Information About Vietnam

Information about Vietnam 

The Communist country of Vietnam is in South-East Asia.

Vietnam is shaped like an S with mountains, coastal plains and delta's. It is 1,600 kms long and only 80 kms wide at its narrowest point. Vietnam has a tropical, hot and wet monsoon climate.  The Hai Van Mountain Pass which is between Hue and Da Nang divides Vietnam into two climatic regions. North of the Hai Van Pass  the climate is cold in winter and hot and wet in summer. To the south of the Hai Van Pass the weather is always hot.
The Vietnamese flag is red and has a yellow star.

Vietnam is officially the Socialist republic of Vietnam and a single party State

The language spoken is Vietnamese.

 vn02.jpg (4401 bytes)
The national anthem is "Tien Quoc Ca" (Army march).

It's motto is  'Independence, Freedom,Happiness'                   

Hanoi the capital city is in the North.

Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in the South.

The population of Vietnam in 2008 was 86,116,559 people.

Eighty per cent of the population live in the rural areas, and 13% is made up of the 54 ethnic minority groups. The main ones are Mon Kmer, Tay Thia, Hmong Dao, Tiber Burmese and Chinese. The majority of the ethnic people live in the highlands near the Chinese border in the North.

The currency is 'dong', and in 2009,  $1.00 Australian is worth 11,616 VDN.

Vietnamese currency was paper only and they had no coins. In 2004 polymer banknotes to the value of 50,000 VND and 500,000 VND were introduced using Australian technology. They have several watermarks which are part of the 'technical security' of the notes. The picture of Ho Chi Minh is on both notes. A gold coloured coin to the value of 5,000 DNV was also put in circulation.

 

Vietnam is the world's second largest growing economy. Vietnam exports  oil, cashew nuts, rice, coffee, tea, rubber and fish products. Tourism is a fast growing industry.

 There are many Religions in Vietnam, with 85% of people Buddhist, and 8% are Christian. Cao Dai has 3% and is made up of parts of the Islam, Hindu and Christian religions. It has a large eye as a symbol on its brightly painted temples.
Most of the Vietnamese Catholic's live in the south. In the major cities the churches are full on Sunday with hundreds attending Mass at 5am. Many times the congregation spill outside where stools are provided for them. In some areas males and females sit on either side of the church. The older boys sit with their father, but babies stay with the mother.

At Christmas churches display large cribs either inside, or in the grounds of the church. Catholic families also display cribs or other statues on the roof or top verandah of their homes.