Level– 12.3%