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
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
contiguous zone: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m |
| Natural resources: | phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower |
| Land use: | arable land: 19.97%
permanent crops: 5.95%
other: 74.08% (2001) |
| Irrigated land: | 30,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
| 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 |
| Geography - note: | extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point
Source: CIA World Factbook
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