Vietnam is a narrow strip of land curved in the form of the letter ‘S’. Situated in the center of South-East Asia region, on the Eastern part of Indochina peninsula, the country shares a border with China in the north, and Laos and Cambodia in the West. Vietnam is surrounded by the China Sea in the East and the Pacific Sea down South.
The coast stretches for 3,260 km and the land’s border 4,510 km. The air distance between the north and the south is 1,650 km. The land’s width reaches 600 km in the North, and 400 km in the South, which leaves the narrowest width to the Center area, with no more than 50 km wide in Quang Binh province.
- Territory
- 331 211,6 km²
- Population
- 90.000.000 people (as of 01 November 2013)
- Capital
- Hanoi
- Latitude
- 102º 08' - 109º 28' East
- Longitude
- 8º 02' - 23º 23' North
- Climate
- Vietnam lies in an area of tropics and monsoon climate.
- Topography
- The hills and mountains divides the three different areas of Vietnam’s land.
- Administration Units
- Viet Nam is divided into 63 provinces and cities.
- Ethnicity
- 54 ethnic groups with their individual dialect, literature, set of moral values and customs.
- Tourist attractions
- the country has more than 3,000 historical, cultural and architectural heritages that are ranked nationally. Six of them, namely Halong Bay, Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, the Imperial City of Hue, the ancient town of Hoi An, the Cham towers of My Son, the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi have been regconized as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.
- Opening hours
- All government offices are open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (with one hour of lunch break) from Monday to Friday.
- National currency
- The official national currency of Vietnam is the ‘dong’, which is used in all parts of the country. The available notes are in denominations of 500, 1 000, 2 000, 5 000, 10 000, 20 000, 50 000, 100 000, 200 000, 500 000 dongs. American dollars are accepted throughout Vietnam. Travellers check can be exchanged in most banks. Credit card are widely accepted in travel agencies, hotels and large restaurants in major cities.
- Electricity
- 220V is used in Vietnam.
