Tokelau (2004) | Vietnam (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (territory of New Zealand) | 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: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (2004 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 | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats | paddy rice, corn, potatoes, rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas, sugar; poultry, pigs; fish |
Airports | none; lagoon landings are possible by amphibious aircraft (2003 est.) | 47 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | 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: 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: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 329,560 sq km
land: 325,360 sq km water: 4,200 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly larger than New Mexico |
Background | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. | 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 | NA births/1,000 population | 19.58 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 (1987 est.) |
revenues: $5.3 billion
expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (1999 est.) |
Capital | none; each atoll has its own administrative center | Hanoi |
Climate | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) | 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 | 101 km | 3,444 km (excludes islands) |
Constitution | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970 | 15 April 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
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 | New Zealand dollar (NZD) | dong (VND) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $0 | $14.1 billion (2001) |
Dependency status | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution and developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of New Zealand) | 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 | none (territory of New Zealand) | 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 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 | from New Zealand about $4 million annually | $2.1 billion in credits and grants pledged by international donors for 2000 |
Economy - overview | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. | 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 | NA kWh | 27.71 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 29.8 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 43.7%
hydro: 56.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand | 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, 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 | Polynesian | Vietnamese 85%-90%, Chinese, Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, mountain groups |
Exchange rates | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.154 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999) | 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Neil WALTER (since NA 2002)
head of government: Aliki Faipule Kuresa NASAU (since 2004) note - position rotates annually among members of the cabinet cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders - one from each atoll - functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
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 | $98,000 f.o.b. (1983) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | stamps, copra, handicrafts | crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes |
Exports - partners | New Zealand (2000) | US 15.2%, Japan 14.9%, Australia 7.6%, China 6.6%, Germany 6.5%, Singapore 5.5%, UK 4.3% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of New Zealand is used | red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.5 million (1993 est.) | purchasing power parity - $183.8 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 24%
industry: 37% services: 39% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1993 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 7% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 00 S, 172 00 W | 16 00 N, 106 00 E |
Geography - note | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level | extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total: 93,300 km
paved: 23,418 km unpaved: 69,882 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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 | $323,000 c.i.f. (1983) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles |
Imports - partners | New Zealand (2000) | South Korea 12.7%, China 12.2%, Japan 12.1%, Singapore 11.8%, Taiwan 10.6%, Thailand 5.4% (2002) |
Independence | none (territory of New Zealand) | 2 September 1945 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 10.2% (2002 est.) |
Industries | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing | food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, coal, steel, paper |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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) | NA | 3.9% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | UNESCO (associate), UPU | 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) | - | 5 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 30,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau | 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 | 38.2 million (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 63%, industry and services 37% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,639 km
border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km |
Land use | arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 17.41%
permanent crops: 4.71% other: 77.88% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English | Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian) |
Legal system | New Zealand and local statutes | based on communist legal theory and French civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Fono (48 seats; 15 members from each of the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms and the 3 island village mayors [pulenuku]); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono | 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: NA years
male: 68 years female: 70 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 70.05 years
male: 67.58 years female: 72.7 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94% male: 95.8% female: 92.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia |
Map references | Oceania | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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 | none | 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 - note | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand | - |
Military branches | - | 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 | - | $650 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.5% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 22,888,109 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 14,366,732 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 871,036 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) | Independence Day, 2 September (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
noun: Vietnamese (singular and plural)
adjective: Vietnamese |
Natural hazards | lies in Pacific typhoon belt | occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta |
Natural resources | NEGL | phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | -0.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate/gas 432 km; gas 210 km; oil 3 km; refined products 206 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | none | only party - Communist Party of Vietnam or CPV [Nong Duc MANH, general secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | none |
Population | 1,405 (July 2004 est.) | 81,624,716 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 37% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2004 est.) | 1.29% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; offshore anchorage only | Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Long, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Vinh, Vung Tau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
AM 65, FM 7, shortwave 29 (1999) |
Railways | - | 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 | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestant), indigenous beliefs, Muslim |
Sex ratio | NA | 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 | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
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 | 300 (2002) | 2.6 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (2001) | 730,155 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | - | at least 7 (plus 13 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons | low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 2.24 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 25% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | - | 17,702 km
note: more than 5,149 km are navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 m draft |