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Compare Latvia (2001) - Vietnam (2003)

Compare Latvia (2001) z Vietnam (2003)

 Latvia (2001)Vietnam (2003)
 LatviaVietnam
Administrative divisions 26 counties (singular - rajons) and 7 municipalities*: Aizkraukles Rajons, Aluksnes Rajons, Balvu Rajons, Bauskas Rajons, Cesu Rajons, Daugavpils*, Daugavpils Rajons, Dobeles Rajons, Gulbenes Rajons, Jekabpils Rajons, Jelgava*, Jelgavas Rajons, Jurmala*, Kraslavas Rajons, Kuldigas Rajons, Leipaja*, Liepajas Rajons, Limbazu Rajons, Ludzas Rajons, Madonas Rajons, Ogres Rajons, Preilu Rajons, Rezekne*, Rezeknes Rajons, Riga*, Rigas Rajons, Saldus Rajons, Talsu Rajons, Tukuma Rajons, Valkas Rajons, Valmieras Rajons, Ventspils*, Ventspils Rajons 58 provinces (tinh, singular and plural), and 3 municipalities* (thu do, singular and plural); 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, Can Tho, Cao Bang, Dac Lak, Da Nang, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Giang, Hai Duong, Hai Phong*, Ha Nam, Ha Noi*, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hoa Binh, Ho Chi Minh*, 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
Age structure 0-14 years:
16.55% (male 201,746; female 193,036)

15-64 years:
68.15% (male 776,509; female 848,908)

65 years and over:
15.3% (male 118,110; female 246,922) (2001 est.)
0-14 years: 30.2% (male 12,699,002; female 11,967,674)


15-64 years: 64.2% (male 25,776,600; female 26,599,005)


65 years and over: 5.6% (male 1,902,464; female 2,679,971) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish paddy rice, corn, potatoes, rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas, sugar; poultry, pigs; fish
Airports 25 (2000 est.) 47 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total:
13

2,438 to 3,047 m:
7

1,524 to 2,437 m:
1

914 to 1,523 m:
1

under 914 m:
4 (2000 est.)
total: 24


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 4


1,524 to 2,437 m: 6


914 to 1,523 m: 7


under 914 m: 6 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total:
12

2,438 to 3,047 m:
1

1,524 to 2,437 m:
2

914 to 1,523 m:
2

under 914 m:
7 (2000 est.)
total: 23


over 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 8


under 914 m: 12 (2002)
Area total:
64,589 sq km

land:
64,589 sq km

water:
0 sq km
total: 329,560 sq km


land: 325,360 sq km


water: 4,200 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than West Virginia slightly larger than New Mexico
Background After a brief period of independence between the two World Wars, Latvia was annexed by the USSR in 1940. It reestablished its independence in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although the last Russian troops left in 1994, the status of the Russian minority (some 30% of the population) remains of concern to Moscow. Latvia continues to revamp its economy for eventual integration into various Western European political and economic institutions. France occupied all of Vietnam by 1884. 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. Economic reconstruction of the reunited country has proven difficult as aging Communist Party leaders have only grudgingly initiated reforms necessary for a free market.
Birth rate 8.03 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 19.58 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues:
$1.33 billion

expenditures:
$1.27 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.)
revenues: $5.3 billion


expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (1999 est.)
Capital Riga Hanoi
Climate maritime; wet, moderate winters 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 531 km 3,444 km (excludes islands)
Constitution the 1991 Constitutional Law which supplements the 1922 constitution, provides for basic rights and freedoms 15 April 1992
Country name conventional long form:
Republic of Latvia

conventional short form:
Latvia

local long form:
Latvijas Republika

local short form:
Latvija

former:
Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
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 Latvian lat (LVL) dong (VND)
Death rate 14.8 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $800 million (2000 est.) $14.1 billion (2001)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador James H. HOLMES

