Natural resources:
phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and
gas deposits, forests, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 19.97% permanent crops: 5.95% other: 74.08% (2001)
Irrigated land:
30,000 sq km (1998 est.)
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
People Vietnam
Population:
82,689,518 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 29.4% (male 12,524,098; female 11,807,763)
15-64 years: 65% (male 26,475,156; female 27,239,543)
65 years and over: 5.6% (male 1,928,568; female 2,714,390) (2004
est.)