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)
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:
84,402,966 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 27% (male 11,826,457/female 10,983,069)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 28,055,941/female 28,614,553)
65 years and over: 5.8% (male 1,924,562/female 2,998,384) (2006 est.)