Judicial branch:
Supreme People's Court (chief justice is elected for a five-year
term by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president)
Political parties and leaders:
only party - Communist Party of Vietnam or CPV [Nong Duc MANH]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
none
International organization participation:
ACCT (observer), APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Nguyen Tam CHIEN
chancery: 1233 20th Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 861-0737
FAX: [1] (202) 861-0917
consulate(s) general: San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Michael W. MARINE embassy: 7 Lang Ha Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi mailing address: PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [84] (4) 772-1500 FAX: [84] (4) 772-1510 consulate(s) general: Ho Chi Minh City
Flag description: red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center
Economy Vietnam
Economy - overview:
Vietnam is a densely-populated, developing country that in the last
30 years has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of
financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a
centrally-planned economy. Substantial progress was achieved from
1986 to 1997 in moving forward from an extremely low level of
development and significantly reducing poverty. Growth averaged
around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial
crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy and
temporarily allowed opponents of reform to slow progress toward a
market-oriented economy. GDP growth averaged 6.8% per year from 1997
to 2004 even against the background of the Asian financial crisis
and a global recession, and growth hit 8% in 2005. Since 2001,
however, Vietnamese authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to
economic liberalization and international integration. They have
moved to implement the structural reforms needed to modernize the
economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries.
Vietnam's membership in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and entry
into force of the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement in December
2001 have led to even more rapid changes in Vietnam's trade and
economic regime. Vietnam's exports to the US doubled in 2002 and
again in 2003. Vietnam hopes to become a member of the WTO in 2006.
Among other benefits, accession would allow Vietnam to take
advantage of the phase out of the Agreement on Textiles and
Clothing, which eliminated quotas on textiles and clothing for WTO
partners on 1 January 2005. Agriculture's share of economic output
has continued to shrink, from about 25% in 2000 to 21% in 2005. Deep
poverty, defined as a percent of the population living under $1 per
day, has declined significantly and is now smaller than that of
China, India, and the Philippines. Vietnam is working to promote job
creation to keep up with the country's high population growth rate.
However, high levels of inflation have prompted Vietnamese
authorities to tighten monetary and fiscal policies.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$235.2 billion (2005 est.)