embassy:
Raina Boulevard 7, LV-1510, Riga

mailing address:
American Embassy Riga, PSC 78, Box Riga, APO AE 09723

telephone:
[371] 721-0005

FAX:
[371] 782-0047
chief of mission: Ambassador Raymond F. BURGHARDT


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 Aivis RONIS

chancery:
4325 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011

telephone:
[1] (202) 726-8213, 8214

FAX:
[1] (202) 726-6785
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 draft treaty delimiting the boundary with Russia has not been signed; has not ratified 1998 maritime boundary agreement with Lithuania (primary concern is oil exploration rights) demarcation of the land boundary with China continues, but maritime boundary and joint fishing zone agreement remains unratified; Cambodia and Laos protest Vietnamese squatters and armed encroachments along border; China occupies Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; involved in a complex dispute over Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea", a mechanism to ease tension but which fell short of a legally binding "code of conduct"
Economic aid - recipient $96.2 million (1995) $2.1 billion in credits and grants pledged by international donors for 2000
Economy - overview In 2000, Latvia's transitional economy recovered from the 1998 Russian financial crisis, largely due to the SKELE government's budget stringency and a gradual reorientation of exports toward EU countries, lessening Latvia's trade dependency on Russia. Latvia officially joined the World Trade Organization in February 1999 - the first Baltic state to join - and was invited at the Helsinki EU Summit in December 1999 to begin accession talks in early 2000. Unemployment fell to 7.8% in 2000, down from 9.6% in 1999, and 9.2% in 1998. Privatization of large state-owned utilities and the shipping industry faced more delays in 2000, and political instability will continue to delay completion of the privatization process over the next year. Latvia projects 6% GDP growth, 2.5%-3.0% inflation, and a 1.7% fiscal deficit in 2001. Preparing for EU membership over the next few years remains a top foreign policy goal. 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. Meanwhile, Vietnamese authorities 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 4.316 billion kWh (1999) 27.71 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 400 million kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 1 billion kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 3.996 billion kWh (1999) 29.8 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
31.78%

hydro:
68.22%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
fossil fuel: 43.7%


hydro: 56.3%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Baltic Sea 0 m

highest point:
Gaizinkalns 312 m
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m


highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m
Environment - current issues air and water pollution because of a lack of waste conversion equipment; Gulf of Riga and Daugava River heavily polluted; contamination of soil and groundwater with chemicals and petroleum products at military bases 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:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:
Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban
Ethnic groups Latvian 56.5%, Russian 30.4%, Byelorussian 4.3%, Ukrainian 2.8%, Polish 2.6%, other 3.4% Vietnamese 85%-90%, Chinese, Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, mountain groups
Exchange rates lati per US dollar - 0.614 (January 2001), 0.607 (2000), 0.585 (1999), 0.590 (1998), 0.581 (1997), 0.551 (1996) dong per US dollar - 15,325.8 (2002), 14,725.2 (2001), 14,167.7 (2000), 13,943.2 (1999), 13,268 (1998)
Executive branch chief of state:
President Vaira VIKE-FREIBERGA (since 8 July 1999)

head of government:
Prime Minister Andris BERZINS (since 5 May 2000)

cabinet:
Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and appointed by the Parliament

elections:
president elected by Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 17 June 1999 (next to be held by NA June 2003); prime minister appointed by the president

election results:
Vaira VIKE-FREIBERGA elected as a compromise candidate in second phase of balloting, second round (after five rounds in first phase failed); percent of parliamentary vote - Vaira VIKE-FREIBERGA 53%, Valdis BIRKAVS 20%, Ingrida UDRE 9%
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 (since NA) 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 $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes
Exports - partners Germany 16%, UK 11%, Sweden 11%, Russia 7% (1999) US 15.2%, Japan 14.9%, Australia 7.6%, China 6.6%, Germany 6.5%, Singapore 5.5%, UK 4.3% (2002)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three horizontal bands of maroon (top), white (half-width), and maroon red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center
GDP purchasing power parity - $17.3 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $183.8 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
5%

industry:
33%

services:
62% (1999)
agriculture: 24%


industry: 37%


services: 39% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $7,200 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 5.5% (2000 est.) 7% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 57 00 N, 25 00 E 16 00 N, 106 00 E
Geography - note - extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point
Highways total:
59,178 km

