Source: Wikipedia
Flag of Vietnam
Capital: Hanoi 21°2′N 105°51′E
Official language: Vietnamese Government: Socialist republic
General Secretary: Nông Đứ c Mạ nh
President: Nguyễ n Minh Triế t

Prime Minister: Nguyễ n Tấ n Dũng

Independence From France :
- Declared September 2, 1945
- Recognized 1954

Area :
- Total 331,689 km² (65th) 128,065 sq mi
- Water (%) 1.3

Population :
- July 2005 estimate 84,238,000 (12th)
- 1999 census 76,323,173
- Density 253/km² (46th) 655/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2005 estimate :
- Total $251.8 billion (36th)
- Per capita $3,025 (123rd)

HDI (2003): 0.704 (medium) (108th)

Currency: đồ ng (₫ ) (VND)

Time zone: (UTC+7)
- Summer (DST) (UTC+7)

Internet TLD: .vn

Calling code: +84

Vietnam (Vietnamese: Việ t Nam ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a nation in Southeast Asia . It borders the People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest and Cambodia to the southeast. To the country's east lies the South China Sea . With a population of approximately 84 million, Vietnam is one of the most densely populated nations in Southeast Asia . [citation needed]

The name of the country comes from the Vietnamese Việ t Nam , which means the land of the Viet people in the South ( Nam ). Having been ruled intermittently by Chinese dynasties, Vietnam achieved independence in the 10th century. In the mid-19th century, Vietnam became a part of French Indochina. During World War II , Vietnam was occupied by Japan . After World War II, Vietnamese nationalists waged a 9-year Indochina War for independence from France . When communist forces gained control of North Vietnam , the civil war with South Vietnam soon became a part of the U.S. global campaign against communism. Following the withdrawal of U.S. forces, communist forces overran South Vietnam in 1975.

The Vietnam War had devastated the nation's economy and infrastructure, killing millions of civilians. It also killed many American soldiers. Under communist rule, Vietnamese forces overthrew the Khmer Rouge regime of Cambodia and fought a brief war against China in 1979. After a decade of communist policies, Vietnam began experimenting with free-market economics in the 1980s, and today is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Although agriculture remains important to the people of rural Vietnam , the nation is also host to modern industries. Despite extensive reforms and development, the government and political life is firmly controlled by the Communist Party of Vietnam.