VietnamGeography
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Location: |
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia
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Geographic coordinates: |
16 00 N, 106 00 E
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Map references: |
Southeast Asia
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Area: |
total: 329,560 sq km
land: 325,360 sq km
water: 4,200 sq km
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Area - comparative: |
slightly larger than New Mexico
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Land boundaries: |
total: 4,639 km
border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km
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Coastline: |
3,444 km (excludes islands)
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Maritime claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
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Climate: |
tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March)
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Terrain: |
low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest
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Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m
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Natural resources: |
phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower
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Land use: |
arable land: 19.97%
permanent crops: 5.95%
other: 74.08% (2001)
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Irrigated land: |
30,000 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards: |
occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta
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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
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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
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Geography - note: |
extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point
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More about Vietnam:
Introduction
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational Issues
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