paved:
22,843 km

unpaved:
36,335 km (1998 est.)
total: 93,300 km


paved: 23,418 km


unpaved: 69,882 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
2.9%

highest 10%:
25.9% (1998)
lowest 10%: 3.6%


highest 10%: 29.9% (1998)
Illicit drugs transshipment point for opiates and cannabis from Central and Southwest Asia to Western Europe and Scandinavia and Latin American cocaine and some synthetics from Western Europe to CIS; limited production of illicit amphetamine, ephedrine, and ecstasy for export minor producer of opium poppy; probable minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin; domestic opium/heroin/methamphetamine addiction problems
Imports $3.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles
Imports - partners Russia 15%, Germany 10%, Finland 9%, Sweden 7% (1999) South Korea 12.7%, China 12.2%, Japan 12.1%, Singapore 11.8%, Taiwan 10.6%, Thailand 5.4% (2002)
Independence 18 November 1991 (from Soviet Union) 2 September 1945 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate 6.3% (2000 est.) 10.2% (2002 est.)
Industries buses, vans, street and railroad cars, synthetic fibers, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, washing machines, radios, electronics, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, textiles; note - dependent on imports for energy, raw materials, and intermediate products food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, coal, steel, paper
Infant mortality rate 15.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) total: 30.83 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 34.71 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 26.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2.7% (2000) 3.9% (2002 est.)
International organization participation BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO ACCT, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 42 (2000) 5 (2000)
Irrigated land 160 sq km (1993 est.) 30,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court (judges' appointments are confirmed by Parliament) 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 1.4 million (2000 est.) 38.2 million (1998 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 10%, industry 25%, services 65% (2000 est.) agriculture 63%, industry and services 37% (2000 est.)
Land boundaries total:
1,150 km

border countries:
Belarus 141 km, Estonia 339 km, Lithuania 453 km, Russia 217 km
total: 4,639 km


border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km
Land use arable land:
27%

permanent crops:
0%

permanent pastures:
13%

forests and woodland:
46%

other:
14% (1993 est.)
arable land: 17.41%


permanent crops: 4.71%


other: 77.88% (1998 est.)
Languages Latvian or Lettish (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other 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 civil law system based on communist legal theory and French civil law system
Legislative branch unicameral Parliament or Saeima (100 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)

elections:
last held 3 October 1998 (next to be held NA October 2002)

election results:
percent of vote by party - People's Party 21%, LC 18%, TSP 14%, TB/LNNK 14%, Social Democrats 13%, New Party 7%; seats by party - People's Party 24, LC 21, TB/LNNK 17, TSP 16, Social Democrats 14, New Party 8
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:
68.7 years

male:
62.8 years

female:
74.9 years (2001 est.)
total population: 70.05 years


male: 67.58 years


female: 72.7 years (2003 est.)
Literacy definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
100%

male:
100%

female:
99% (1989 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 94%


male: 95.8%


female: 92.3% (2003 est.)
Location Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia
Map references Europe Southeast Asia
Maritime claims continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

exclusive economic zone:
200 NM

territorial sea:
12 NM
contiguous zone: 24 NM


continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine total:
8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 27,984 GRT/29,978 DWT

ships by type:
cargo 2, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 3 (2000 est.)
total: 180 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,054,423 GRT/1,588,732 DWT


ships by type: bulk 13, cargo 128, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 9, liquefied gas 4, petroleum tanker 21, refrigerated cargo 3


