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Revision as of 01:57, 7 March 2005 view sourceTobias Conradi (talk | contribs)37,615 edits →Provinces: province->Province see:Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Subnational_entities← Previous edit Revision as of 06:32, 7 March 2005 view source Koavf (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users2,174,994 edits Ported "Vietnam" to "Viet Nam" - this is more correct.Next edit →
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#redirect ]
The '''Socialist Republic of Vietnam''' is a country in ]. It borders ], ], ], and the ].
{| border=1 align=right cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=300 style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|+<big><big>'''C&#7897;ng H&ograve;a X&atilde; H&#7897;i Ch&#7911; Ngh&#297;a Vi&#7879;t Nam'''</big></big>
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| style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan=2 |
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"
| align="center" width="140px" | ]
| align="center" width="140px" | ]
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| align="center" width="140px" | (])
| align="center" width="140px" | (Full size)
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| align=center style="vertical-align: top;" colspan=2 | <small>'']: &ETH;&#7897;c l&#7853;p, t&#7921; do, h&#7841;nh ph&uacute;c<br>(]: Independence, Liberty, Happiness)''</small>
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| align=center colspan=2 style="background: #ffffff;" | ]
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| ''']'''
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| ''']'''<br>&nbsp;- Total <br>&nbsp;- % water
| ] <br> 329,560 ] <br> 1.3%
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| ''']'''<br>&nbsp;- Total (2004)<br>&nbsp;- ]
| ]<br> 82,689,518<br> 264/km&sup2;
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| ''']''' (PPP)<br>&nbsp;- Total (]) <br>&nbsp;- GDP/head
| <br> $203.7 billion <br> $2,500
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| ''']'''<br>&nbsp;- Declared<br>&nbsp;- Recognised
| From French rule<br>], ]<br>1954
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| ] +7
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| '']'' (The Troops are Advancing)
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== History ==
''Main article: ]''

Vietnam's history goes back more than 2,500 years. For a thousand years, it was under the rule of successive dynasties of the Chinese Empire. Vietnam regained independence in the early 10th century, and complete autonomy a century later. The native dynastic period ended in mid-19th century, when the country was colonized by France. During WWII, Japan occupied Vietnam. After the war, France attempted to re-establish control but ultimately failed. The Geneva Accords partitioned the country in two. During this Cold War period, the North was supported by China and the USSR while the South was supported by the USA. Tensions quickly escalated into the Vietnam War. The war ended with the American withdrawal from Vietnam in March 1973 and the capture of Saigon in April 1975. In 1976, Vietnam was officially reunited under the North Vietnamese government as "The Socialist Republic of Vietnam".

== Politics ==
''Main article: ]''

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is governed through a highly centralized system dominated by the ] (&#272;&#7843;ng C&#7897;ng S&#7843;n Vi&#7879;t Nam), which was formerly known as the Vietnamese Labor Party. The government is in theory independent from the party, but in practice it receives most of its directives from the party. Although there has been some effort to discourage membership in overlapping party and state positions, this practice continues. Four Politburo members (], ], ], and ]) concurrently hold high positions in the government.

There are no legal opposition parties in Vietnam, although a number of illegal groups do exist scattered overseas among ] communities such as ] and the ], that have led demonstrations and bombings against the government. The most prominent are the ], ], ] Inc. and the ]. The Government of Free Vietnam has claimed responsibility for a number of guerilla raids into Vietnam, which the government has denounced as terrorism.

Former political parties include the nationalist Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang of Nguyen Thai Hoc, the Can Lao party of the ] government and the Viet Nam Duy Tan Hoi of ] during the colonial period.

Vietnam is a member of the ], ], ], and ] and has applied for membership to the ].

== Provinces ==
''Main article: ]''

Vietnam's capital (''th&#7911; &#273;ô'', singular and plural) is ] (Hà N&#7897;i).

There are also four municipalities (''thành ph&#7889; tr&#7921;c thu&#7897;c Trung &#432;&#417;ng'', singular and plural) existing at provincial level:

], ], ], ] (Thành ph&#7889; H&#7891; Chí Minh).

Besides, the country is divided into fifty-nine provinces (''t&#7881;nh'', singular and plural):

], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ].

