Compare Congo, Republic of the (2008) - Vietnam (2007)

Compare Congo, Republic of the (2008) z Vietnam (2007)

	Congo, Republic of the (2008)	Vietnam (2007)

Administrative divisions	10 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune; Bouenza, Brazzaville, Cuvette, Cuvette-Ouest, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha	59 provinces (tinh, singular and plural) and 5 municipalities (thanh pho, 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, Ha Nam, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hai Duong, 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: 46.3% (male 885,039/female 873,753) 15-64 years: 50.8% (male 958,992/female 973,445) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 44,994/female 64,387) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 26.3% (male 11,617,032/female 10,784,264) 15-64 years: 67.9% (male 28,711,464/female 29,205,498) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 1,919,138/female 3,024,960) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products	paddy rice, coffee, rubber, cotton, tea, pepper, soybeans, cashews, sugar cane, peanuts, bananas; poultry; fish, seafood
Airports	31 (2007)	44 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 5 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2007)	total: 37 over 3,047 m: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 10 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 9 (2007)	total: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2007)
Area	total: 342,000 sq km land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km	total: 329,560 sq km land: 325,360 sq km water: 4,200 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Montana	slightly larger than New Mexico
Background	Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government took office in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, and ushered in a period of ethnic and political unrest. Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003, but the calm is tenuous and refugees continue to present a humanitarian crisis. The Republic of Congo was once one of Africa's largest petroleum producers, but with declining production it will need to hope for new offshore oil finds to sustain its oil earnings over the long term.	The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Vietnam declared independence after World War II, but France continued to rule until its 1954 defeat by Communist forces under Ho Chi MINH. Under the Geneva Accords of 1954, Vietnam was divided into the Communist North and anti-Communist South. 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 reuniting the country under Communist rule. Despite the return of peace, for over a decade the country experienced little economic growth because of conservative leadership policies. However, since the enactment of Vietnam's "doi moi" (renovation) policy in 1986, Vietnamese authorities have committed to increased 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 various groups - such as the Protestant Montagnard ethnic minority population of the Central Highlands and the Hoa Hao Buddhists in southern Vietnam over religious persecution. Montagnard grievances also include the loss of land to Vietnamese settlers.
Birth rate	42.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	16.63 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $3.639 billion expenditures: $2.104 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $15.97 billion expenditures: $16.72 billion (2006 est.)
Capital	name: Brazzaville geographic coordinates: 4 15 S, 15 17 E time difference: UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Hanoi geographic coordinates: 21 02 N, 105 51 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator	tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March)
Coastline	169 km	3,444 km (excludes islands)
Constitution	approved by referendum 20 January 2002	15 April 1992
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of the Congo conventional short form: Congo (Brazzaville) local long form: Republique du Congo local short form: none former: Middle Congo, Congo/Brazzaville, Congo	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
Death rate	12.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$5 billion (2000 est.)	$20.92 billion (2006 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Robert WEISBERG embassy: BDEAC Building, 4th Floor, Brazzaville mailing address: NA telephone: [242] 81-1480 FAX:: [243] 81-5324	chief of mission: Ambassador Michael W. MICHALAK embassy: 7 Lang Ha Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi mailing address: PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [84] (4) 850-5000 FAX: [84] (4) 850-5010 consulate(s) general: Ho Chi Minh City
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Serge MOMBOULI chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860	chief of mission: Ambassador (Appointed) Le Cong PHUNG 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	Congo hosts about 63,000 refugees from neighboring states, primarily from the Pool border area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area	southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; Cambodia and Laos protest Vietnamese squatters and armed encroachments along border; an estimated 300,000 Vietnamese refugees reside in China; establishment of a maritime boundary with Cambodia is hampered by unresolved dispute over the sovereignty of offshore islands; demarcation of the China-Vietnam boundary proceeds slowly and although the maritime boundary delimitation and fisheries agreements were ratified in June 2004, implementation has been delayed; China occupies the 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; Vietnam continues to expand construction of facilities in the Spratly Islands; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands
Economic aid - recipient	$1.449 billion (2005)	$1.905 billion in credits and grants pledged by the 2006 Consultative Group meeting in Hanoi (2005)
