Vietnam Geography 2008

Location:
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia

Geographic coordinates:
16 00 N, 106 00 E

Map references:
Southeast Asia

Area:
total: 329,560 sq km
land: 325,360 sq km
water: 4,200 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries:
total: 4,639 km
border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km

Coastline:
3,444 km (excludes islands)

Maritime claims:
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:
tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March)

Terrain:
low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m

Natural resources:
phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 20.14%
permanent crops: 6.93%
other: 72.93% (2005)

Irrigated land:
30,000 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:
891.2 cu km (1999)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Total: 71.39 cu km/yr (8%/24%/68%)
Per capita: 847 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:
occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta

Environment - current issues:
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:
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