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Documents
COUNTRY
PROFILE : VIETNAM
December
2004
Library of Congress
Federal Research Division
COUNTRY
Formal Name:
Socialist
Republic
of
Vietnam
(Cong Hoa Xa Hoi
Chu
Nghia Viet
Nam
).
Short Form:
Vietnam
.
Term for Citizen(s): Vietnamese.
Capital:
Hanoi
.
Major Cities: With 5.6 million people,
Ho
Chi Minh City
(formerly
Saigon
) is the most populous city.
Hanoi
has a population of 3.0
million. Other major cities are Danang,
Haiphong
,
and Can Tho.
Independence
:
Vietnam
declared independence from
Japan
and
France
on
September
2, 1945
. However,
Vietnam
remained under French control until the communist Viet Minh defeated
French forces at
Dien Bien Phu
in 1954.
Public Holidays: Official holidays are New Year’s (January 1), Tet or Lunar New Year (movable
dates in January and February), Liberation Day to commemorate the fall
of
Saigon
(April 30), Labor Day (May
1), and Independence Day to commemorate
Japan
’s
withdrawal following its defeat in World War II (September 2).
Flag: Red,
with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center.
HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND
Origins: The Vietnamese trace the origins of their culture and nation to the
fertile plains of the Red River Delta in northern
Vietnam
.
After centuries of developing a civilization and economy based on the
cultivation of irrigated rice, in the tenth century the Vietnamese began
expanding southward in search of new rice lands. Until the
mid-nineteenth century, the Vietnamese gradually moved down the narrow
coastal plain of the
Indochina
Peninsula
,
ultimately extending their reach into the broad Mekong River Delta.
Vietnamese history is the story of the struggle to develop a sense of
nationhood throughout this narrow 1,500-kilometer stretch of land and to
maintain it against internal and external pressures.
China
was the chief source of
Vietnam
's
foreign ideas and the earliest threat to its national sovereignty. As a
result of a millennium of Chinese control beginning in about 111 BC, the
Vietnamese assimilated Chinese influence in the areas of administration,
law, education, literature, language, and culture. Even during the
following nine centuries of Vietnamese independence, lasting from the
late tenth century until the second half of the nineteenth century, the
Chinese exerted considerable cultural, if not political, influence,
particularly on
Vietnam
’s
elite.
Colonial Period,
Independence
,
and War: After 900 years of independence and
following a period of disunity and rebellion, the French colonial era
began during the 1858–83 period, when the French seized control of the
nation, dividing it into three parts: the north (
Tonkin
), the center (
Annam
), and the south (Cochinchina). In 1861
France
occupied
Saigon
, and by 1883 it had taken control of all of
Vietnam
as well as
Laos
and
Cambodia
. French colonial rule was, for the most part, politically repressive and
economically exploitative. The Japanese occupied
Vietnam
during World War II but allowed the French to remain and exert some
influence. At the war’s end in 1945, Ho Chi Minh, leader of the
communist Viet Minh organization, declared
Vietnam
’s independence in a speech that invoked the U.S. Declaration of
Independence and the French Revolution’s Declaration of the Rights of
Man and of the Citizen. However, the French quickly reasserted the
control they had ceded to the Japanese, and the First Indochina War
(1946–54) was underway. French control ended on
May 7, 1954
, when Vietnamese forces
defeated the French at
Dien Bien Phu
. The 1954 Geneva Conference left
Vietnam
a divided nation, with Ho Chi Minh's communist government ruling the
North from
Hanoi
and Ngo Dinh Diem's regime,
supported by the
United States
, ruling the South from
Saigon
(later
Ho Chi Minh City
).
