Vietnam , officially Socialist Republic of Vietnam, republic (v), 128,400 sq mi (332,642 sq km), Southeast Asia. Occupying the eastern coastline of the Southeast Asian peninsula, Vietnam is bounded by China on the north, by Laos and Cambodia on the west, and by the Gulf of Tonkin and the South China Sea on the east and south. The capital is Hanoi and the largest city is Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon.

The northern and western sections of Vietnam are dominated by the mountains of the Annamese Cordillera, continuations of the mountains of the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Guangxi to the north. The mountains reach elevations of more than 8,000 ft (2,440 m), and contain a notable plateau known as the Central Highlands (alt. 600–1,600 ft/180–490 m), which, although sparsely populated, contains rubber, coffee, and tea plantations. East of the Annamese Cordillera in the north is an alluvial plain drained by the Red River and other streams that empty into the Gulf of Tonkin. South of the Red River delta are the Central Lowlands, a narrow, coastal strip where short, often torrential rivers, flowing from west to east, form fertile deltas. South of the Central Lowlands is the alluvial plain of the Mekong River delta, which occupies the southern portion of the country. The country has a tropical monsoon climate, modified by local conditions.

Geography

Location:	Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia
Geographic coordinates:	16 00 N, 106 00 E
Map references:	Southeast Asia
Area:	total: 329,560 sq km land: 325,360 sq km water: 4,200 sq km
Area - comparative:	slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries:	total: 4,639 km border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km
Coastline:	3,444 km (excludes islands)
Maritime claims:	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
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)
Terrain:	low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest
Elevation extremes:	lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m
Natural resources:	phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower
Land use:	arable land: 19.97% permanent crops: 5.95% other: 74.08% (2001)
Irrigated land:	30,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:	occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta
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
Environment - international agreements:	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:	extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point

 

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