Vietnam, officially the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam (
SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of
Mainland Southeast Asia. With an area of about 331,000 square kilometres (128,000 sq mi) and a population of over 100 million, it is the world's
15th-most populous country. One of two
communist states in
Southeast Asia, Vietnam is bordered by
China to the north,
Laos and
Cambodia to the west, the
Gulf of Thailand to the southwest, and the
South China Sea to the east; it also shares
maritime borders with
Thailand,
Malaysia, and
Indonesia to the south and southwest, the
Philippines to the east, and China to the northeast. Its capital is
Hanoi, while its
largest city is
Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnam was inhabited by thePaleolithic age, with states established in the first millennium BC on theRed River Delta in modern-daynorthern Vietnam. TheHan dynasty annexed northern and central Vietnam, which were subsequently underChinese rule from 111 BC until thefirst dynasty emerged in 939. Successivemonarchical dynasties absorbed Chinese influences throughConfucianism andBuddhism, andexpanded southward to theMekong Delta,conqueringChampa. During most of the 17th and 18th centuries, Vietnam was effectively divided into two domains ofĐàng Trong andĐàng Ngoài. TheNguyễn—the last imperial dynasty—surrendered toFrance in 1883. In 1887, its territory was integrated intoFrench Indochina as three separate regions. In the immediate aftermath ofWorld War II, theViet Minh, a coalition front led by the communist revolutionaryHo Chi Minh, launched theAugust Revolution anddeclared Vietnam's independence from theEmpire of Japan in 1945.
Vietnam went throughprolonged warfare in the 20th century. AfterWorld War II, France returned to reclaim colonial power in theFirst Indochina War, from which Vietnam emerged victorious in 1954. As a result of thetreaties signed between the Viet Minh and France, Vietnam was also separated into two parts. TheVietnam War began shortly after, between the communistNorth Vietnam, supported by theSoviet Union andChina, and the anti-communistSouth Vietnam, supported by theUnited States. Upon theNorth Vietnamese victory in 1975, Vietnam reunified as aunitarycommunist state that self-designated as asocialist state under theCommunist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in 1976. An ineffectiveplanned economy, a trade embargo by theWest, and wars withCambodia andChina crippled the country further. In 1986, the CPV launchedeconomic and political reforms similar to theChinese economic reform, transforming the country to asocialist-oriented market economy. The reforms facilitated Vietnamese reintegration into theglobal economy andpolitics.
Vietnam is adeveloping country with a upper-middle-income economy. It hashigh levels of corruption,censorship,environmental issues, and a poorhuman rights record. It is part of international and intergovernmental institutions, including theASEAN, theAPEC, theNon-Aligned Movement, theOIF, and theWTO. It has assumed a seat on theUnited Nations Security Council twice. (Full article...)
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