Vietnam (2002) | Tajikistan (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 | 2 provinces (viloyatho, singular - viloyat) and 1 autonomous province* (viloyati mukhtor); Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon* (Khorugh), Viloyati Khatlon (Qurghonteppa), Viloyati Sughd (Khujand)
note: the administrative center name follows in parentheses |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.6% (male 13,259,152; female 12,392,089)
15-64 years: 62.9% (male 24,938,098; female 26,083,681) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 1,749,531; female 2,675,865) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 40.4% (male 1,370,314; female 1,346,465)
15-64 years: 54.9% (male 1,835,573; female 1,854,677) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 136,033; female 176,505) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | paddy rice, corn, potatoes, rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas, sugar; poultry, pigs; fish | cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 34 (2001) | 53 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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 (2002) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 17
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 8 (2002) |
total: 51
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 36 (2002) |
Area | total: 329,560 sq km
land: 325,360 sq km water: 4,200 sq km |
total: 143,100 sq km
land: 142,700 sq km water: 400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than New Mexico | slightly smaller than Wisconsin |
Background | 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. | Tajikistan has experienced three changes in government and a five-year civil war since it gained independence in 1991 from the USSR. A peace agreement among rival factions was signed in 1997, and implemented in 2000. The central government's less than total control over some areas of the country has forced it to compromise and forge alliances among factions. Attention by the international community in the wake of the war in Afghanistan has brought increased economic development assistance, which could create jobs and increase stability in the long term. Tajikistan is in the early stages of seeking World Trade Organization membership and has joined NATO's Partnership for Peace. |
Birth rate | 20.89 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 32.99 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $5.3 billion
expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (1999 est.) |
revenues: $146 million
expenditures: $196 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
Capital | Hanoi | Dushanbe |
Climate | tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March) | midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains |
Coastline | 3,444 km (excludes islands) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 15 April 1992 | 6 November 1994 |
Country name | 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 |
conventional long form: Republic of Tajikistan
conventional short form: Tajikistan local long form: Jumhurii Tojikiston local short form: Tojikiston former: Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | dong (VND) | somoni |
Death rate | 6.14 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.51 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $13.2 billion (2000) | $1.23 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Franklin P. HUDDLE, Jr.
embassy: 10 Pavlova Street, Dushanbe, Tajikistan 734003; note - the embassy in Dushanbe is not yet fully operational; most business is still handled in Almaty at 531 Sayfullin Street, Almaty, Kazakhstan, telephone 7-3272-58-79-61, FAX 7-3272-58079-68 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [992] (372) 21-03-48, 21-03-50, 21-03-52, 24-15-60 FAX: [992] (372) 51-00-28, 21-03-62 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
Tajikistan does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a permanent mission to the UN: address - 136 East 67th Street, New York, NY 10021, telephone - [1] (212) 472-7645, FAX - [1] (212) 628-0252; permanent representative to the UN is Khamrokhon ZARIPOV |
Disputes - international | Vietnam disputes several offshore islands with Cambodia, preventing delimitation of a maritime boundary; Cambodia accuses Vietnam of territorial encroachments and initiating armed border incidents in seven provinces; demarcation of boundaries with Laos is nearing completion, but Laos protests Vietnamese squatters; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary with China in the Gulf of Tonkin still awaits ratification; Paracel Islands occupied by China but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam; demarcation of the land boundary with China has commenced, but details of the alignment have not been made public | Uzbekistan has mined much of its undemarcated southern and eastern border with Tajikistan; border demarcation negotiations continuing with Kyrgyzstan in Isfara Valley area; Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing water resources and the resulting regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking of the Aral Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.1 billion in credits and grants pledged by international donors for 2000 | $60.7 million from US (2001) |
Economy - overview | 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 leads to disaster. GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 fell to 6% in 1998 and 5% in 1999. Growth then rose to 6.8% in 2000 and dropped back to 4.7% in 2001 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 slowly in implementing the structural reforms needed to revitalize the economy and 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. | Tajikistan has the lowest per capita GDP among the 15 former Soviet republics. Cotton is the most important crop. Mineral resources, varied but limited in amount, include silver, gold, uranium, and tungsten. Industry consists only of a large aluminum plant, hydropower facilities, and small obsolete factories mostly in light industry and food processing. The civil war (1992-97) severely damaged the already weak economic infrastructure and caused a sharp decline in industrial and agricultural production. Even though 80% of its people continue to live in abject poverty, Tajikistan has experienced strong economic growth since 1997. Continued privatization of medium and large state-owned enterprises will further increase productivity. Tajikistan's economic situation, however, remains fragile due to uneven implementation of structural reforms, weak governance, and the external debt burden. Servicing of the debt, owed principally to Russia and Uzbekistan, could require as much as 50% of government revenues in 2002, thus limiting the nation's ability to meet pressing development needs. |