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cambodia 1, Japan 1, Singapore 1, UK 2 (2002 est.)
Military branches Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Security Forces, Border Guard, Home Guard (Zemessardze) People's Army of Vietnam (includes Ground Forces, People's Navy Command [including Naval Infantry], Air and Air Defense Force, Coast Guard)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $60 million (FY99) $650 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 0.9% (FY99) 2.5% (FY98)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
590,784 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 22,888,109 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
463,944 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 14,366,732 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age 17 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males:
19,114 (2001 est.)
males: 871,036 (2003 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 18 November (1918); note - 18 November 1918 is the date of independence from Soviet Russia, 18 November 1991 is the date of independence from the Soviet Union Independence Day, 2 September (1945)
Nationality noun:
Latvian(s)

adjective:
Latvian
noun: Vietnamese (singular and plural)


adjective: Vietnamese
Natural hazards NA occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta
Natural resources minimal; amber, peat, limestone, dolomite, hydropower, arable land phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower
Net migration rate -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -0.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 750 km; refined products 780 km; natural gas 560 km (1992) condensate/gas 432 km; gas 210 km; oil 3 km; refined products 206 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders Anticommunist Union or PA [P. MUCENIEKS]; Christian Democrat Union or LKDS [Talavs JUNDZIS]; Christian People's Party or KTP [Uldis AUGSTKALNS]; Democratic Party "Saimnieks" or DPS [Ziedonis CEVERS, chairman]; For Fatherland and Freedom or TB [Maris GRINBLATS], merged with LNNK; For Human Rights in a United Latvia [Janis JURKANS], a coalition of the People's Harmony Party or TSP, the Latvian Socialist Party or LSP, and the Equal Rights Movement; Green Party or LZP [Olegs BATAREVSKI]; Latvian Liberal Party or LLP [J. DANOSS]; Latvian National Conservative Party or LNNK [Andrejs KRASTINS]; Latvian National Democratic Party or LNDP [A. MALINS]; Latvian Social-Democratic Workers Party (Social Democrats) or LSDWU [Juris BOJARS and Janis ADAMSONS, leaders]; Latvian Unity Party or LVP [Alberis KAULS]; Latvia's Way or LC [Andrei PANTELEJEVS]; New Christian Party [Ainars SLESERS]; New Faction [Ingrida UDRE]; "Our Land" or MZ [M. DAMBEKALNE]; Party of Russian Citizens or LKPP [V. SOROCHIN, V. IVANOV]; People's Party [Andris SKELE]; Political Union of Economists or TPA [Edvins KIDE] only party - Communist Party of Vietnam or CPV [Nong Duc MANH, general secretary]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA none
Population 2,385,231 (July 2001 est.) 81,624,716 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 37% (1998 est.)
Population growth rate -0.81% (2001 est.) 1.29% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors Daugavpils, Liepaja, Riga, Ventspils Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Long, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Vinh, Vung Tau
Radio broadcast stations AM 8, FM 56, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 65, FM 7, shortwave 29 (1999)
Radios 1.76 million (1997) -
Railways total:
2,412 km

broad gauge:
2,379 km 1.520-m gauge (271 km electrified) (1992)

narrow gauge:
33 km 0.750-m gauge (1994)
total: 3,142 km


standard gauge: 209 km 1.435-m gauge


narrow gauge: 2,625 km 1.000-m gauge


dual gauge: 308 km three-rail track combining 1.435-m and 1.000-m gauges (2002)
Religions Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestant), indigenous beliefs, Muslim
Sex ratio at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
0.91 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.48 male(s)/female

total population:
0.85 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 (2003 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal for Latvian citizens 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment:
inadequate, but is being modernized to provide an international capability independent of the Moscow international switch; more facilities are being installed for individual use

domestic:
expansion underway in intercity trunk line connections, rural exchanges, and mobile systems; still many unsatisfied subscriber applications

international:
international connections are now available via cable and a satellite earth station at Riga, enabling direct connections for most calls (1998)
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; since 1991, main lines in use have been substantially increased and the use of mobile telephones is growing rapidly


international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)
Telephones - main lines in use 748,000 (1997) 2.6 million (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular 77,100 (1997) 730,155 (2000)
Television broadcast stations 44 (plus 31 repeaters) (1995) at least 7 (plus 13 repeaters) (1998)
Terrain low plain low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest
Total fertility rate 1.15 children born/woman (2001 est.) 2.24 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate 7.8% (2000 est.) 25% (1995 est.)
Waterways 300 km (perennially navigable) 17,702 km


note: more than 5,149 km are navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 m draft
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