Vietnam

communist party-led state

name: Hanoi (Ha Noi) geographic coordinates: 21 02 N, 105 51 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name means "inside the river," from the Vietnamese words ha (river) and noi (inside), and refers to its location in a bend of the Red River

chief of state: President Luong CUONG (since 21 Oct 2024) head of government: Prime Minister Pham Minh CHINH (since 26 July 2021) cabinet: Cabinet proposed by the prime minister, confirmed by the National Assembly, and appointed by the president election/appointment process: president indirectly elected by the National Assembly from among its members for a single 5-year term; prime minister recommended by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly note: in August 2024, To LAM was elected general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the country s most powerful position

legislature name: National Assembly (Quoc-Hoi) legislative structure: unicameral number of seats: 500 (all directly elected) electoral system: plurality/majority scope of elections: full renewal term in office: 5 years most recent election date: 5/23/2021 parties elected and seats per party: Communist Party (485); Other (14) percentage of women in chamber: 31.4% expected date of next election: March 2026

highest court(s): Supreme People's Court (consists of the chief justice and 13 judges) judge selection and term of office: chief justice elected by the National Assembly upon the recommendation of the president for a 5-year, renewable term; deputy chief justice appointed by the president from among the judges for a 5-year term; judges appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly for 5-year terms subordinate courts: High Courts (administrative, civil, criminal, economic, labor, family, juvenile); provincial courts; district courts; Military Court note: the National Assembly Standing Committee can establish special tribunals on the recommendation of the chief justice

history: several previous; latest adopted 28 November 2013, effective 1 January 2014 amendment process: proposed by the president, by the National Assembly s Standing Committee, or by at least two thirds of the National Assembly membership; a decision to draft an amendment requires approval by at least a two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly membership, followed by the formation of a constitutional drafting committee to write a draft and collect citizens opinions; passage requires at least two-thirds majority of the Assembly membership; the Assembly can opt to conduct a referendum

ADB, APEC, ARF, ASEAN, CICA, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (2024)

1.8% of GDP (2023 est.) 2.3% of GDP (2022 est.) 2.3% of GDP (2021 est.) 2.4% of GDP (2020 est.) 2.3% of GDP (2019 est.)

People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; aka Vietnam People's Army, VPA): Ground Forces (Army), Navy (includes naval infantry), Air Defense - Air Force, Vietnam Border Guard, Vietnam Coast Guard Vietnam People's Ministry of Public Security; Vietnam Civil Defense Force (2025) note 1: the People's Public Security Ministry is responsible for internal security and controls the national police, a special national security investigative agency, and other internal security units, including specialized riot police regiments note 2: the Vietnam Coast Guard was established in 1998 as the Vietnam Marine Police and renamed in 2013; Vietnam established a civilian maritime self-defense force in 2010; the Vietnam Department of Fisheries Resources Surveillance (DFIRES; under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), established in 2013, is responsible for fisheries enforcement, aquatic conservation roles, and is designated as Vietnam's standing agency for combating illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing; it is armed, allowed to use force if necessary, and works in tandem with the Vietnam Coast Guard note 3: the PAVN is the military arm of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and responsible to the Central Military Commission (CMC), the highest party organ on military policy; the CMC is led by the CPV General Secretary

18-27 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service for men and women (in practice only men are drafted); service obligation is 24-36 months depending on the branch of service (including Coast Guard and Ministry of Public Security) (2025)

since withdrawing its military occupation forces from Cambodia in the late 1980s and the end of Soviet aid in 1991, Vietnam has practiced a non-aligned foreign policy and security doctrine known as the "Four Nos" (no alliances, no siding with one country against another, no foreign bases, and no using force in international relations); despite longstanding tensions with Beijing over maritime boundaries in the South China Sea, Vietnam puts a priority on stable relations with China, given its proximity, size, and status as Vietnam's largest trading partner the responsibilities of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) include protecting the country's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national interests, as well as assisting civilian authorities with natural disasters; in recent years, the PAVN has placed additional emphasis on protecting Vietnam's interests in the disputed South China Sea; the military is also involved in economic projects, such as electrical infrastructure, oil and gas services, hydroelectric projects, aviation and seaport services, telecommunications, and the shipbuilding industry, while military-owned factories and enterprises produce weapons and equipment (2025)

200 Abyei/South Sudan/Sudan (UNISFA) (2025)

$1.456 trillion (2024 est.) $1.359 trillion (2023 est.) $1.294 trillion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$14,400 (2024 est.) $13,500 (2023 est.) $13,000 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

7.1% (2024 est.) 5.1% (2023 est.) 8.5% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

3.6% (2024 est.) 3.3% (2023 est.) 3.2% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

58.5% of GDP (2017 est.) note: official data; data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions

$429.383 billion (2024 est.) $374.986 billion (2023 est.) $385.241 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$398.672 billion (2024 est.) $339.785 billion (2023 est.) $369.746 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

1.5% (2024 est.) 1.7% (2023 est.) 1.6% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $68.818 billion (2022 est.) expenditures: $83.707 billion (2022 est.) note: central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building; mining, coal, steel; cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, mobile phones

rice, vegetables, sugarcane, cassava, maize, pork, fruits, bananas, coconuts, coffee (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 106,688,169 (2025 est.) male: 53,597,784 female: 53,090,385

0.86% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 23.2% (male 12,953,719/female 11,579,690) 15-64 years: 68.5% (male 36,591,845/female 35,887,201) 65 years and over: 8.3% (2024 est.) (male 3,563,611/female 5,182,909)

14.58 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

5.81 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-0.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 76.1 years (2024 est.) male: 73.5 years female: 78.9 years

urban population: 39.5% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 2.7% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Kinh (Viet) 85.3%, Tay 1.9%, Thai 1.9%, Muong 1.5%, Khmer 1.4%, Mong 1.4%, Nung 1.1%, other 5.5% (2019 est.) note: 54 ethnic groups are recognized by the Vietnamese Government

Vietnamese (official); English (often as a second language); some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain-area languages (including Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian) major-language sample(s): Dữ kiện thế giới, l nguồn th ng tin cơ bản kh ng thể thiếu. (Vietnamese) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Catholic 6.1%, Buddhist 5.8%, Protestant 1%, other 0.8%, none 86.3% (2019 est.) note: most Vietnamese are culturally Buddhist

total population: 96.1% (2022 est.) male: 97.2% (2022 est.) female: 95.1% (2022 est.)

antimony, phosphates, coal, manganese, rare earth elements, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, timber, hydropower, arable land

refugees: 19 (2024 est.) IDPs: 2,568 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 20,590 (2024 est.)

36 (2025)

total: 2,600 km (2014) standard gauge: 178 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge; 253 km mixed gauge narrow gauge: 2,169 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge

total: 1,973 (2022) by type: bulk carrier 117, container ship 45, general cargo 1,176, oil tanker 134, other 501

total subscriptions: 129 million (2024 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 128 (2024 est.)

percent of population: 78% (2023 est.)