rmed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales, FAN) includes - Ground
Forces or Army (Fuerzas Terrestres or Ejercito), Naval Forces (Fuerzas
Navales or Armada), Air Forces (Fuerzas Aereas or Aviacion), Armed Forces of
Cooperation or National Guard (Fuerzas Armadas de Cooperation or Guardia
Nacional)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 5,192,107; fit for military service 3,769,441; reach
military age (18) annually 221,043 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $1.95 billion, 4% of GDP (1991)

*Vietnam, Geography

Location:
Southeast Asia, bordering the South China Sea, between Laos and the
Philippines
Map references:
Asia, Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
329,560 km2
land area:
325,360 km2
comparative area:
slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries:
total 3,818 km, Cambodia 982 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 1,555 km
Coastline:
3,444 km (excludes islands)
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
24 nm
continental shelf:
200 nm or the edge of continental margin
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
maritime boundary with Cambodia not defined; involved in a complex dispute
over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and
possibly Brunei; unresolved maritime boundary with Thailand; maritime
boundary dispute with China in the Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied
by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan
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 northwest
Natural resources:
phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil deposits,
forests
Land use:
arable land:
22%
permanent crops:
2%
meadows and pastures:
1%
forest and woodland:
40%
other:
35%
Irrigated land:
18,300 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding

*Vietnam, People

Population:
71,787,608 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.85% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
27.99 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
7.92 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
-1.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
46.4 deaths/1,