Electricity - consumption | 23.97 billion kWh (2000) | 12.539 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 3.909 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 3.2 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 25.775 billion kWh (2000) | 14.245 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 41%
hydro: 59% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 2%
hydro: 98% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m |
lowest point: Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) 300 m
highest point: Qullai Ismoili Somoni 7,495 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Vietnamese 85%-90%, Chinese, Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, mountain groups | Tajik 64.9%, Uzbek 25%, Russian 3.5% (declining because of emigration), other 6.6% |
Exchange rates | dong per US dollar - 15,085 (January 2002), 14,725 (2001), 14,168 (2000), 13,943 (1999), 13,268 (1998), 11,683 (1997) | Tajikistani somoni per US dollar - 2.55 (January 2002), 2.2 (January 2001), 1550 (January 2000), 998 (January 1999), 350 (January 1997), 284 (January 1996)
note: the new unit of exchange was introduced on 30 October 2000, with one somoni equal to 1,000 of the old Tajikistani rubles |
Executive branch | 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 24 September 1997 (next to be held when National Assembly meets following legislative elections in May 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% |
chief of state: President Emomali RAHMONOV (since 6 November 1994; head of state and Supreme Assembly chairman since 19 November 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister Oqil OQILOV (since 20 January 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Supreme Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 6 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Emomali RAHMONOV elected president; percent of vote - Emomali RAHMONOV 97%, Davlat USMON 2% |
Exports | $15.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $640 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes | aluminum, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles |
Exports - partners | Japan 18.1%, China 10.6%, Australia 8.8%, Singapore 6.1%, Taiwan 5.2%, Germany 5.1%, US 5.1% (2000) | Europe 43%, Russia 30%, Uzbekistan 13% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center | three horizontal stripes of red (top), a wider stripe of white, and green; a gold crown surmounted by seven gold, five-pointed stars is located in the center of the white stripe |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $168.1 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7.5 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 25%
industry: 35% services: 40% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 19%
industry: 25% services: 56% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,140 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.7% (2001 est.) | 8.3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 00 N, 106 00 E | 39 00 N, 71 00 E |
Geography - note | extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point | landlocked; mountainous region dominated by the Trans-Alay Range in the north and the Pamirs in the southeast; highest point, Qullai Ismoili Somoni (formerly Communism Peak), was the tallest mountain in the former USSR |
Highways | total: 93,300 km
paved: 23,418 km unpaved: 69,882 km (1996) |
total: 29,900 km
paved: 21,400 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 8,500 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 30% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | minor producer of opium poppy; probable minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin; domestic opium/heroin/methamphetamine addiction problems | major transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets; limited illicit cultivation of opium poppy for domestic consumption; Tajikistan seizes roughly 80 percent of all drugs captured in Central Asia and stands third world-wide in seizures of opiates (heroin and raw opium) |
Imports | $15.3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $700 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles | electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Singapore 17.7%, Japan 14.4%, Taiwan 12.1%, South Korea 11.1%, China 9.1%, Thailand 5.2%, Hong Kong 3.9% (2000) | Uzbekistan 27%, Russia 16%, Europe 12% (2000) |
Independence | 2 September 1945 (from France) | 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 10.4% (2001 est.) | 10.3% (2000 est.) |
Industries | food processing, garments, shoes, machine building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, coal, steel, paper | aluminum, zinc, lead, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers |
Infant mortality rate | 29.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 114.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.3% (2001 est.) | 33% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, 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, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IOC, IOM, ITU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | 4 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 30,000 sq km (1998 est.) | 7,200 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme People's Court (chief justice is elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 38.2 million (1998 est.) | 3.187 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 67%, industry and services 33% (1997 est.) | agriculture 67%, industry 8%, services 25% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,639 km
border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km |
total: 3,651 km