As a result of the Second Indochina
War (1954–75), Viet Cong—communist forces in
South Vietnam
—and
regular People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces from the North unified
Vietnam
under communist rule. In this conflict, the insurgents—with logistical
support from
China
and the
Soviet Union
—ultimately defeated the Army of the
Republic
of
Vietnam
,
which sought to maintain South Vietnamese independence with the support
of the
U.S.
military, whose troop strength peaked at 540,000 during the
communist-led Tet Offensive in 1968. The North did not abide by the
terms of the 1973 Paris Agreement, which officially settled the war by
calling for free elections in the South and peaceful reunification. Two
years after the withdrawal of the last
U.S.
forces in 1973,
Saigon
, the capital of
South
Vietnam
,
fell to the communists, and on
April 30, 1975
, the South Vietnamese army
surrendered. In 1976 the government of united
Vietnam
renamed
Saigon
as
Ho Chi Minh City
, in honor of the wartime communist leader who died in September 1969.
The Vietnamese estimate that they lost nearly 3 million lives and
suffered more than 4 million injuries during the
U.S.
involvement in the war.
Unified
Vietnam
: In the post-1975 period, it was
immediately apparent that the popularity and effectiveness of the
Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) policies did not necessarily extend to
the party’s peacetime nation-building plans. Having unified the North
and South politically, the VCP still had to integrate them socially and
economically. In this task, VCP policy makers were confronted with the
South’s resistance to communist transformation, as well as traditional
animosities arising from cultural and historical differences between
North and South. More than a million Southerners, including about
560,000 “boat people,” fled the country soon after the communist
takeover, fearing persecution and seizure of their land and businesses.
About a million Vietnamese were relocated to previously uncultivated
land called “new economic zones” for reeducation.
The harsh postwar crackdown on
remnants of capitalism in the South led to the collapse of the economy
during the 1980s. With the economy in shambles,
Vietnam
’s
government altered its course and adopted consensus policies that
bridged the divergent views of pragmatists and communist traditionalists.
In 1986 Nguyen Van Linh, who was elevated to VCP general secretary the
following year, launched a campaign for political and economic renewal (Doi
Moi). His policies were characterized by political and economic
experimentation that was similar to simultaneous reform agendas
undertaken in
China
and the
Soviet Union
. Reflecting the spirit of political compromise,
Vietnam
phased out its reeducation effort. The government also stopped promoting
agricultural and industrial cooperatives. Farmers were permitted to till
private plots alongside state-owned land, and in 1990 the government
passed a law encouraging the establishment of private businesses.
Compounding economic difficulties
were new military challenges. In the late 1970s, two countries—
Cambodia
and
China
—posed threats to
Vietnam
.
Clashes between Vietnamese and Cambodian communists on their common
border began almost immediately after
Vietnam
’s
reunification in 1975. To neutralize the threat,
Vietnam
invaded
Cambodia
in December 1978 and overran
Phnom Penh
,
the Cambodian capital, driving out the incumbent Khmer Rouge communist
regime and initiating a prolonged military occupation of the country.
In February and March 1979,
China
retaliated against
Vietnam
's incursion into
Cambodia
by launching a limited invasion of
Vietnam
,
but the Chinese foray was quickly rebuffed. Relations between the two
countries had been deteriorating for some time. Territorial
disagreements along the border and in the
South China Sea
that had remained dormant during the Second Indochina War were revived
at the war's end, and a postwar campaign engineered by
Hanoi
to limit the role of
Vietnam
's
ethnic Chinese community in domestic commerce elicited a strong protest
from
Beijing
.
China
also was displeased with
Vietnam
because of its improving relationship with the
Soviet Union
.
During its incursion into
Cambodia
in 1978–89,
Vietnam
’s international isolation extended to relations with the
United States
.
The
United States
, in addition to citing
Vietnam
's
minimal cooperation in accounting for Americans who were missing in
action (MIAs) as an obstacle to normal relations, barred normal ties as
long as Vietnamese troops occupied
Cambodia
.
