land: 325,360 sq km
water: 4,200 sq km

Area--comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico

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

Coastline: 3,444 km (excludes islands)

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

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

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Ngoc Linh 3,143 m

Natural resources: phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite,
chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests

Land use:
arable land: 17%
permanent crops: 4%
permanent pastures: 1%
forests and woodland: 30%
other: 48% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 18,600 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: occasional typhoons (May to January) with
extensive flooding

Environment--current issues: logging and slash-and-burn
agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil
degradation; water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life
populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply;
growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly
degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

Environment--international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear
Test Ban

People

Population: 77,311,210 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 34% (male 13,377,315; female 12,603,906)
15-64 years: 61% (male 22,934,553; female 24,277,488)
65 years and over: 5% (male 1,645,288; female 2,472,660) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.37% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 20.78 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 6.56 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 ye