Burkina Faso (2001) | Vietnam (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 30 provinces; Bam, Bazega, Bougouriba, Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houe, Kadiogo, Kenedougou, Komoe, Kossi, Kouritenga, Mouhoun, Namentenga, Naouri, Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Sanguie, Sanmatenga, Seno, Sissili, Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Yatenga, Zoundweogo
note: a new electoral code was approved by the National Assembly in January 1997; the number of administrative provinces was increased from 30 to 45 (Bale, Bam, Banwa, Bazega, Bougouriba, Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Comoe, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houet, Ioba, Kadiogo, Kenedougou, Komandjari, Kompienga, Kossi, Koupelogo, Kouritenga, Kourweogo, Leraba, Loroum, Mouhoun, Nahouri, Namentenga, Nayala, Naumbiel, Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Samentenga, Sanguie, Seno, Sissili, Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Tuy, Yagha, Yatenga, Ziro, Zondomo, Zoundweogo), however, this change has not yet been confirmed by the US Board on Geographic Names |
59 provinces (tinh, singular and plural) and 5 municipalities (thu do, singular and plural)
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, Dac Lak, Dac Nong, Dien Bien, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Giang, Hai Duong, Ha Nam, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hau Giang, Hoa Binh, 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 municipalities: Can Tho, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
47.5% (male 2,937,285; female 2,892,107) 15-64 years: 49.59% (male 2,903,153; female 3,183,121) 65 years and over: 2.91% (male 150,688; female 205,935) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.4% (male 12,524,098; female 11,807,763)
15-64 years: 65% (male 26,475,156; female 27,239,543) 65 years and over: 5.6% (male 1,928,568; female 2,714,390) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, cotton, sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock | paddy rice, corn, potatoes, rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas, sugar; poultry, pigs, fish |
Airports | 33 (2000 est.) | 19 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
31 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 16 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
Area | total:
274,200 sq km land: 273,800 sq km water: 400 sq km |
total: 329,560 sq km
land: 325,360 sq km water: 4,200 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Colorado | slightly larger than New Mexico |
Background | Independence from France came to Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) in 1960. Governmental instability during the 1970s and 1980s was followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Several hundred thousand farm workers migrate south every year to Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana. | The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by Communist forces under Ho Chi Minh, who took control of the North. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the South. Despite the return of peace, for over two decades the country experienced little economic growth because of conservative leadership policies. Since 2001, Vietnamese authorities have committed to economic liberalization and enacted structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The country continues to experience protests from the Montagnard ethnic minority population of the Central Highlands over loss of land to Vietnamese settlers and religious persecution. |
Birth rate | 44.79 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.58 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$277 million expenditures: $492 million, including capital expenditures of $233 million (1995 est.) |
revenues: $8.689 billion
expenditures: $9.718 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (2003 est.) |
Capital | Ouagadougou | Hanoi |
Climate | tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 3,444 km (excludes islands) |
Constitution | 2 June 1991 approved by referendum; 11 June 1991 formally adopted | 15 April 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Burkina Faso former: Upper Volta, Republic of Upper Volta |
conventional long form: Socialist Republic of Vietnam
conventional short form: Vietnam local long form: Cong Hoa Xa Hoi Chu Nghia Viet Nam local short form: Viet Nam abbreviation: SRV |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | dong (VND) |
Death rate | 17.05 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.14 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (1997) | $14.69 billion (2003) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Jimmy J. KOLKER embassy: 602 Avenue Raoul Follerau, Koulouba, Secteur 4, Ouagadougou mailing address: B. P. 35, Ouagadougou 01 telephone: [226] 306723 FAX: [226] 303890 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael W. MARINE
embassy: 7 Lang Ha Road, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi mailing address: PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [84] (4) 772-1500 FAX: [84] (4) 772-1510 consulate(s) general: Ho Chi Minh City |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Bruno ZIDOUEMBA chancery: 2340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-5577 FAX: [1] (202) 667-1882 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Nguyen Tam Chien
chancery: 1233 20th Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 861-0737 FAX: [1] (202) 861-0917 consulate(s) general: San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | demarcation of the land boundary with China continues, but maritime boundary and joint fishing zone agreement remains unimplemented; Cambodia and Laos protest Vietnamese squatters and armed encroachments along border; China occupies Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; involved in complex dispute with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants |
Economic aid - recipient | $484.1 million (1995) | $2.8 billion in credits and grants pledged by international donors for 2000 (2004) |
