World  > South-East Asia  > Vietnam
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General Information Area: 331,114 sq km (127,844 sq miles). Population: 78,059,000 (1998). Population Density: 235.7 per sq km. Capital: Hanoi. Population: 2,154,900 (1993). GEOGRAPHY: Vietnam shares borders to the north with the People’s Republic of China and to the west with Laos and Cambodia. The South China Sea lies to the east and south. The land is principally agricultural with a central tropical rainforest. Government: Socialist republic since 1980. Gained independence from France in 1954. Head of State: Chairman Trān Duc Luong since 1997. Head of Government: Prime Minister Phan Van Khai since 1997. Language: Vietnamese is the official language. English, French, Chinese and occasionally Russian and German are spoken. Religion: Buddhist majority. There are also Taoist, Confucian, Hoa Hao, Caodaist and Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic) minorities. Time: GMT + 7. Electricity: 220/110 volts AC, 50Hz; plugs are mostly flat pin. Communications:   Telephone IDD is available. Country code: 84. Outgoing international code: 00. Mobile telephone GSM 900 network. Operators include Vietnam Mobile Telecom Service (website: www.vnpt.com.vn) and Vietnam Telecoms Services (GPC) (website: www.gpc.vnn.vn). Coverage is largely limited to main urban areas. Fax Available in most post offices, hotels and businesses. Internet ISPs include Internet Vietnam (website: www.vnn.vn). E-mail can be accessed from Internet cafes in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Telegram Facilities are available in most towns. Post Postal services can be slow. Airmail to Europe can take up to three weeks. Press Daily and weekly newspapers in Vietnam include Hanoi Moi and Nhan Dan (‘The People’). The Vietnam Economic Times, Vietnam Investment Review, Saigon Times, Vietnam News and Vietnam Courier are published in English. BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change. BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice): MHz 15.36 9.740 6.195 3.915 Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov): MHz 17.74 11.71 9.645 6.110 From www.columbusguides.com, Copyright © 2004 Highbury Columbus Travel Publishing Terms and Conditions apply.