Capital

Vietnam

name: Hanoi (Ha Noi)

geographic coordinates: 21 02 N, 105 51 E

time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology: the city has had many names in its history going back to A.D. 1010 when it first became the capital of imperial Vietnam; in 1831, it received its current name of Ha Noi, meaning "between the rivers," which refers to its geographic location

Citizenship

Vietnam

citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Vietnam

dual citizenship recognized: no

residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Legal system

Vietnam

civil law system; note - the civil code of 2005 reflects a European-style civil law

Suffrage

Vietnam

18 years of age; universal

Area

Vietnam

total: 331,210 sq km

land: 310,070 sq km

water: 21,140 sq km

Land use

Vietnam

agricultural land: 34.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 20.6% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 12.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 2.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 45% (2018 est.)

other: 20.2% (2018 est.)

Location

Vietnam

Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, as well as China, Laos, and Cambodia

Age structure

Vietnam

0-14 years: 23.44% (male 12,975,791/female 11,593,157)

15-64 years: 68.69% (male 36,280,449/female 35,705,586)

65 years and over: 7.87% (2023 est.) (male 3,346,804/female 4,897,387)

Birth rate

Vietnam

15.3 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

Vietnam

5.8 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Languages

Vietnam

Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer, mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)

major-language sample(s):
Dữ kiện thế giới, là nguồn thông tin cơ bản không thể thiếu. (Vietnamese)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Life expectancy at birth

Vietnam

total population: 75.8 years (2023 est.)

male: 73.2 years

female: 78.6 years

Major urban areas - population

Vietnam

9.321 million Ho Chi Minh City, 5.253 million HANOI (capital), 1.865 million Can Tho, 1.423 million Hai Phong, 1.221 million Da Nang, 1.111 million Bien Hoa (2023)

Median age

Vietnam

total: 32.7 years (2023 est.)

male: 31.6 years

female: 33.8 years

Net migration rate

Vietnam

-0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution

Vietnam

though it has one of the highest population densities in the world, the population is not evenly dispersed; clustering is heaviest along the South China Sea and Gulf of Tonkin, with the Mekong Delta (in the south) and the Red River Valley (in the north) having the largest concentrations of people

Population growth rate

Vietnam

0.93% (2023 est.)

Total fertility rate

Vietnam

2.04 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Urbanization

Vietnam

urban population: 39.5% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.7% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Education expenditures

Vietnam

4.1% of GDP (2020 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

Vietnam

-6.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Industrial production growth rate

Vietnam

3.58% (2021 est.)

Labor force

Vietnam

56.203 million (2021 est.)

Population below poverty line

Vietnam

6.7% (2018 est.)

Unemployment rate

Vietnam

2.17% (2021 est.)

2.39% (2020 est.)

2.04% (2019 est.)

Public debt

Vietnam

58.5% of GDP (2017 est.)

59.9% of GDP (2016 est.)

note: official data; data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

Vietnam

1.83% (2021 est.)

3.22% (2020 est.)

2.8% (2019 est.)

Exports

Vietnam

$339.984 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$290.229 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$280.826 billion (2019 est.)

Exports - partners

Vietnam

US 28%, China 17%, South Korea 6%, Japan 6%, Hong Kong 4% (2021)

Imports

Vietnam

$338.021 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$269.808 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$261.683 billion (2019 est.)

Imports - partners

Vietnam

China 39%, South Korea 17%, Japan 5%, Taiwan 4%, Thailand 4% (2021)

Airports

Vietnam

45 (2021)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

Vietnam

total: 16,699,249 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 17 (2020 est.)

Internet users

Vietnam

total: 71.78 million (2021 est.)

percent of population: 74% (2021 est.)

Railways

Vietnam

total: 2,600 km (2014)

standard gauge: 178 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge; 253 km mixed gauge

narrow gauge: 2,169 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge

Roadways

Vietnam

total: 195,468 km (2013)

paved: 148,338 km (2013)

unpaved: 47,130 km (2013)

Telephones - fixed lines

Vietnam

total subscriptions: 3.1 million (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3 (2021 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

Vietnam

total subscriptions: 140 million (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 140 (2021 est.)

Waterways

Vietnam

47,130 km (2011) (30,831 km weight under 50 tons)

Disputes - international

Vietnam

Vietnam-Cambodia: Cambodia accuses Vietnam of a wide variety of illicit cross-border activities; issues include casinos built in Cambodia near the border, narcotics trafficking, trafficking of women and children, petrol smuggling, illegal logging, and illegal migration; progress on a joint development area with Cambodia is hampered by an unresolved dispute over sovereignty of offshore islands; in December 2021, leaders from the two countries agreed to fully complete the remaining border demarcation and the upgrading of border checkpoints

Vietnam-Cambodia-Laos: Cambodia and Laos protest Vietnamese squatters and armed encroachments along border; Cambodia accuses Vietnam of a wide variety of illicit cross-border activities

Vietnam-China: an estimated 300,000 Vietnamese refugees reside in China; the decade-long demarcation of the China-Vietnam land boundary was completed in 2009; small territorial exchanges were made during the demarcation; China occupies the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; cross border trafficking in women and children and illegal wildlife trade are problems along this border; In December 2021, China tightened its border controls over COVID concerns, restricting an important trade route for Vietnam

Vietnam-Laos: Laos opened a strategically important international border crossing with Vietnam in 2021, which will shorten the distance for goods and people transiting between Thailand and Vietnam