border countries: Afghanistan 1,206 km, China 414 km, Kyrgyzstan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,161 km |
Land use | arable land: 17.41%
permanent crops: 4.71% other: 77.88% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 5.41%
permanent crops: 0.92% other: 93.67% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian) | Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business |
Legal system | based on communist legal theory and French civil law system | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts |
Legislative branch | 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 |
bicameral Supreme Assembly or Majlisi Oli consists of the Assembly of Representatives (lower chamber) or Majlisi Namoyandagon (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the National Assembly (upper chamber) or Majlisi Milliy (33 seats; members are indirectly elected, 25 selected by local deputies, 8 appointed by the president; all serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 27 February and 12 March 2000 for the Assembly of Representatives (next to be held NA 2005) and 23 March 2000 for the National Assembly (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Assembly of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDPT 65%, Communist Party 20%, Islamic Rebirth Party 7.5%, other 7.5%; seats by party - NA; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.86 years
male: 67.4 years female: 72.5 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 64.28 years
male: 61.24 years female: 67.46 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.7% male: 96.5% female: 91.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia | Central Asia, west of China |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Asia |
Maritime claims | 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 |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 153 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 782,912 GRT/1,173,186 DWT
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 113, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 5, liquefied gas 2, petroleum tanker 20, refrigerated cargo 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cambodia 1, Japan 1, Singapore 1, United Kingdom 2 (2002 est.) |
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Military branches | People's Army of Vietnam (includes Ground Forces, People's Navy Command [including Naval Infantry], Air and Air Defense Force, Coast Guard) | Army, Air Force and Air Defense Force, Presidential National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $650 million (FY98) | $35.4 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.5% (FY98) | 3.9% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 22,220,891 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,646,278 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 13,978,653 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,349,505 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 961,124 (2002 est.) | males: 72,056 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 2 September (1945) | Independence Day (or National Day), 9 September (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Vietnamese (singular and plural)
adjective: Vietnamese |
noun: Tajikistani(s)
adjective: Tajikistani |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta | earthquakes and floods |
Natural resources | phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower | hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold |
Net migration rate | -0.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -3.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 150 km | natural gas 400 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | only party - Communist Party of Vietnam or CPV [Nong Duc MANH, general secretary] | Democratic Party or DPT [Mahmadruzi ISKANDAROV, chairman]; Islamic Revival Party [Said Abdullo NURI, chairman]; People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMONOV]; Social Democratic Party or SDPT [Rahmatullo ZOIROV]; Socialist Party or SPT [Sherali KENJAYEV]; Tajik Communist Party or CPT [Shodi SHABDOLOV] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | there are two unregistered political parties with 1,000 or more members: Progressive Party [Suton QUVVATOV]; Unity Party [Hikmatuko SAIDOV] |
Population | 81,098,416 (July 2002 est.) | 6,719,567 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37% (1998 est.) | 80% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.43% (2002 est.) | 2.12% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Long, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Vinh, Vung Tau | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 65, FM 7, shortwave 29 (1999) | AM 8, FM 10, shortwave 2 (2002) |
Radios | 8.2 million (1997) | 1.291 million (1991) |
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 (2001) |
total: 482 km
broad gauge: 482 km 1.520-m gauge note: includes only lines in common carrier service; lines dedicated to particular industries are excluded (2001) |
Religions | Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestant), indigenous beliefs, Muslim | Sunni Muslim 85%, Shi'a Muslim 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: poorly developed and not well maintained; many towns are not reached by the national network
domestic: cable and microwave radio relay international: linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; Dushanbe linked by Intelsat to international gateway switch in Ankara (Turkey); satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 2 Intelsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.6 million (2000) | 363,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 730,155 (2000) | 2,500 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | at least 7 (plus 13 repeaters) (1998) | 13 (2001) |
Terrain | low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest | Pamir and Alay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest |
Total fertility rate | 2.44 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 4.23 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 25% (1995 est.) | 20% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 17,702 km
note: more than 5,149 km are navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 m draft |
none |