GEOGRAPHY
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: contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: tropical in south; monsoonal in north
with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry
season (mid-October to mid-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: Ngoc Linh 3,143 m
Natural resources: phosphates, coal, manganese,
bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower
Land
use:
arable land: 17%
permanent crops: 4%
permanent pastures: 1%
forests and woodland: 30%
other: 48% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 18,600 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural
hazards: occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive
flooding
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear
Test Ban
Geography
- note: extending 1,650 km north to south, the country
is only 50 km across at its narrowest point
