Vietnam Environment - 2024

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

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; air pollution; 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Climate

tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March)

Land use

agricultural land: 34.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 20.6% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 12.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 2.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 45% (2018 est.)

other: 20.2% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 39.5% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.7% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

1.49% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0.35% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 20.89 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 192.67 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 110.4 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 9,570,300 tons (2011 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 2,201,169 tons (2014 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 23% (2014 est.)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Sông Tiên Giang (Mekong) river mouth (shared with China [s], Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia) - 4,350 km; Pearl river source (shared with China [m]) - 2,200 km; Red river mouth (shared with China [s]) - 1,149 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Pacific Ocean drainage: Mekong (805,604 sq km)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 1.21 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 3.07 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 77.75 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

884.12 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Geoparks

total global geoparks and regional networks: 3

global geoparks and regional networks: Dak Nong; Dong Van Karst Plateau; Non nuoc Cao Bang (2023)

NOTE: The information regarding Vietnam on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Vietnam 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Vietnam 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.