Vietnam

Socialist Republic of Vietnam Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam  (Vietnamese)
Flag Emblem
Motto: Độc lập – Tự do – Hạnh phúc "Independence – Freedom – Happiness"
Anthem: Tiến Quân Ca (English: "Army March")
Location of  Vietnam  (green) in ASEAN  (dark grey)  —  [Legend]
Capital	Hanoi 21°2′N 105°51′E / 21.033°N 105.850°E / 21.033; 105.850
Largest city	Ho Chi Minh City
National language	Vietnamese
Other spoken languages	English Vietnamese Sign Language
Ethnic groups	85.7% Vietnamese[n 1] 53 minorities 1.9% Tay 1.8% Tai 1.5% Mường 1.5% Khmer 1.2% Hmong 1.1% Nùng 5.3% Others
Religion	73.2% Folk or Irreligious 12.2% Buddhism 8.3% Christianity 4.8% Caodaism 1.4% Hoahaoism 0.1% Other religions[2]
Demonym(s)	Vietnamese
Government	Unitary Marxist-Leninist one-party socialist republic
• Party General Secretary	Nguyễn Phú Trọng
• President	Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (acting)
• Vice-President	Võ Thị Ánh Xuân
• Prime Minister	Phạm Minh Chính
• Chairwoman of National Assembly	Vương Đình Huệ
Legislature	National Assembly
Formation
• Independence declared from France	2 September 1945
• Geneva Accords	21 July 1954
• Reunification	2 July 1976[3]
• Current constitution	28 November 2013[n 2]
Area
• Total	331,690 km2 (128,070 sq mi) (65th)
• Water (%)	6.38
Population
• 2021 estimate	97,468,029[5] (15th)
• Density	276.03/km2 (714.9/sq mi) (46th)
GDP (PPP)	2019 estimate
• Total	$769.928 billion[6] (35th)
• Per capita	$8,063[6] (128th)
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$260.301 billion[6] (47th)
• Per capita	$2,726[6] (129th)
Gini (2014)	37.6[7] medium
HDI (2017)	0.694[8] medium · 115th
Currency	đồng (₫) (VND)
Time zone	UTC+7 (Vietnam Standard Time)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+84
ISO 3166 code	VN
Internet TLD	.vn

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam) or simply Viet Nam is a country in Southeast Asia. The neighboring countries of Vietnam are China, Laos and Cambodia. Vietnam is one of five countries that still have a communist government. The capital of Vietnam is Hanoi. The biggest city is Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). There are about 99,497,680 people living in Vietnam.^[9]

After the Japanese occupation in the 1945, the Vietnamese fought French colonial rule during the First Indochina War between the Viet Minh and the French. On 2 September 1945, Hồ Chí Minh declared Vietnam's independence from France under the new name of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, but French colonialists tried to put down the independence movement. In 1954, the Vietnamese declared victory in Dien Bien Phu which took place between March and May 1954 and culminated in a major French defeat. Shortly after Vietnamese independence, Vietnam was divided into two political states, North Vietnam (officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (officially the Republic of Vietnam). Conflicts between the two sides intensified in the so-called Vietnam War with strong influence from the US in South Vietnam. The war ended in 1975 with a North Vietnamese victory.

Vietnam was then united under a communist government. In 1986, the government made many economic and political changes that began Vietnam's path to be a part of the world economy.^[10] By 2000, it had formed diplomatic relations with all nations. Since 2000, Vietnam's economic growth has been among the highest in the world,^[10] and in 2011 it had the highest global growth generator index among 11 major economies.^[11] Its successful economic reforms resulted in its becoming a member of the World Trade Organization in 2007. It is also a member of economic cooperation between Asia and the Pacific and the International de la Francophonie Organization.

1. ↑ Communist Party of Vietnam 2004. sfn error: no target: CITEREFCommunist_Party_of_Vietnam2004 (help)
2. ↑ Bielefeldt 2014. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBielefeldt2014 (help)
3. ↑ Jeffries 2007, p. 4. sfn error: no target: CITEREFJeffries2007 (help)
4. ↑ Constitution of Vietnam 2014. sfn error: no target: CITEREFConstitution_of_Vietnam2014 (help)
5. ↑ United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. sfn error: no target: CITEREFUnited_Nations_Department_of_Economic_and_Social_Affairs (help)
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} International Monetary Fund. sfn error: no target: CITEREFInternational_Monetary_Fund (help)
7. ↑ World Bank 2016a. sfn error: no target: CITEREFWorld_Bank2016a (help)
8. ↑ Human Development Report 2018, p. 23. sfn error: no target: CITEREFHuman_Development_Report2018 (help)
9. ↑ "Vietnam Population 1950-2023". www.macrotrends.net. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} "Vietnam's new-look economy". BBC News. 18 October 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
11. ↑ Weisenthal, Joe (22 February 2011). "3G Countries". Business Insider. Retrieved 6 August 2011.