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Compare Syria (2003) - Vietnam (2001)
Compare Syria (2003) z Vietnam (2001)
| Syria (2003) | Vietnam (2001) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus | 58 provinces (tinh, singular and plural), 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: 38.6% (male 3,494,473; female 3,290,699)
15-64 years: 58.2% (male 5,238,026; female 4,991,588) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 274,744; female 296,010) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
32.13% (male 13,266,585; female 12,415,384) 15-64 years: 62.44% (male 24,357,343; female 25,556,187) 65 years and over: 5.43% (male 1,722,094; female 2,621,421) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk | paddy rice, corn, potatoes, rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas, sugar; poultry, pigs; fish |
| Airports | 92 (2002) | 34 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 24
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
17 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 68
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 55 (2002) |
total:
17 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 185,180 sq km
land: 184,050 sq km water: 1,130 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory |
total:
329,560 sq km land: 325,360 sq km water: 4,200 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than North Dakota | slightly larger than New Mexico |
| Background | Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. In recent years, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights. | 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 | 29.54 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 21.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $6 billion
expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2002 est.) |
revenues:
$5.3 billion expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (1999 est.) |
| Capital | Damascus | Hanoi |
| Climate | mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus | 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 | 193 km | 3,444 km (excludes islands) |
| Constitution | 13 March 1973 | 15 April 1992 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Syrian Arab Republic
conventional short form: Syria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah local short form: Suriyah former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt) |
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 | Syrian pound (SYP) | dong (VND) |
| Death rate | 5.04 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 6.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $22 billion (2002 est.) | $13.2 billion (2000) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Theodore H. KATTOUF
embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 333-1342 FAX: [963] (11) 331-9678 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Douglas B. "Pete" PETERSON embassy: 7 Lang Ha Road, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi mailing address: PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [84] (4) 8431500 FAX: [84] (4) 8351510 consulate(s) general: Ho Chi Minh City |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (acting) Imad MUSTAFA
chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate Nguyen Tam CHIEN chancery: 1233 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, Suite 400 telephone: [1] (202) 861-0737 FAX: [1] (202) 861-0917 consulate(s) general: San Francisco |
| Disputes - international | Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied; Lebanon claims Shaba'a farms in Golan Heights; Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon since October 1976; Syria protests Turkish hydrological projects regulating upper Euphrates waters; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province | maritime boundary with Cambodia not defined; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary agreement with China in the Gulf of Tonkin awaits ratification; Paracel Islands occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; portions of boundary with Cambodia are in dispute; agreement on land border with China was signed in December 1999, but details of alignment have not yet been made public |
| Economic aid - recipient | $199 million (1997 est.) | $2.1 billion in credits and grants pledged by international donors for 2000 |
| Economy - overview | Syria's predominantly statist economy has been growing, on average, more slowly than its 2.4% annual population growth rate, causing a persistent decline in per capita GDP. Recent legislation allows private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. External factors such as the international war on terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the war between the US-led coalition and Iraq probably will drive real annual GDP growth levels back below their 3.5% spike in 2002. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. | 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 existing in the Vietnamese economy but, rather than prompting reform, reaffirmed the government's belief that shifting to a market oriented economy leads to disaster. GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 fell to 6% in 1998 and 5% in 1999. Growth continued at the moderately strong level of 5.5%, a level that should be matched in 2001. 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; this problem apparently eased in 2000. Foreign direct investment fell dramatically, from $8.3 billion in 1996 to about $1.6 billion in 1999. Meanwhile, Vietnamese authorities have moved slowly in implementing the structural reforms needed to revitalize the economy and produce more competitive, export-driven industries. |
| Electricity - consumption | 21.63 billion kWh (2001) | 21.376 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 23.26 billion kWh (2001) | 22.985 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 57.6%
hydro: 42.4% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
47.71% hydro: 52.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
lowest point:
South China Sea 0 m highest point: Ngoc Linh 3,143 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water | 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, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
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 | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% | Vietnamese 85%-90%, Chinese, Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, mountain groups |
| Exchange rates | Syrian pounds per US dollar - (Official rate): 11.23 (2002), 11.23 (2001), 11.23 (2000), 11.23 (1999), 11.23 (1998), (Free market rate): 49.65 (2001), 49.4 (2000), 51.7 (1999), 52 (1998) | dong per US dollar - 14,530 (January 2001), 14,020 (January 2000), 13,900 (December 1998), 11,100 (December 1996), 11,193 (1995 average), 11,000 (October 1994) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984)
head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-UTRI (since 10 September 2003), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984), Farouk al-SHARA (since 13 December 2001), Dr. Muhammad al-HUSAYN (since 13 December 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; referendum/election last held 10 July 2000 - after the death of President Hafez al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held NA 2007); vice presidents appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.29% note: Hafiz al-ASAD died on 10 June 2000; on 20 June 2000, the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council on 25 June 2000 |
chief of state:
President Tran Duc LUONG (since 24 September 1997) and Vice President Nguyen Thi BINH (since NA October 1992) 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 Nguyen Cong TAN (since 29 September 1997), Nguyen Manh CAM (since 29 September 1997), 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 September 1997 (next to be held when National Assembly meets following legislative elections in NA 2002); 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 | NA (2001) | $14.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | crude oil 70%, petroleum products 7%, fruits and vegetables 5%, cotton fiber 4%, clothing 3%, meat and live animals 2% (2000 est.) | crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes |
| Exports - partners | Germany 19.1%, Italy 17.5%, Turkey 7.8%, France 7.5%, Lebanon 5.2% (2002) | China, Japan, Germany, Australia, US, France, Singapore, UK, Taiwan |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band | red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $63.48 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $154.4 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 27%
