Vietnam

Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of <a href="/facts/Mainland_Southeast_Asia/5pknI7yy">mainland Southeast Asia</a>, with an area of about 331,000 square kilometres (128,000 sq mi) and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_population/N1Fq63C2">fifteenth-most populous country</a>. One of two <a href="/facts/Communist_state/oYaCr1Av">communist states</a> in Southeast Asia, Vietnam shares land borders with <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">China</a> to the north, and <a href="/facts/Laos/S0afugjX">Laos</a> and <a href="/facts/Cambodia/t1wJd6GU">Cambodia</a> to the west. It shares <a href="/facts/Maritime_boundary/1369gqHz">maritime borders</a> with <a href="/facts/Thailand/GCUnN4JK">Thailand</a> through the <a href="/facts/Gulf_of_Thailand/N0RLjG0m">Gulf of Thailand</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Philippines/ARpmxXQV">Philippines</a>, <a href="/facts/Indonesia/vQnWU3IW">Indonesia</a>, and <a href="/facts/Malaysia/8zbUMzCP">Malaysia</a> through the <a href="/facts/South_China_Sea/WRFXLgIg">South China Sea</a>. Its capital is <a href="/facts/Hanoi/0W2xfMQN">Hanoi</a> and its largest city is <a href="/facts/Ho_Chi_Minh_City/TyQxqTmQ">Ho Chi Minh City</a>.
Vietnam was inhabited by the <a href="/facts/Paleolithic/I48SMHo5">Paleolithic</a> age, with states established in the first millennium BC on the <a href="/facts/Red_River_Delta/w8kwK01e">Red River Delta</a> in modern-day <a href="/facts/Northern_Vietnam/M0TnAWeY">northern Vietnam</a>. Before the Han dynasty's invasion, Vietnam was marked by a vibrant mix of religion, culture, and social norms. The <a href="/facts/Han_dynasty/hanfxS9D">Han dynasty</a> annexed Northern and Central Vietnam, which were subsequently under <a href="/facts/Vietnam_under_Chinese_rule/EwM6s3T1">Chinese rule</a> from 111 BC until the <a href="/facts/Ng%25C3%25B4_dynasty/RNkJzsJF">first dynasty</a> emerged in 939. Successive <a href="/facts/List_of_Vietnamese_dynasties/wpM6CM0a">monarchical dynasties</a> absorbed Chinese influences through <a href="/facts/Confucianism/Nlbwgmxw">Confucianism</a> and <a href="/facts/Buddhism/G0wsjrSl">Buddhism</a>, and <a href="/facts/Nam_ti%25E1%25BA%25BFn/UvlAlDNW">expanded southward</a> to the <a href="/facts/Mekong_Delta/Blrw30E1">Mekong Delta</a>, <a href="/facts/History_of_the_Cham%25E2%2580%2593Vietnamese_wars/AHEyLG9f">conquering</a> <a href="/facts/Champa/HLWa7c9y">Champa</a>. During most of the 17th and 18th centuries, Vietnam was effectively divided into two domains of <a href="/facts/%25C4%2590%25C3%25A0ng_Trong/eDAtxLU0">Đàng Trong</a> and <a href="/facts/%25C4%2590%25C3%25A0ng_Ngo%25C3%25A0i/b5bJ0cMV">Đàng Ngoài</a>. The <a href="/facts/Nguy%25E1%25BB%2585n_dynasty/BUwd9crg">Nguyễn</a>—the last imperial dynasty—surrendered to <a href="/facts/French_Third_Republic/I2nlEmcn">France</a> in 1883. In 1887, its territory was integrated into <a href="/facts/French_Indochina/Sv3okbSs">French Indochina</a> as three separate regions. In the immediate aftermath of <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>, the <a href="/facts/Viet_Minh/l03MGQh5">Viet Minh</a>, a coalition front led by the communist revolutionary <a href="/facts/Ho_Chi_Minh/JLRhYPI7">Ho Chi Minh</a>, launched the <a href="/facts/August_Revolution/dMoAokt5">August Revolution</a> and <a href="/facts/Declaration_of_independence_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_Vietnam/894eDos4">declared</a> Vietnam's independence from the <a href="/facts/Empire_of_Japan/gMpNKg2W">Empire of Japan</a> in 1945.