Economy - overview	The economy is a mixture of subsistance agriculture, an industrial sector based largely on oil, and support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. The government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings through oil-backed loans that have contributed to a growing debt burden and chronic revenue shortfalls. Economic reform efforts have been undertaken with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. However, the reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, who returned to power when the war ended in October 1997, publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. Economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the republic's budget deficit. The current administration presides over an uneasy internal peace and faces difficult economic challenges of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty. Recovery of oil prices has boosted the economy's GDP and near-term prospects. In March 2006, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) treatment for Congo.	Vietnam is a densely-populated, developing country that in the last 30 years 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 1997 in moving forward from an extremely low level of development and significantly reducing poverty. Growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy and temporarily allowed opponents of reform to slow progress toward a market-oriented economy. GDP growth averaged 6.8% per year from 1997 to 2004 even against the background of the Asian financial crisis and a global recession, and growth hit 8% in 2005 and 7.8% in 2006. Since 2001, however, Vietnamese authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to economic liberalization and international integration. They have moved to implement the structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. Vietnam's membership in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and entry into force of the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement in December 2001 have led to even more rapid changes in Vietnam's trade and economic regime. Vietnam's exports to the US doubled in 2002 and again in 2003. Vietnam joined the WTO in January 2007, following over a decade long negotiation process. This should provide an important boost to the economy and should help to ensure the continuation of liberalizing reforms. Among other benefits, accession allows Vietnam to take advantage of the phase-out of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, which eliminated quotas on textiles and clothing for WTO partners on 1 January 2005. Agriculture's share of economic output has continued to shrink, from about 25% in 2000 to 20% in 2006. Deep poverty, defined as a percent of the population living under $1 per day, has declined significantly and is now smaller than that of China, India, and the Philippines. Vietnam is working to create jobs to meet the challenge of a labor force that is growing by more than one million people every year. Vietnamese authorities have tightened monetary and fiscal policies to stem high inflation. Hanoi is targeting an economic growth rate of 7.5-8% during the next five years.
Electricity - consumption	5.272 billion kWh (2005)	45.46 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	1.8 billion kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	6 million kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	7.341 billion kWh (2005)	51.33 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m	lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m
Environment - current issues	air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea	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	Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3%	Kinh (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% (1999 census)
Exchange rates	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 483.6 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003)	dong per US dollar - 15,983 (2006), 15,746 (2005), (2004), 15,510 (2003), 15,280 (2002)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); head of government: Prime Minister Isidore MVOUBA (since 7 January 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO reelected president; percent of vote - Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO 89.4%, Joseph Kignoumbi Kia MBOUNGOU 2.7%	chief of state: President Nguyen Minh TRIET (since 27 June 2006); Vice President Nguyen Thi DOAN (since 25 July 2007) head of government: Prime Minister Nguyen Tan DUNG (since 27 June 2006); Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh HUNG (since 28 June 2006), Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung HAI (since 2 August 2007), Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien NHAN (since 2 August 2007), Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia KHIEM (since 28 June 2006), and Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh TRONG (since 28 June 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president based on proposal of prime minister and confirmed by National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly from among its members for five-year term; last held 27 June 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by the prime minister; appointment of prime minister and deputy prime ministers confirmed by National Assembly election results: Nguyen Minh TRIET elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 94%; Nguyen Tan DUNG elected prime minister; percent of National Assembly vote - 92%
Exports	20,750 bbl/day (2004)	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds	crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes
Exports - partners	US 35.9%, China 31.4%, Taiwan 9.9%, South Korea 8% (2006)	US 21.2%, Japan 12.3%, Australia 9.4%, China 5.7%, Germany 4.5% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red note: uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia	red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 5.6% industry: 57.1% services: 37.3% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 20% industry: 41.9% services: 38.2% (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.8% (2007 est.)	8.2% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	1 00 S, 15 00 E	16 00 N, 106 00 E
Geography - note	about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them	extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point
Heliports	-	1 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 2.9% highest 10%: 28.9% (2004)
Illicit drugs	-	minor producer of opium poppy; probable minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin; government continues to face domestic opium/heroin/methamphetamine addiction problems despite longstanding crackdowns
Imports	11,410 bbl/day (2004)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs	machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles
Imports - partners	France 23.5%, China 13.2%, US 7.6%, India 7%, Italy 5.6%, Belgium 5.3% (2006)	China 17.7%, Singapore 12.9%, Taiwan 11.5%, Japan 9.8%, South Korea 8.4%, Thailand 7.3%, Malaysia 4.2% (2006)
Independence	15 August 1960 (from France)	2 September 1945 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	-1% (2007 est.)	11.3% (2006 est.)