Economy - overview | One of the poorest countries in the world, landlocked Burkina Faso has a high population density, few natural resources, and a fragile soil. About 90% of the population is engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture which is highly vulnerable to variations in rainfall. Industry remains dominated by unprofitable government-controlled corporations. Following the African franc currency devaluation in January 1994 the government updated its development program in conjunction with international agencies, and exports and economic growth have increased. Maintenance of its macroeconomic progress in 2001-02 depends on continued low inflation, reduction in the trade deficit, and reforms designed to encourage private investment. | Vietnam is a poor, densely-populated country that has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally-planned economy. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1996 in moving forward from an extremely low starting point - growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy, but rather than prompting reform, reaffirmed the government's belief that shifting to a market-oriented economy would lead to disaster. GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 fell to 6% in 1998 and 5% in 1999. Growth then rose to 6% to 7% in 2000-02 even against the background of global recession. These numbers mask some major difficulties in economic performance. Many domestic industries, including coal, cement, steel, and paper, have reported large stockpiles of inventory and tough competition from more efficient foreign producers. Since the Party elected new leadership in 2001, Vietnamese authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to economic liberalization and have moved to implement the structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement entered into force near the end of 2001 and is expected to significantly increase Vietnam's exports to the US. The US is assisting Vietnam with implementing the legal and structural reforms called for in the agreement. |
Electricity - consumption | 265.1 million kWh (1999) | 27.71 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 285 million kWh (1999) | 29.8 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
71.93% hydro: 28.07% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Mouhoun (Black Volta) River 200 m highest point: Tena Kourou 749 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m |
Environment - current issues | recent droughts and desertification severely affecting agricultural activities, population distribution, and the economy; overgrazing; soil degradation; deforestation | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Mossi over 40%, Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande, Fulani | Vietnamese 85%-90%, Chinese, Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, mountain groups |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | dong per US dollar - 15,279.5 (2003), 15,279.5 (2002), 14,725.2 (2001), 14,167.7 (2000), 13,943.2 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Blaise COMPAORE (since 15 October 1987) head of government: Prime Minister Ernest Paramanga YONLI (since 6 November 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; the president may serve unlimited terms; election last held 15 November 1998 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president with the consent of the legislature election results: Blaise COMPAORE reelected president with 87.5% percent of the vote, 56% of voter turnout note: President COMPAORE faces an increasingly well-coordinated opposition; recent charges against a former member of his Presidential Guard in the 1998 assassination of a newspaper editor signify an attempt to defuse chronic areas of dissatisfaction |
chief of state: President Tran Duc Luong (since 24 September 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Phan Van Khai (since 25 September 1997); First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (since 29 September 1997); Deputy Prime Ministers Vu Khoan (8 August 2002) and Pham Gia Khiem (since 29 September 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister and ratification of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly from among its members for a five-year term; election last held 25 July 2002 (next to be held when National Assembly meets following legislative elections in 2007); prime minister appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by the prime minister election results: Tran Duc Luong elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA |
Exports | $220 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, animal products, gold | crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes |
Exports - partners | Italy 13%, France 10%, Indonesia 8%, Thailand 7% (1999) | US 21.9%, Japan 13.8%, Australia 6.8%, China 6.5%, Germany 5.8%, Singapore 4.6%, UK 4.4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a yellow five-pointed star in the center; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $203.7 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
26% industry: 27% services: 47% (1998) |
agriculture: 21.8%
industry: 39.7% services: 38.5% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 7.2% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 2 00 W | 16 00 N, 106 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point |
Highways | total:
12,506 km paved: 2,001 km unpaved: 10,505 km (1996) |
total: 93,300 km
paved: 23,418 km unpaved: 69,882 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.2% highest 10%: 39.5% (1994) |
lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 29.9% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | minor producer of opium poppy; probable minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin; domestic opium/heroin/methamphetamine addiction problems |
Imports | $610 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, food products, petroleum | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles |
Imports - partners | Cote d'Ivoire 30%, France 28%, Spain 3%, Benelux 3% (1999) | China 13.7%, Taiwan 11.4%, Japan 11.3%, South Korea 11%, Singapore 10.4%, US 5.7%, Thailand 5.4%, Hong Kong 4.2% (2003) |
Independence | 5 August 1960 (from France) | 2 September 1945 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.2% (1995) | 16% (2003 est.) |
Industries | cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold | food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, coal, steel, paper |
Infant mortality rate | 106.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 29.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 33.71 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2000 est.) | 3.1% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT (observer), APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 200 sq km (1993 est.) | 30,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court | Supreme People's Court (chief justice is elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president) |
Labor force | 5 million (1999)
note: a large part of the male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment |
45.74 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90% (2000 est.) | agriculture 63%, industry and services 37% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
3,192 km border countries: Benin 306 km, Cote d'Ivoire 584 km, Ghana 548 km, Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km |
total: 4,639 km