Vietnam went through <a href="/facts/Indochina_wars/0YtB5hbA">prolonged warfare</a> in the 20th century. After <a href="/facts/French_Indochina_in_World_War_II/oL3pPwlm">World War II</a>, France returned to reclaim colonial power in the <a href="/facts/First_Indochina_War/oQW2oRrR">First Indochina War</a>, from which Vietnam emerged victorious in 1954. As a result of the <a href="/facts/1954_Geneva_Conference/oBs72jK7">treaties signed</a> between the Viet Minh and France, Vietnam was also separated into two parts. The <a href="/facts/Vietnam_War/W0gfbGTE">Vietnam War</a> began shortly after, between the communist <a href="/facts/North_Vietnam/1d0osuEy">North Vietnam</a>, supported by the <a href="/facts/Soviet_Union/m7wWsPto">Soviet Union</a> and <a href="/facts/China_in_the_Vietnam_War/25ApR9M5">China</a>, and the anti-communist <a href="/facts/South_Vietnam/2QwTFmzd">South Vietnam</a>, supported by the <a href="/facts/United_States_in_the_Vietnam_War/rr8sqUDg">United States</a>. Upon the <a href="/facts/Fall_of_Saigon/9jrBqnvp">North Vietnamese victory</a> in 1975, Vietnam reunified as a <a href="/facts/Unitary_state/HAxK1eMM">unitary</a> <a href="/facts/Communist_state/oYaCr1Av">communist state</a> that self-designated as a <a href="/facts/Socialist_state_(communism)/FjwxAJNH">socialist state</a> under the <a href="/facts/Communist_Party_of_Vietnam/zAEygCoB">Communist Party of Vietnam</a> (CPV) in 1976. An ineffective <a href="/facts/Planned_economy/TCMJrC5M">planned economy</a>, a trade embargo by the <a href="/facts/Western_world/UQl4e7du">West</a>, and wars with <a href="/facts/Cambodian%25E2%2580%2593Vietnamese_War/tVTha8PM">Cambodia</a> and <a href="/facts/Sino-Vietnamese_War/S0Qq3kI5">China</a> crippled the country further. In 1986, the CPV initiated <a href="/facts/%25C4%2590%25E1%25BB%2595i_M%25E1%25BB%259Bi/T3QkFxW4">economic and political reforms</a> similar to the <a href="/facts/Chinese_economic_reform/fhdC9JDe">Chinese economic reform</a>, transforming the country to a <a href="/facts/Socialist-oriented_market_economy/DD1QYne3">socialist-oriented market economy</a>. The reforms facilitated Vietnamese reintegration into the <a href="/facts/Global_economy/Gng36UFL">global economy</a> and <a href="/facts/Global_politics/ta7p4dAM">politics</a>.
Vietnam is a <a href="/facts/Developing_country/eTfS4kxl">developing country</a> with a lower-middle-income economy. It has <a href="/facts/Corruption_in_Vietnam/cc53cuXx">high levels of corruption</a>, <a href="/facts/Censorship_in_Vietnam/y4IX4gDf">censorship</a>, <a href="/facts/Environmental_issues_in_Vietnam/lzvLnUjf">environmental issues</a> and a poor <a href="/facts/Human_rights_in_Vietnam/lBTHHTy5">human rights record</a>. It is part of international and intergovernmental institutions including the <a href="/facts/ASEAN/77wDkXmL">ASEAN</a>, the <a href="/facts/Asia-Pacific_Economic_Cooperation/Y9uLYe1C">APEC</a>, the <a href="/facts/Non-Aligned_Movement/PIdnjRvD">Non-Aligned Movement</a>, the <a href="/facts/Organisation_internationale_de_la_Francophonie/KXMpNfSc">OIF</a>, and the <a href="/facts/World_Trade_Organization/p7hgb1lP">WTO</a>. It has assumed a seat on the <a href="/facts/United_Nations_Security_Council/ytwaz2e4">United Nations Security Council</a> twice.

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Vietnam