Industries	petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes	food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building; mining, coal, steel; cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, paper
Infant mortality rate	total: 83.26 deaths/1,000 live births male: 88.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 77.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 24.37 deaths/1,000 live births male: 24.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	7% (2007 est.)	7.5% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	ACCT (observer), APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	20 sq km (2003)	30,000 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme	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	NA	44.58 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: 56.8% industry: 37% services: 6.2% (July 2005)
Land boundaries	total: 5,504 km border countries: Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African Republic 467 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Gabon 1,903 km	total: 4,639 km border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km
Land use	arable land: 1.45% permanent crops: 0.15% other: 98.4% (2005)	arable land: 20.14% permanent crops: 6.93% other: 72.93% (2005)
Languages	French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread)	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 has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (66 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the National Assembly (137 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 11 July 2002 (next to be held in 2008); National Assembly - last held 24 June and 5 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FDP 56, other 10; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PCT 46, MCDDI 11, UPADS 11, MAR 5, MSD 5, independents 37, other 22	unicameral National Assembly or Quoc Hoi (500 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 20 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CPV 450, non-party CPV-approved 42, self-nominated 1; note - 493 candidates were elected; CPV and non-party CPV-approved delegates were members of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 53.29 years male: 52.1 years female: 54.52 years (2007 est.)	total population: 71.07 years male: 68.27 years female: 74.08 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.8% male: 89.6% female: 78.4% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.3% male: 93.9% female: 86.9% (2002 est.)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon	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	territorial sea: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine	registered in other countries: 1 (Congo, Democratic Republic of the 1) (2007)	total: 314 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,739,927 GRT/2,681,003 DWT by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 26, cargo 238, chemical tanker 7, container 6, liquefied gas 6, petroleum tanker 26, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 registered in other countries: 33 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Honduras 1, South Korea 1, Liberia 3, Mongolia 14, Panama 10, Tuvalu 3, unknown 2) (2007)
Military branches	Congolese Armed Forces (Forces Armees Congolaises, FAC): Army, Navy, Congolese Air Force (Armee de l'Air Congolaise), Gendarmerie, Special Presidential Security Guard (GSSP) (2008)	People's Armed Forces: People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) (includes People's Navy Command (with naval infantry, coast guard), Air and Air Defense Force (Kon Quan Nhan Dan), Border Defense Command), People's Public Security Forces, Militia Force, Self-Defense Forces (2005)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	3.1% (2006)	2.5% (2005 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 15 August (1960)	Independence Day, 2 September (1945)
Nationality	noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo	noun: Vietnamese (singular and plural) adjective: Vietnamese
Natural hazards	seasonal flooding	occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta
Natural resources	petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, gold, magnesium, natural gas, hydropower	phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower
Net migration rate	-3.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	gas 89 km; liquid petroleum gas 4 km; oil 758 km (2007)	condensate/gas 432 km; gas 163 km; oil 50 km; refined products 206 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	Action Movement for Renewal or MAR; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA]; Congolese Labour Party or PCT; Movement for Solidarity and Development or MSD; Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin MBERI]; Rally for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA, president]; Rally for Democracy and the Republic or RDR [Raymond Damasge NGOLLO]; Union for Democracy and Republic or UDR; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO]; many less important parties	Communist Party of Vietnam or CPV [Nong Duc MANH]; other parties proscribed
Political pressure groups and leaders	Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC; General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students or UGEEC; Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women or URFC; Union of Congolese Socialist Youth or UJSC	groups advocate democracy but are not recognized by government - 8406 Bloc; Democratic Party of Vietnam or DPV; People's Democratic Party Vietnam or PDP-VN; Alliance for Democracy (2006)
Population	3,800,610 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 2007 est.)	85,262,356 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	19.5% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate	2.639% (2007 est.)	1.004% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001)	AM 65, FM 7, shortwave 29 (1999)
Railways	total: 894 km narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)	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 (2006)
Religions	Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%	Buddhist 9.3%, Catholic 6.7%, Hoa Hao 1.5%, Cao Dai 1.1%, Protestant 0.5%, Muslim 0.1%, none 80.8% (1999 census)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.013 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.985 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.699 male(s)/female total population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.077 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.983 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.634 male(s)/female total population: 0.982 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out of order; fixed-line infrastructure inadequate providing less than 1 connection per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has surged reaching 16 per 100 persons domestic: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable international: country code - 242; 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	15,900 (2005)	15.845 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	490,000 (2005)	15.505 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2001)	6 (plus 61 provincial TV stations) (2006)
Terrain	coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin	low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest
Total fertility rate	5.99 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.89 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	2% (2006 est.)
Waterways	1,125 km (commercially navigable on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2006)	17,702 km (5,000 km navigable by vessels up to 1.8 m draft) (2005)

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