It is usually easy to recognize people from Vietnam; they have very distinct
features like broad faces, high cheekbones, and straight black hair. Even
though there are over sixty ethnic groups in Vietnam, the ethnic Vietnamese
make up ninety percent of the total population of 76,236,259. The rest
of the population is made up of other large minority groups such as the
Tay, Thai, Chines, and Khmer.
Most ethnic Vietnamese live in the major cities, and groups like the Khmer
live in the farming region of southwestern Vietnam. One particular problem
in Vietnam is the fact that the cities are dangerously overcrowded. Due
to the recent rapid growth in the population, even more strain has been
put on the limited social services and food supplies. Limited health facilities
are also a growing concern...however, progress in the Vietnamese health
care system has progressed since the reunification of the country in 1976(World
Book v.20).
As for the religious aspect, the vast majority of Vietnamese practice Buddhism,
while there are also many Confucianists and Roman Catholics. There are
also many smaller religious groups like the Cao Dai and the Hoa Hao which
are made up of about one million people each.
The literacy rate of Vietnamese adults is eighty-two percent. Because there
are only four universities in the entire country, students either discontinue
their studies right after high school or they can go to specialized vocational
schools. However, there are some people who choose to go to college in
other countries, mostly the United States. But the students who do this
usually come from financially stable families. Even though there are plenty
of Vietnamese who have not had a sufficient education, a majority of them
are fluent in other languages such as English, French, Chinese, and Russian
(American Academic Encyclopedia v. 19).
The arts are very popular among the Vietnamese. Poetry and novels are the
two most popular forms, but Vietnam is also known for the ancient tombs,
royal palaces, and pagodas(temples).
Life expectancy in Vietnam is not
very high. The life expectancy for males is 63 and for females it is 67.
The Geography of Vietnam
Vietnam is located in Southeastern Asia on the borders of China, Laos,
and Cambodia. The Gulf of Tonkin, Gulf of Thailand, and the South China
Sea run along the side of Vietnam (Vietnam-CIA [on-line]). It’s total area
is 204, 823 square miles and its land area is about 202, 213 square miles.
Compared to New Mexico, Vietnam is only slightly larger. Vietnam has a
low, flat terrain in the south and north, and in the far north and northwest
it is hilly and mountainous. From mid-May to mid-September the climate
is tropical in the south and rainy in the north. In mid-October to mid-March
the climate is warm and dry. Vietnam has a typhoon season between May and
January which tends to cause extensive flooding (Geography of Vietnam,
1999[on-line]).
Out of the three Indochinese countries, Vietnam is the largest. It is divided
into three regions: northern, central, and southern. The northern region
borders the Red River Delta and China(Vietnam Geography and Climate, 1999[on-line]).
The weather in north Vietnam is colder and the land is very poor in nutrients(Vietnam
Geography, 1999[on-line]). The central part of Vietnam lies between the
coast and the Truong Son mountain range (Vietnam Geography and Climate,
1999 [on-line]). This area gets droughts and floods because the surrounding
mountain systems block winds. Because of this, the central region’s mineral
resources are abundant (Vietnam Geography, 1999 [on-line]). The southern
part of Vietnam has two major rivers, the Mekong and Red rivers (Vietnam-Geography
and Climate, 1999 [on-line]). It has more mineral sources than the north,
and its rich mud land provides rice for the entire nation. The equator
influences the southern part of Vietnam, making the climate extremely humid
(Vietnam Geography, 1999 [on-line]).
leopards, many reptiles, and birds can be found in Vietnam’s tropical rainforest. Minerals such as iron, phosphate, zinc, tin,
and many can be found in the northern highlands (Vietnam,
Encarta, 1997 [on-line]).
The Economy of Vietnam
Vietnam is a very poor,
densely populated country that is still recovering from the effects of
war, and the loss of support from the Soviet Union.Since
the reunification of the country in 1976, Vietnam’s economy has been run
and guided by five-year plans. Industry
was given the utmost importance at the expense of all other economic sectors.Poor
management within the Communistic system led to the failure of industrial
and agricultural production.Vietnam’s
Communist Party, faced with stagnant growth, a desperate food shortage,
a deficit, growing inflation and trade imbalances, enforcedeconomic
renovations.The new policy was aimed
at making Vietnam self-sufficient in the production of food and improving
the people’s standard of living.Prices
were liberalized and subsidies were removed.A
Foreign Investment Code was adopted, and the banking system was reformed.The
banks were separated into a two-tier system, state banks and commercial
banks.Land reform gave greater power
to farmers.Trade was liberalized,
giving companies, including production groups and private farms, to engage
in international trading.Vietnam
stopped trading with its usual partners, the Soviet Union and Communist
countries, and expanded to other markets.On
account of this factor, most goods are now freely imported and exported.
Agriculture
is the dominant economic sector in Vietnam.Farming
is responsible for about 30% of Vietnam’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
and employs 70% of the work force.Agricultural
growth has averaged about 4.25% a year from 1991 to 1995 and is expected
to continue.27.4 million tons of
food were produced in 1995.Vietnam
is the world’s third largest exporter of rice.85%
of the cultivated land is solely for rice-growing.Along
with rice, other agricultural products are corn, tropical fruits and vegetables,
potatoes, cassava, sugarcane, cashew nuts, soybeans, groundnuts, coconuts,
coffee, tea and rubber.Due to its
3,200 km of coastline, Vietnam has a thriving seafood industry.In
1994, 70% of the 1.1 million tons of fish products came from the ocean
and the remainder from fish farms.Fishery
is one of the country’s major exports.Seafood
earned US$ 580 million in 1995 and is predicted to bring in US$ 1 billion
by the year 2000.
Vietnam’s
oil sector of the economy is rapidly growing.The
country’s oil reserves are amoung the largest in the world and estimated
to be around 1.7 billion barrels.Through
a joint venture with the Soviet Union, Vietnam started producing oil in
1986.Production reached 7.7 million
tons in 1995.Twenty-nine contracts
have been signed with Petro Vietnam, the state-owned company, and various
companies around the world.By the
year 2000, the government is planning on producing 22-25 million tons of
oil per year.
Vietnam possesses an abundance of mineral resources.Coal and bauxite production has reached 3-3.5 billion tons, chromate has reached 10 million, and 1 billion tons of appetite is produced yearly.Vietnam is also rich in granite, marble, clay, and silica sand, most of which remained untapped.
Vietnam’s
beauty, along with its open-door policy, has brought the tourism rate to
great heights.Tourism has gown by
50% annually since 1991.This exponential
increase has brought out the flaws in this sector.Investment
is required in the area of hotel construction, transportation, training,
and tourism.The country only has
36,000 hotel rooms, only 17,000 of which meet international standards.Foreign
investors are beginning to change this situation in the major cities.
At the end of 1995, 120 foreign-invested tourist projects were licensed,
valued at US$ 1.9 billion.It is
projected that ninety-five newly constructed or renovated international
hotels with 13,499 rooms opened by the end of 1997, including 10 five-star,
24 four-star, and 46 three-star hotels.Vietnam
projects 3.8 million tourists per year by 2000 and 8.7 million by 2010.Tourism’s
GDP is planned to increase from 4% in 1984 to 15.4% in 2010.