border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km |
Land use | arable land:
13% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 22% forests and woodland: 50% other: 15% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 19.97%
permanent crops: 5.95% other: 74.08% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population | Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian) |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law | based on communist legal theory and French civil law system |
Legislative branch | bicameral; consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee des Deputes Populaires (111 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the purely consultative Chamber of Representations or Chambre des Representants (178 seats; members are appointed to serve three-year terms)
elections: National Assembly election last held 11 May 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDP 101, PDP 6, RDA 2, ADF 2 |
unicameral National Assembly or Quoc-Hoi (498 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 May 2002 (next to be held 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - CPV 90%, other 10% (the 10% are not CPV members but are approved by the CPV to stand for election); seats by party - CPV 447, CPV-approved 51 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
46.41 years male: 45.86 years female: 46.98 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 70.35 years
male: 67.86 years female: 73.02 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 19.2% male: 29.5% female: 9.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.3% male: 93.9% female: 86.9% (2002) |
Location | Western Africa, north of Ghana | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia |
Map references | Africa | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 194 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,170,621 GRT/1,798,376 DWT
by type: bulk 16, cargo 135, chemical tanker 1, container 8, liquefied gas 4, petroleum tanker 25, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: Cambodia 1, Germany 1, Japan 2, South Korea 1, United Kingdom 3 registered in other countries: 11 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police, People's Militia | People's Army of Vietnam: Ground Forces, People's Navy Command (including Naval Infantry), Air and Air Defense Force, Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $66 million (FY96) | $650 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96) | 2.5% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,592,974 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 23,438,858 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,329,995 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 14,694,574 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 853,197 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 11 December (1958) | Independence Day, 2 September (1945) |
Nationality | noun:
Burkinabe (singular and plural) adjective: Burkinabe |
noun: Vietnamese (singular and plural)
adjective: Vietnamese |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts | occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta |
Natural resources | manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, antimony, copper, nickel, bauxite, lead, phosphates, zinc, silver | phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate/gas 432 km; gas 210 km; oil 3 km; refined products 206 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | African Democratic Rally-Alliance for Democracy and Federation or RDA-ADF [Herman YAMEOGO]; Congress for Democracy and Progress or CDP [Roch Marc-Christian KABORE]; Movement for Tolerance and Progress or MTP [Noyabtigungu Congo KABORE]; Party for African Independence or PAI [Philippe OUEDRAOGO]; Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Joseph KI-ZERBO]; Union of Greens for the Development of Burkina Faso or UVDB [Ram OVEDRAGO] | only party - Communist Party of Vietnam or CPV [Nong Duc Manh, general secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Burkinabe General Confederation of Labor or CGTB; Burkinabe Movement for Human Rights or HBDHP; Group of 14 February; National Confederation of Burkinabe Workers or CNTB; National Organization of Free Unions or ONSL; watchdog/political action groups throughout the country in both organizations and communities | none |
Population | 12,272,289
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
82,689,518 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 37% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.68% (2001 est.) | 1.3% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Long, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Vinh, Vung Tau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 17, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 65, FM 7, shortwave 29 (1999) |
Radios | 370,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
622 km (517 km from Ouagadougou to the Cote d'Ivoire border and 105 km from Ouagadougou to Kaya) narrow gauge: 622 km 1.000-m gauge (1995 est.) |
total: 2,600 km
standard gauge: 178 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 2,169 km 1.000-m gauge dual gauge: 253 km three-rail track combining 1.435-m and 1.000-m gauges (2003) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 40%, Muslim 50%, Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) 10% | Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestant), indigenous beliefs, Muslim |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
all services only fair domestic: microwave radio relay, open wire, and radiotelephone communication stations international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: Vietnam is putting considerable effort into modernization and expansion of its telecommunication system, but its performance continues to lag behind that of its more modern neighbors
domestic: all provincial exchanges are digitalized and connected to Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City by fiber-optic cable or microwave radio relay networks; main lines have been substantially increased, and the use of mobile telephones is growing rapidly international: country code - 84; satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 36,000 (1997) | 4.402 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,503 (1997) | 2.742 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | at least 7 (plus 13 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast | low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest |
Total fertility rate | 6.35 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.22 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 6.1% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | none | 17,702 km (5,000 km navigable by vessels up to 1.8 m draft) (2004) |