industry: 23% services: 50% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
25% industry: 35% services: 40% (1999 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,950 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3.6% (2002 est.) | 5.5% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 35 00 N, 38 00 E | 16 00 N, 106 00 E |
| Geography - note | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) | - |
| Heliports | 7 (2002) | - |
| Highways | total: 43,381 km
paved: 10,021 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 33,360 km (1999) |
total:
93,300 km paved: 23,418 km unpaved: 69,882 km (1996) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
3.5% highest 10%: 29% (1993) |
| Illicit drugs | a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets | minor producer of opium poppy with 2,100 hectares cultivated in 1999, capable of producing 11 metric tons of opium; probable minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin; opium/heroin/methamphetamine addiction problems |
| Imports | NA (2001) | $15.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000 est.) | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles |
| Imports - partners | Italy 8.3%, Germany 7.4%, China 5.7%, South Korea 4.8%, France 4.6%, US 4.4%, Turkey 4.1% (2002) | Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, France, US, Sweden |
| Independence | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | 2 September 1945 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 10.7% (2000 est.) |
| Industries | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining | food processing, garments, shoes, machine building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, coal, steel, paper |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 31.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 31.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 31.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
30.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.9% (2002 est.) | -0.6% (2000 est.) |
| International organization participation | AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO | ACCT, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 5 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) | 18,600 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts | 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 | 5.2 million (2000 est.) | 38.2 million (1998 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture, industry, services NA (2002) | agriculture 67%, industry and services 33% (1997 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,253 km
border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km |
total:
4,639 km border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km |
| Land use | arable land: 25.96%
permanent crops: 4.08% other: 69.96% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
17% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 30% other: 48% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood | 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 Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on communist legal theory and French civil law system |
| Legislative branch | unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 2-3 March 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, independents 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receives one-half of the seats |
unicameral National Assembly or Quoc-Hoi (450 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 July 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - CPV 92%, other 8% (the 8% are not CPV members but are approved by the CPV to stand for election); seats by party - CPV or CPV-approved 450 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.39 years
male: 68.18 years female: 70.67 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
69.56 years male: 67.12 years female: 72.19 years (2001 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.9% male: 89.7% female: 64% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93.7% male: 96.5% female: 91.2% (1995 est.) |
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia |
| Map references | Middle East | Southeast Asia |
| Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 41 NM
territorial sea: 35 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: 129 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 450,135 GRT/645,296 DWT
ships by type: bulk 13, cargo 109, container 2, livestock carrier 3, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Egypt 1, Greece 2, Italy 1, Lebanon 10 (2002 est.) |
total:
143 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 705,388 GRT/1,071,902 DWT ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 108, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 2, liquefied gas 2, petroleum tanker 18, refrigerated cargo 3 (2000 est.) |
| Military branches | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Police and Security Force | People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) (includes Ground Forces, Navy, and Air Force), Coast Guard |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending | $650 million (FY98) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.9% (FY00) | 2.5% (FY98) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 4,715,386 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
21,704,588 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,629,148 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
13,673,438 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age (2003 est.) | 17 years of age |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 210,941 (2003 est.) | males:
961,124 (2001 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) | Independence Day, 2 September (1945) |
| Nationality | noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
noun:
Vietnamese (singular and plural) adjective: Vietnamese |
| Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms | occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding |
| Natural resources | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower | phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2003) | petroleum products 150 km |
| Political parties and leaders | National Progressive Front or NPF (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general], Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Ahmad al ASAD], Syrian Communist Party [leader NA], Unionist Socialist Party [leader NA], Arab Socialist Party [Abd al-Ghani QANNUT], and Arab Socialist Unionist Movement [Sami SUFAN]) [President Bashar al-ASAD, chairman]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan QUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI] | only party - Communist Party of Vietnam or CPV [Le Kha PHIEU, general secretary] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence | none |
| Population | 17,585,540 (July 2002 est.)
note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (February 2003 est.) (July 2003 est.) |
79,939,014 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 15%-25% | 37% (1998 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.45% (2003 est.) | 1.45% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus | Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Long, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Vinh, Vung Tau |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 65, FM 7, shortwave 29 (1999) |
| Radios | - | 8.2 million (1997) |
| Railways | total: 2,743 km
standard gauge: 2,425 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 318 km 1.050-m gauge (2002) |
total:
2,652 km standard gauge: 166 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 2,249 km 1.000-m gauge dual gauge: 237 km NA-m gauges (three rails) (1998) |
| Religions | Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) | Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestant), indigenous beliefs, Muslim |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel |
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 | 1.313 million (1997) | 2.6 million (2000) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 730,155 (2000) |
| Television broadcast stations | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) | at least 7 (plus 13 repeaters) (1998) |
| Terrain | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west | low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest |
| Total fertility rate | 3.72 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 2.49 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 20% (2002 est.) | 25% (1995 est.) |
| Waterways | 870 km (minimal economic importance) | 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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