Washington
also continued to enforce the trade embargo imposed on
Hanoi
at the conclusion of the war
in 1975. Soon after the Paris Agreement on
Cambodia
resolved the conflict in October 1991, however,
Vietnam
established or reestablished diplomatic and economic relations with most
of
Western Europe
,
China
,
and other Asian countries.
Vietnam
normalized relations with
China
in 1991 and with
Japan
in 1993. In February 1994, the
United States
lifted its economic embargo against
Vietnam
,
and in June 1995, the
United
States
and
Vietnam
normalized relations. Relations with
China
took another step forward after the two countries settled their
long-standing border dispute in 1999.
China
is now a major trading partner, and
Vietnam
models its economic policies after
China
’s.
As of late 2004, a three-person
collective leadership was responsible for governing
Vietnam
.
This triumvirate consisted of the VCP general secretary (Nong Duc Manh,
April 2001– ), the prime minister (Phan Van Khai, September 1997– ),
and the president (Tran Duc Luong, September 1997– ). General
Secretary Manh headed up not only the VCP but also the 15 member
Politburo. President Luong was chief of state, and Prime Minister Khai
was head of government. The leadership is promoting a
“socialist-oriented market economy” and friendly relations with
China
,
Japan
,
the European Union,
Russia
, and the
United
States
.
Although the leadership is presiding over a period of rapid economic
growth, official corruption and a widening gap between urban wealth and
rural poverty remain stubborn problems that are eroding the VCP’s
authority. A major goal for 2005 is gaining full membership in the World
Trade Organization (WTO).
GEOGRAPHY
Location:
Vietnam
is located in
Southeast Asia
, bordered by the
Gulf
of
Tonkin
and the
South China Sea
to the east,
China
to the north,
Laos
and
Cambodia
to the west, and the
Gulf
of
Thailand
to the south.
Size:
Vietnam
is long and thin, with an area of 330,363 square kilometers.
Land Boundaries:
Vietnam
shares land boundaries with
Cambodia
(1,228 kilometers),
China
(1,281 kilometers), and
Laos
(2,130 kilometers).
Disputed Territory: On
December
30, 1999
,
China
and
Vietnam
signed a treaty that settled disputes over the two nations’ common
border. However, the Paracel and
Spratly
Islands
in the
South China Sea
are still regarded as disputed territory.
Malaysia
,
Brunei
,
the
Philippines
, and
Taiwan
also claim sovereignty over the
Spratly
Islands
,
which are believed to be rich in oil and natural gas reserves. In May
2004, the government authorized 50 tourists and 40 officials to visit
the
Spratly
Islands
by boat. The other nations staking claim to the islands protested what
they interpreted as an assertion of sovereignty by
Vietnam
.
In October 2004,
Vietnam
invited bids for oil exploration in the Spratlys, triggering a complaint
from
China
’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In November 2004,
China
retaliated by moving an oil-drilling platform into position to explore
for oil in the Paracels.
Length of Coastline:
Vietnam
’s
coastline along the
Gulf
of
Tonkin
, the
South China Sea
, and the
Gulf
of
Thailand
measures 3,444 kilometers.
Maritime Claims: In June 2004,
Vietnam
’s National Assembly ratified an agreement originally reached with
China
in December 2000 that established an internationally valid maritime
border in the
Gulf
of
Tonkin
.
The ratification delay was attributable to concerns that the government
had made too many concessions during negotiations. In addition, in April
2004
China
and
Vietnam
agreed to a common fishing zone in the
Gulf
of
Tonkin
.
Vietnam
claims an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 200 nautical miles, the
approximate beginning of the continental shelf.
Topography:
Vietnam
is a country of tropical lowlands, hills, and densely forested highlands,
with level land covering no more than 20 percent of the area. The
country is divided into the highlands and the Red River Delta in the
north, and the Giai Truong Son (Central mountains, or the Chaîne
Annamitique, sometimes referred to simply as the Chaîne), the coastal
lowlands, and the Mekong River Delta in the south. The highest point in
Vietnam
is Fan Si Pan, at 3,143 meters above sea level, in the northwest.