== Geography ==
]
''Main article: ]''

The country is approximately 331,688 square kilometers. The topography consists of hills and densely forested mountains, with level land covering no more than 20 percent. Mountains account for 40 percent, hills 40 percent, and forests 75 percent. The northern part of the country consists of highlands and the ]; the south is divided into coastal lowlands, ] (central mountains) with high plateaus, and the ] Delta.

The climate is ] and ]al; ] averages 84 percent throughout the year. Annual rainfall ranges from 120 to 300 centimeters, and annual temperatures vary between 5&deg;C and 37&deg;C.

Land boundaries: Total: 4,639 km
border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km

== Economy ==
''Main article: ]''

In 1986, the Sixth Party Congress of the ] formally abandoned ] ] and began introducing market elements as part of a broad economic reform package called "]" ("Renovation"). In many ways, this followed the Chinese model and achieved similar results. On the one hand, Vietnam achieved around 8% annual ] growth from ] to ] and continued at around 7% from ] to ], making it the world's second-fastest growing economy. Simultaneously, ] grew three-fold and ] quintupled. On the other hand, urban unemployment has been rising steadily in recent years, and rural unemployment, estimated to be up to 35% during nonharvest periods, is already at critical levels. Layoffs in the state sector and foreign-invested enterprises combined with the lasting effects of an earlier ] demobilization further exacerbate the unemployment situation. They are attempting to become a member organization of the WTO.

== Demographics ==
]]]
''Main article: ]''

The ] are concentrated largely in the alluvial deltas and in the coastal plains, having little in common with the minority peoples of the highlands, whom they historically have regarded as hostile and barbaric. A homogenous social group, the Vietnamese exert influence on national life through their control of political and economic affairs and their role as purveyors of the dominant culture. By contrast, the ethnic minorities, except for the ], are found mostly in the highlands that cover two-thirds of the national territory. The Hoa, the largest minority, are mainly lowlanders. Officially, the ethnic minorities are referred to as national minorities. Vietnam also has small number of ]ns. Most of them are descendants of Vietnamese people and either early ] settlers or ] soldiers and personnel (or both), during colonial period and ].

More than 87% of the population speaks the ], the nation's official language. Various other languages are spoken by the several minority groups in Vietnam. The most common of these are ] and ]. ] is spoken by some, mostly older Vietnamese, as a second-language. In recent decades, ] has become a more popular language to learn and is increasingly used in business, among other things.

See also: ]

== Culture ==
''Main article: ]''

In its early history, Vietnamese writing used Chinese characters. In the 16th century, the Vietnamese developed their own set of characters called Chu Nom. During the French colonial period, Quoc Ngu or romanized Vietnamese alphabet became popular and brought literacy to the masses. The celebrated epic "Kim Van Kieu" by Nguyen Du is written in Chu Nom. Due to Vietnam's long association with China, Vietnamese culture remains strongly Confucian with its emphasis on familial duty and harmony. Education is highly prized. Historically, passing the imperial mandarin exams was the only means for ambitious Vietnamese to socially advance themselves. In the modern era, Vietnamese are trying to reconcile traditional culture with Western ideas of individual freedom, distrust of authority, and consumer culture. The majority of Vietnamese are Buddhists, with a strong emphasis on ancestor worship. Some critics say that the Vietnamese' second religion is superstition and fatalism, brought on by the decades of war. Within a typical Vietnamese Catholic family, one would find: an intense devotion to the Virgin Mary (the Holy Mother outranks the Son in Confucian thinking), pictures of deceased ancestors on the family altar, and belief and practice in Feng Shui (Phong Thuy), fortune telling, and communication with spirits and the dead. Vietnam's cuisine and music have three distinct flavors, related to Vietnam's three regions: Bac or North, Hue or Central, and Nam or South. Northern classical music is Vietnam's oldest and is traditionally more formal. Vietnamese classical music can be traced to the Mongol invasions, when the Vietnamese captured a Chinese opera troupe. Central classical music shows the influences of Champa culture with its melancholic melodies. Southern music exudes a lively laissez faire attitude, probably due to the region's relative prosperity. Vietnamese cuisine is based on rice, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Its characteristic flavor is sweet (sugar), spicy (serrano peppers), and flavored by a variety of mints.


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{{Southeast_Asia}}

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Revision as of 06:32, 7 March 2005

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