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Vietnam

The French conquest of Vietnam began in 1858. By 1887, Vietnam had become a part of the French Indochina. After World War II, Vietnam declared independence and fought the French forces. Eventually, France withdrew in 1954, after being defeated by the Communist forces under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. The Geneva Accords resulted in the division of Vietnam into the Communist North and anti-Communist South.

Hostilities continued after independence, and the US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960 and early 1970s. The Americans entered the war with the goal of containing communism. The war resulted in atrocities against civilians and huge casualties on both sides. The US finally withdrew its forces in 1973, and two years later, Vienam was reunited under a Communist government.

In 1978, Vietnam invaded Cambodia. During the ten years of Cambodian occupation, Vietnam was virtually isolated from the West, thereby increasing its dependence on the Soviet Union.

With the end to the Cambodian crisis in 1991, Vietnam began to implement an economic renovation policy. The government is committed to economic liberalization and to enact reforms to modernize the economy. A stock exchange was opened in 2000, and in 2007, Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization after 12 years of negotiations. Vietnam is now home to one of southeast Asia's fastest-growing economics. It hopes to become a developed nation by 2020.

In 2000, US President Bill Clinton made a visit to Vietnam, a symbol of US efforts to normalize relations with their previous enemy. Today, the US is Vietnam’s biggest trading partner.

The Communist Party holds the real power in Vietnam, and the government has been accused of suppressing dissent and religious freedom. Religious persecution has led to isolated protests by ethnic minorities, including the Protestant Montagnard of the Central Highlands and the Khmer Krom in southern Vietnam.

Sources: BBC, The Economist, International Crisis Group, CIA World Factbook.

Vietnam (pronounced /ˌviː.ɛtˈnɑːm/ vee-et-NAHM; Vietnamese: Việt Nam, About this sound pronunciation (help·info)), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam, About this sound pronunciation (help·info)), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea, referred to as East Sea (Vietnamese: Biển Đông), to the east. With a population of over 86 million, Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in the world. The people of Vietnam regained independence and broke away from China in AD 938 after their victory at the battle of Bạch Đằng River. Successive dynasties flourished along with geographic and political expansion deeper into Southeast Asia, until it was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. Efforts to resist the French eventually led to their expulsion from the country in the mid-20th century, leaving a nation divided politically into two countries. Fighting between the two sides continued during the Vietnam War, ending with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975.

Full Name	Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Form of Government	Communist state
Year of Independence	1945 (from France)
Population	86967524
Capital	Hanoi
Largest City	Ho Chi Minh City
Area	329,247 sq km (127,123 sq miles)
Major Languages	Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Major Religion	Buddhist 9.3%, Catholic 6.7%, Hoa Hao 1.5%, Cao Dai 1.1%, Protestant 0.5%, Muslim 0.1%, none 80.8% (1999 census)
Life Expectancy	69 years (men), 75 years (women) (2009 est.)
Monetary Unit	1 dong = 100 xu
Main Exports	Petroleum, rice, coffee, clothing, fish, marine products, rubber, tea, garments, shoes
GDP (Per Capita)	$2,800 (2008 est.)
Internet Domain	.vn
International Dialing Code	+84