Principal Rivers: A relatively dense network of rivers traverses
Vietnam
.
The principal rivers are as follows: in the north, the Red and Thai Binh;
in the center, the Ca, Ma, Han, Thach Han, and Thu Bon; and in the south,
the
Mekong
and Dong Nai.
Climate:
Vietnam
’s
climate is tropical and monsoonal; humidity averages 84 percent
throughout the year. Annual rainfall ranges from 1,200 to 3,000
millimeters, and annual temperatures vary between 5°C and 37°C.
Natural Resources:
Vietnam
’s
main natural resources consist of coal, copper, crude oil, gold, iron,
manganese, silver, and zinc.
Land Use: In 2003
Vietnam
’s land use was distributed as follows: 21 percent, arable; 28 percent,
forest and woodland; and 51 percent, other.
Environmental Factors: The National Environmental Agency, a branch of the Ministry of Science,
Technology, and Environment, is responsible for environmental
protection. At the provincial level, the Departments of Science,
Technology, and the Environment bear responsibility. Non-governmental
organizations, particularly the
Institute
of
Ecological Economics
, also play a role. Urbanization, industrialization, and intensive
farming are having a negative impact on
Vietnam
’s
environment. These factors have led to air pollution, water pollution,
and noise pollution, particularly in urban and industrial centers like
Ho Chi Minh City
and
Hanoi
. The most serious problem is waste treatment. Land use pressures have
led to significant environmental problems, including severe
deforestation, soil erosion, sedimentation of rivers, flooding in the
deltas, declining fish yields, and pollution of the coastal and marine
environment. The use of Agent Orange by the
U.S.
military in the Second Indochina War (1954–75) has had a lingering
effect on
Vietnam
in the form of persistent environmental contamination that has increased
the incidence of various diseases and birth defects.
Time Zone: Seven hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
SOCIETY
Population: In 2003
Vietnam
’s population was 81.3 million, and it was growing at a rate of about
1.3 percent per year. The average population density was 246 people per
square kilometer, one of the highest levels in the world. The highest
concentration of people was in the Red River Delta, in the northeast
where
Hanoi
is located, and the lowest
concentration was in the northwest. The population, which traditionally
has been primarily rural, has become increasingly urbanized since 1986
when the Doi Moi economic renewal program began to boost income and
employment opportunities in the cities. In 2002 about 25 percent of
Vietnam
’s
population was urban and 75 percent rural, down from 85 percent in the
early 1980s.
Vietnam
’s net migration rate was estimated at –0.45 migrant(s) per 1,000
population in 2004. Consistent with the trend toward urbanization, urban
areas, such as
Ho Chi Minh City
,
Hanoi
,
Da Nang
, and the
Central
Highlands
, have attracted the most migrants. In addition, a steady stream of
migrants continues to move from the North to the South. As of 2002, the
two largest groups of refugees were Vietnamese and ethnic Chinese
returning from
Cambodia
and the indigenous Montagnards from the Central Highlands seeking asylum
in
Cambodia
.
Demography: In 2004
Vietnam
’s age distribution was estimated as follows: 0 to 14 years of age,
29.4 percent; 15 to 64, 65 percent; and 65 and older, 5.6 percent. This
age distribution signals slower population growth than in the past. In
2003
Vietnam
’s
birthrate was 19.6 per 1,000 people, and the fertility rate was 2.2
children born per woman; both rates were about average globally. The
infant mortality rate was 29.3 per 1,000 live births, and the death rate
was nearly 6.2 per 1,000; both rates were better than average. According
to 2004 estimates, life expectancy was 70.4 years for the total
population, almost 67.9 years for men and 73 years for women. Life
expectancy rates were about average globally.
Ethnic Groups: Vietnamese are the predominant ethnic group; they constitute 85 to 90
percent of the population. Chinese account for 3 percent of the
population. Other ethnic groups are the Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, and
Montagnards, an indigenous group living in the Central Highlands.
