Vietnam History Politics Provinces Geography Economy

1 History

For much of its history, Vietnam was either a vassal state or under the direct control of China. France occupied Vietnam in 1884, ruling it as a colony and as a part of Indochina, until expelled by Japan in World War II. After the war, France (with the collaboration of the USA) attempted to regain control of the country, but Nationalist forces that had originally fought against the Japanese invasion declared independence. The French were defeated in 1954 by Vietnamese Alliance Parties (Việt Nam Dồng Minh Hội), notably in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. With the French defeat in the battle, and their subsequent surrender, the First Indochina War (1946-1954) came to an end.

On July 20, 1954, the Geneva Accords was signed by French and Vietnamese representatives. Vietnam was partitioned, ostensibly temporarily into Northern and Southern zones. Ho Chi Minh was the leader of North Vietnam and former Emperor Bao Dai as the leader of the South Vietnam and he appointed the religious nationalist Ngo Dinh Diem as his Prime Minister. Following the partition, there was a mass exodus of millions of North Vietnamese, many Catholic, to the South to escape persecution. A general election to be held in June 1956 (Article 3), and a prohibition against introducing foreign troops (Article 4).

In 1955, Ngo Dinh Diem used a referendum to remove former Emperor Bao Dai and form a republic, taking control of the South himself, while managing to win American support. The referendum was widely regarded as fraudulent, showing an alleged 98 percent in favor of Diem. Bao Dai abdicated once again and remained in exile in Paris.

Ngo Dinh Diem refused to open consultation with the North Vietnamese concerning general elections when the date for these fell due in July 1955. According to the Pentagon Papers, this was because Ho Chi Minh would have significant support in the north, mainly because the communists had implemented a massive land reform that resulted in poor peasants gaining ownership of the land. No such reforms were implemented in the South, causing it to lose key peasant support. The South refused to abide by the Geneva Conference that declared a Republic because, according to them, under Ho Chi Minh and his government, North Vietnamese people were not free to choose or to vote. This was hypocritical since South Vietnam was a dictatorship that strictly forbade opposition. Their move was followed by the declaration of North Vietnam as an independent country by Ho Chi Minh, backed by the USSR and China.

Economic and military aid from the United States to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government in the struggle against domestic Viet Cong guerrilas supported by North Vietnam (see Vietnam War). Despite an intense military effort by the USA, the Viet Cong continued to gain ground and, its supporters argued, popular support. US armed forces were eventually withdrawn following a ceasefire agreement which was signed in Paris in January 1973. Two years later, ignoring the Paris ceasefire agreement, the North Vietnamese army invaded. Some people consider this action to have been one of "occupation", while others see it as a long-awaited "liberation". Regardless, the fact remains that Vietnam was re-unified and the war ended. A total of about 3.8 million lives had been lost over the course of this war.

Following the communist victory, many highly skilled and educated Vietnamese fled the country, causing a severe brain drain. The number of refugees fleeing the country in unsafe conditions were so alarming that the United Nations had to set up refugee camps in neighboring nations to process them. Economic reconstruction of the reunited country has proven difficult at first, but Vietnam eventually recovered from the devastation of the war.

2 Politics

Main article: Politics of Vietnam

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is governed through a highly centralized system dominated by the Vietnamese Communist Party (Dảng Cộng Sản Việt 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 ( Phan Van Khai, Nguyen Tan Dung , Le Minh Huong , and Pham Van Tra ) concurrently hold high positions in the government.

There are five Illegal parties/parties in exile that work to establish a democracy in Vietnam,Lien Dang Cach Mang Vietnam (Coalition of Vietnamese National Parties), Mat Trân Quôc Gia Thông Nhât Giai Phông Viêt Nam (National United Front For The Liberation of Vietnam), Tô Chúc Phuc Hung Viêt Nam (Vietnam Restoration Party), Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League, Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang (Vietnamese Nationalist Party).

Vietnam is a member of the United Nations, La Francophonie, ASEAN, and APEC.

3 Provinces

Main article: Provinces of Vietnam

Vietnam's capital (thủ dô, singular and plural) is Hà Ni.

There are also four municipalities (thành phố trực thuộc Trung ương, singular and plural) existing at provincial level:

Cn Th, Dà Nng, Hi Phòng, Thành ph H Chí Minh.

Besides, the country is divided into fifty-nine provinces (tỉnh, singular and plural):

An Giang, Bc Giang, Bc Kn, Bc Liêu, Bc Ninh, Bà Ra-Vung Tàu, Bn Tre, Bình Dnh, Bình Dng, Bình Phc , Bình Thun , Cà Mau , Cao Bng, Dk Lk , Dk Nông , Din Biên, Dng Nai, Dng Tháp , Gia Lai , Hà Giang, Hi Dng , Hà Nam , Hà Tây , Hà Tinh , Hòa Bình , Hu Giang , Hng Yên , Khánh Hòa , Kiên Giang, Kon Tum , Lai Châu, Lâm Dng , Lng Sn , Lào Cai, Long An , Nam Dnh , Ngh An , Ninh Bình , Ninh Thun , Phú Th , Phú Yên , Qung Bình , Qung Nam , Qung Ngãi , Qung Ninh , Qung Tr , Sóc Trang , Sn La , Tây Ninh, Thái Bình , Thái Nguyên , Thanh Hóa , Tha Thiên-Hu , Tin Giang , Trà Vinh , Tuyên Quang , Vinh Long , Vinh Phúc , Yên Bái .

4 Geography

Main article: Geography of Vietnam

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 Red River Delta ; the south is divided into coastal lowlands, Dai Truong Son (central mountains) with high plateaus, and the Mekong River Delta.

The climate is tropical and monsoonal; humidity averages 84 percent throughout the year. Annual rainfall ranges from 120 to 300 centimeters, and annual temperatures vary between 5°C and 37°C.

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

5 Economy

Main article: Economy of Vietnam

In 1986, the Sixth Party Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam formally abandoned Marxist economic planning and began introducing market elements as part of a broad economic reform package called " Doi Moi " ("Renovation"). In many ways, this followed the Chinese model and achieved similar results. On the one hand, Vietnam achieved around 8% annual GDP growth from 1990 to 1997 and continued at around 7% from 2000 to 2002, making it the world's second-fastest growing economy. Simultaneously, investment grew three-fold and domestic savings 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 military demobilization further exacerbate the unemployment situation. They are attempting to become a member organization of the WTO.

6 Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Vietnam

Street scene in Haiphong

The ethnic Vietnamese 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 Hoa , 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.

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

7 Culture

Main article: Culture of Vietnam

8 Miscellaneous topics

9 External links

Countries in Southeast Asia
Brunei \| Cambodia \| East Timor \| Indonesia \| Laos \| Malaysia \| Myanmar \| Philippines \| Singapore \| Thailand \| Vietnam

Southeast Asian countries * Communist states

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