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Vietnam - GENERAL INFORMATION
 
Population - Local time - Languages - Religion - Political system - Climate - Tourism - Food



Population



Main Cities Population
H?Chi Minh Ville (often called Saigon)   3,555,000  
Hanoi   2,100,000  
Haip Phong   449,000  
Da Nang   369,000  
Boo   260,000  
Qui Nhon   116,000  



Total population (millions): 82.2
Source: World Bank 2004

Urban population: 26%
Source: World Bank 2004

Average annual population growth: 1.0%
Source: World Bank 2004

Surface area (km²) : 331,690


Population origin

Origin of the population% Of the population
Vietnamese87 %
Quibble3 %
Thai 1.9 %
Tai 1.4 %
Khmer 1.3 %
Muong 1.3 %
Other * 4.1 %




Local time


It is %T:%M %A in Hano?


GMT+7


Languages


Official language: Vietnamese
Spoken languages: Chinese, dialects of ethnic groups who live in the mountains
Until the XIIIth century the Vietnamese used Chinese characters ; then, they created their own writing system (nom). Alexandre de Rhode, briliant French Jesuit father, introduced the Romanised Phonetic alphabet in the XVIIth century (quoc ngu), still in application. There is a huge difficulty for Westerners: there are 6 tones.

Business language: English, which is rather well spoken by urban populations, but the Vietnamese accent can make it difficult to understand for western businessmen.

Free translation tools in Vietnam :
ksvn.com
English-Vietnamese-English Dictionary

Tu dien tieng Viet
English-Vietnamese-English Dictionary



Religion


Religious practises : Buddhists 65%
Catholics 7%
Others 28%.


Political system


The Socialist Republic of Vietnam:The head of State is elected by the members of the National Assembly for a 5-year presidency. The head of the government is the Prime Minister.
It is to be known that there is only one single political party: The Communist Party of Vietnam C(PV).
For 10 years, the Doi Moi (or renovation policy), has been engaging the country into liberalisation and international relations. The movement has now become unavoidable for economic and geopolitical reasons and motives. Numerous reforms have been adopted in order to promote external trade and to attract foreign investments.

Capital: Hanoi
Head of State: President Tran Duc Luong
Prime Minister: Phan Van Khai
General Secretary of the Communist Party: the Kha Phieu, since December 1997.


Climate

 


Tourism

Number of visitors in Vietnam 2002 2003 2004 World rank
Number of visitors (1000) ..   ..   ..   n.a.
Source : World Tourisme Organization, data available in November 2005

 

Tourist sites


-In the North: Along's Bay
-In Hano? temples and pagodae
-In the Centre: Hu?(imperial city and citadel) and the Marble Mountains
-In the South: Saigon (colonial city, museum, pagodae and markets) and the Delta of the Mekong.

For more information about tourism in Vietnam , check out the following web site(s) :
Vietnam National Administration of Tourism


Food


Traditional dishes


Ch?bap: Cream made of rice with corn and coconut milk. It is a simple dessert, served hot. In the South of the country, the rice is replaced by tapioca.
Canh ga bi dao: Chicken and Pumpkin Soup. The Vietnamese sometimes add slices of chicken for a more substantial or richer soup.

Food-related taboos


There are no culinary taboos in the Vietnamese cooking.

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Last modified in October 2005
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