Languages: Vietnamese is the official language of
Vietnam
.
The Vietnamese have adopted a Romanized script introduced by the French
during the colonial period. English is increasingly accepted as a second
language. Some French language influence persists. Other languages used
are Chinese, Khmer, and mountain area dialects.
Religion: With 7.6 million followers, Buddhism is the most popular religion. The
second most popular religion is Catholicism, with 6 million adherents.
Other faiths, with the number of followers indicated, are Cao Dai (2
million), Hoa Hao (1 million), Protestantism (500,000), and Islam
(50,000).
Education and Literacy: In 2003
Vietnam
’s literacy rate was 94 percent, including 95.8 percent for men and
92.3 percent for women. However, educational attainment was less
impressive. Although 92 percent of eligible children were enrolled in
primary school in 2000 and five years of primary school education are
considered compulsory, only two-thirds completed the fifth grade. The
cost of tuition, books, and uniforms and the need to supplement family
income were the two main reasons for dropping out. A huge disparity
exists in primary school enrollment between the cities and rural parts
of
Vietnam
. In some rural areas, only 10 to 15 percent of the children progress
beyond third grade, whereas almost 96 percent of pupils in
Ho Chi Minh City
complete fifth grade. In 2000 enrollment in secondary school was only
62.5 percent, much lower than in primary school. One of the
government’s goals is to expand access to secondary education.
Health: The
overall quality of healthcare in 2003 has been characterized as “good,”
in view of such indicators as life expectancy (70.4 years), infant
mortality (29.3 per 1,000 live births), and physicians per capita (1.3
per 1,000 people). However, malnutrition is still common in the
provinces, and the life expectancy and infant mortality rates are
stagnating. In 2001 government spending on health care corresponded to
just 0.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Government subsidies
covered only about 20 percent of health care expenses, with the
remaining 80 percent coming out of individuals’ own pockets.
In 1954 the government in the North
established a public health system that reached down to the hamlet level.
After reunification in 1976, this system was extended to the South.
Beginning in the late 1980s, the quality of health care began to decline
as a result of budgetary constraints, a shift of responsibility to the
provinces, and the introduction of charges. Inadequate funding has led
to delays in planned upgrades to water supply and sewage systems. As a
result, almost half the population has no access to clean water, a
deficiency that promotes such infectious diseases as malaria, dengue
fever, typhoid, and cholera. Inadequate funding also has contributed to
a shortage of nurses, midwives, and hospital beds. In 2000
Vietnam
had only 250,000 hospital beds, or 14.8 beds per 10,000 people, a very
low ratio among Asian nations, according to the World Bank.
Vietnam
has made progress in combating malaria, for which the mortality rate
declined sharply, to about 5 percent of the rate in the early 1990s,
after the country introduced antimalarial drugs and treatment. However,
tuberculosis (TB) cases are on the rise, with 57 deaths per day reported
in May 2004. With an intensified vaccination program, better hygiene,
and foreign assistance,
Vietnam
hopes to reduce sharply the number of TB cases and annual new TB
infections.
As of mid-2004,
Vietnam
had diagnosed 81,206 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases, of which
12,684 developed acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and 7,208
died. But the actual number of HIV-positive individuals is estimated to
be as high as 200,000. An average of 40–50 new infections are reported
every day in
Vietnam
.
Vietnam
hopes to contain the HIV infection rate at the current official rate of
0.3 percent, which is about average worldwide, by limiting the disease
as much as possible to sex workers and intravenous drug users. However,
if the current trend continues, the number of infected persons could
reach 1 million by 2010. One of the impediments to containing HIV/AIDS
is that the victims face discrimination and stigmatization that are more
severe than almost anywhere else in the world, according to a United
Nations official. In June 2004, the Bush Administration announced that
Vietnam
would be one of 15 nations to receive funding as part of a US$15 billion
global AIDS plan.
