Vietnam Geography Profile 2008

Location

Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia

Geographic coordinates

16 00 N, 106 00 E

Map references

Southeast Asia

Area

total: 329,560 sq km
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

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

Climate

tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to 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: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m

Natural resources

phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower

Land use

arable land: 20.14%
permanent crops: 6.93%
other: 72.93% (2005)

Irrigated land

30,000 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

891.2 cu km (1999)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 71.39 cu km/yr (8%/24%/68%)
per capita: 847 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards

occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta

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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point