| Geography | Vietnam |
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Location:
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Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, as well as China, Laos, and Cambodia |
Geographic coordinates:
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16 10 N, 107 50 E |
Map references:
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Southeast Asia |
Area:
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total: 331,210 sq km
land: 310,070 sq km
water: 21,140 sq km |
Area - comparative:
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slightly larger than New Mexico |
Land boundaries:
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total: 4,639 km
border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km |
Coastline:
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3,444 km (excludes islands) |
Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Climate:
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tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March) |
Terrain:
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low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest |
Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m |
Natural resources:
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phosphates, coal, manganese, rare earth elements, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, timber, hydropower |
Land use:
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arable land: 20.14%
permanent crops: 6.93%
other: 72.93% (2005) |
Irrigated land:
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46,000 sq km (2008) |
Total renewable water resources:
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891.2 cu km (1999) |
Total renewable water resources - per capita:
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9,843 cubic meters per capita |
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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total: 71.39 cu km/yr (8%/24%/68%)
per capita: 847 cu m/yr (2000) |
Natural hazards:
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occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta |
Environment - current issues:
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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 |
Environment - international agreements:
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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 |
Geography - note:
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extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point |
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