Welfare:
Vietnam
’s
welfare efforts target victims of the Second Indochina War (1954–75),
such as individuals disabled in combat or by toxic chemicals and the
families of fallen combatants. About 5 million Vietnamese, corresponding
to more than 6 percent of the population, are disabled. The Ministry of
Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs administers welfare.
Vietnam
has legislated a social insurance system with provisions for old age,
disability, and death; sickness and maternity; and work injury. Coverage
is reported to be mandatory for state employees, non-state enterprises
with more than 10 employees, and foreign-invested enterprises. Special
programs are said to exist for government civil servants and armed
forces personnel.
ECONOMY
Overview: Beginning in the 1980s, dire economic conditions forced the government to
relax restrictions on private enterprise and sharply cut back on labor
camp prisoners, many of them entrepreneurs. In 1986
Vietnam
launched a political and economic renewal campaign (Doi Moi). Doi Moi
introduced reforms intended to facilitate the transition from a
centralized economy to a “socialist-oriented market economy.” Doi
Moi combined government planning with free-market incentives. The
program abolished agricultural collectives, removed price controls on
agricultural goods, and enabled farmers to sell their goods in the
marketplace. It encouraged the establishment of private businesses and
foreign investment, including foreignowned enterprises.
By the late 1990s, the success of the
business and agricultural reforms ushered in under Doi Moi was clearly
evident. More than 30,000 private businesses had been created, and the
economy was growing at an annual rate of more than 7 percent. During the
1990s, poverty declined from 50 percent to 30 percent of the population.
Poverty continued to decline between 1998 and 2002; the World Bank
estimates that 8 percent of
Vietnam
’s
population moved out of poverty during this period, although progress
varied geographically. Most prosperous were the major cities, where per
capita income rose rapidly to reach about US$1,000 in 2002. In addition,
inflation declined from an annual rate of more than 160 percent in 1988
to only 3 percent in 2003, reflecting the success of economic
stabilization measures.
In 2001 the Vietnamese Communist
Party (VCP) approved a 10-year economic plan that enhanced the role of
the private sector while reaffirming the primacy of the state. In 2003
the private sector accounted for more than one-quarter of all industrial
output, and the private sector’s contribution was expanding more
rapidly than the public sector’s (18.7 percent vs. 12.4 percent growth
from 2002 to 2003).
Despite these signs of progress, the
World Economic Forum’s 2004 Global Competitiveness Report, which
reflects the subjective judgments of the business community, ranked
Vietnam 77th in growth competitiveness in the world (down from 60th
place in 2003) and 79th in business competitiveness (down from 50th
place in 2003), well behind its model China, which ranked 46th and 47th
in these respective categories.
Vietnam
’s
sharp deterioration in the rankings from 2003 to 2004 was attributable
in part to negative perceptions of the effectiveness of government
institutions. Official corruption is endemic despite efforts to curb it.
Vietnam
also lags behind
China
in terms of property rights, the efficient regulation of markets, and
labor and financial market reforms. State-owned banks that are poorly
managed and suffer from non-performing loans still dominate the
financial sector.
Although
Vietnam
’s
economy, which continues to expand at an annual rate in excess of 7
percent, is one of the fastest growing in the world, the economy is
growing from an extremely low base, reflecting the crippling effect of
the Second Indochina War (1954–75) and repressive economic measures
introduced in its aftermath. Whether rapid economic growth is
sustainable is open to debate. The government may not be able to follow
through with plans to scale back trade restrictions and reform
state-owned enterprises. Reducing trade restrictions and improving
transparency are keys to gaining full membership in the World Trade
Organization (WTO), as planned in 2005. The government hopes to reform
the state-owned sector by partially privatizing various state-owned
enterprises, beginning with Vietcombank, a large state-owned commercial
bank.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): In 2003
Vietnam
’s GDP was US$39.2 billion. Per capita gross national income was
US$480. However, based on purchasing power parity (buying power for a
basket of goods without regard for market exchange rates),
Vietnam
’s
per capita GDP was US$2,500. In 2002 the contributions to GDP by sector
were as follows: agriculture, 23.0 percent; industry, 38.5 percent; and
services, 38.5 percent. Reflecting Vietnam’s hybrid economy, industry
ownership was mixed, as indicated by percentage of output, as follows:
stateowned, 40 percent and declining; privately owned, 25 percent, but
employing four times as many workers as the state-owned sector; and
foreign-owned, 35 percent.
