Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia. Area: total: 329,560 sq km land: 325,360 sq km water: 4,200 sq km 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 nortwest Capital: Hanoi Administrative divisions: 59 provinces (tinh) and 5 municipalities (thu do) : provinces: An Giang, Bac Giang, Bac Kan, Bac Lieu, Bac Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan,Ca Mau, Cao Bang, Dac Lak, Dac Nong, Dien Bien, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai,Ha Giang, Hai Duong, Ha Nam, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hau Giang, Hoa Binh, Hung Yen, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Kon Tum, Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Long An, Nam Dinh, Nghe An, Ninh Binh, Ninh Thuan, Phu Tho, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Quang Ninh, Quang Tri, Soc Trang, Son La, Tay Ninh,Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien-Hue, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Tuyen Quang, Vinh Long, Vinh Phuc, Yen Bai: municipalities: Can Tho, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh Population: 83,535,576 (2005 est.) Ethnic groups: Kinh (Viet) 86.2%, Tay 1.9%, Thai 1.7%, Muong 1.5%, Khome 1.4%, Hoa 1.1%, Nun 1.1%, Hmong 1%, other 4.1% Nationality: noun: Vietnamese adjective: Vietnamese Languages: Vietnamese (official), English, French, Chinese, and Khmer; hilltribe languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian) Religions: Buddhist 9.3%, Catholic 6.7%, Hoa Hao 1.5%, Cao Dai 1.1%, Protestant 0.5%, Muslim 0.1%, no affiliation 80.8% Literacy: 90.3%

Government type: Communist state Executive branch: • chief of state: President Tran Duc LUONG (since September 1997) • head of government: Prime Minister Phan Van KHAI (since September 1997); First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan DUNG (since September 1997); Deputy Prime Ministers Vu KHOAN (August 2002) and Pham Gia KHIEM (since September 1997) • cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president based on proposal of prime minister and ratification of National Assembly • elections: president elected by the National Assembly from among its members for a five-year term National Holiday: 2 September (1945) ACD Member: ACD Member since 2002 Prime Mover (PM) on Working Group: Human Resources Development Co-Prime Mover on Working Group: None Vietnam government official web site: www.vietnam.gov.vn

Currency (code): dong (VND) GDP: $251.8 billion (2005 est.) GDP per capita: $3,000 (2005 est.) Exports - commodities: marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes Exports - partners: US, Japan, China, Australia, Germany, Singapore, UK Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles Imports - partners: China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong Agriculture - products: paddy rice, coffee, fish and seafood, rubber, cotton, tea, paper, soybeans, cashews, sugarcane, peanut, bananas, poultry Industries: food processing, garments, shoes, machine building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, oil, coal, steel, paper Source : The World Fact Book 2005 (www.cia.gov)