Location: Southeastern 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 sq km
land area: 325,360 sq km
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 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: deforestation; soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threatening marine life populations
natural hazards: occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding
international agreements: party to - Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban

NOTE: The information regarding Vietnam on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Vietnam Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Vietnam Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.