Government Budget: In November 2003,
Vietnam
’s
National Assembly approved a total state budget of about US$12 billion
for 2004, corresponding to about 26.5 percent of estimated gross
domestic product (GDP). The government’s budget deficit is expanding,
from 2.0 percent of GDP in 2002, to an estimated 2.4 percent in 2003,
and a targeted 5 percent in 2004.
Inflation: In 2003 inflation was a low 3 percent, down from 160 percent in 1988. The
decline reflects the beneficial effect of fiscal and monetary reforms
aimed at stabilizing the economy.
Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing: In 2002 agriculture and forestry accounted for 23 percent of gross
domestic product (GDP). However, agricultural employment was much higher
than agriculture’s share of GDP; in 2002 some 66.1 percent of the
employed labor force was engaged in agriculture, forestry, and fishing.
Rice is the staple crop, accounting for 4.3 percent of export earnings
in 2002. The relaxation of the state monopoly on rice exports
transformed the country into the world’s second or third largest rice
exporter. Other cash crops are coffee, cotton, peanuts, rubber,
sugarcane, and tea.
In 2002
Vietnam
produced an estimated 29.5 million cubic meters of roundwood; about 90
percent was consumed as fuel. Production of sawnwood was a more modest
2,950 cubic meters. In 1992, in response to dwindling forests,
Vietnam
imposed a ban on the export of logs and raw timber. In 1997 the ban was
extended to all timber products except wooden artifacts. During the
1990s,
Vietnam
began to reclaim land for forests with a tree-planting program.
Vietnam
’s fishing industry, which has abundant resources given the country’s
3,444-kilometer coastline and extensive network of rivers and lakes, has
experienced moderate growth overall. In 2001 the total catch was about 2
million tons. However, seafood exports expanded fourfold from 1990 to
2002 to more than US$2 billion, driven in part by shrimp farms in the
South and “catfish,” which are a different species from their
American counterpart but are marketed in the
United States
under the same name. By concentrating on the
U.S.
market for the sale of vast quantities of shrimp and catfish,
Vietnam
triggered antidumping complaints by the
United States
,
which imposed tariffs in the case of catfish and is considering doing
the same for shrimp.
Mining and Minerals: In 2002 mining and quarrying accounted for an 8.6 percent share of gross
domestic product (GDP); in 2000 the sector employed 0.6 percent of the
workforce. Petroleum and coal are the main mineral exports, with crude
petroleum accounting for 21.1 percent of total merchandise exports in
2001. Also mined are antimony, bauxite, chromium, gold, iron, natural
phosphates, tin, and zinc.
Industry and Manufacturing: Although industry contributed 38.5 percent of gross domestic product
(GDP) in 2002, it employed only 12.9 percent of the workforce. In 2000,
22.4 percent of industrial production was attributable to non-state
activities. During 1990–2002, industrial GDP grew at an average annual
rate of 11.1 percent. Manufacturing contributed 20.6 percent of GDP in
2002, while employing 10.2 percent of the workforce. During 1990–2002,
manufacturing GDP grew at an average annual rate of 10.9 percent. The
top manufacturing sectors—food processing, cigarettes and tobacco,
textiles, chemicals, and electrical goods—experienced rapid growth.
Almost a third of manufacturing and retail activity is concentrated in
Ho Chi Minh City
.
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