Vietnam (vê-èt¹näm¹), officially Socialist Republic of
Vietnam, republic (1990 est. pop. 65,500,000), 128,401 sq
mi (332,559 sq km), SE Asia, bordered by Cambodia and
Laos (W), China (N), and the South China Sea (E, S).
Major cities are HANOI (the capital) and HO CHI MINH
CITY (formerly Saigon). The terrain is generally rugged; the
two principal regions, the Red R. delta in the north and the
Mekong R. delta in the south, are linked by a narrow,
mountainous strip. Agriculture, primarily the growing of rice,
is the basis of the economy, engaging more than 80% of the
work force; Vietnam is a major rice exporter. Peanuts, corn,
cassava, and sweet potatoes, and beans are also grown for
subsistence; cash crops include cotton, jute, coffee, and tea.
Fishing is also important. Mining, particularly of coal, heavy
industry, and most of the timber resources are concentrated
in the north. Offshore petroleum deposits have been
developed, and crude oil is exported. About 80% of the
population are Vietnamese. Significant minorities include
highland tribal peoples such as the Nungs and Meos and
Cambodians and Thais. Large numbers of ethnic Chinese
fled the country after a border clash with China in 1979.
Buddhism and Roman Catholicism are practiced, but religion
is discouraged by the government. History. The area that is
now Vietnam is composed of the historic regions of
TONKIN, ANNAM, and COCHIN CHINA. European
traders arrived in the early 16th cent. The French captured
Saigon in 1859, organized the colony of Cochin China in
1867, and declared protectorates over Tonkin and Annam
in 1884. The three were merged with Cambodia in 1887 to
form French INDOCHINA. A nationalist movement arose
in the early 20th cent., gaining momentum during the
Japanese occupation in WORLD WAR II. After the
Japanese withdrew in 1945 the VIET MINH, a coalition of
nationalists and Communists, established a republic headed
by HO CHI MINH. French attempts to reassert control and
establish BAO DAI as emperor resulted in the French
Indochina War (1946"“54), which ended with the French
defeat at DIENBIENPHU. At the Geneva Conference of
1954 Vietnam was provisionally divided, pending nationwide
free elections, into Communist North Vietnam and nationalist
South Vietnam. Fearing a Communist victory, the regime of
Ngo Dinh DIEM refused to hold the scheduled elections and
declared the south an independent republic in 1955. The
VIETNAM WAR ensued, with the U.S. aiding South
Vietnam. A cease-fire was signed and U.S. troops
withdrawn in 1973, but the Communists overran the south in
1975, reunifying (1976) the country. The regime launched a
large-scale resettlement and reeducation program to
suppress continued opposition in the south. In 1978"“79 it
invaded Cambodia, overthrowing the regime of POL POT
and provoking a brief invasion of N Vietnam by China.
Continued political and social upheaval took its toll on the
economy and also prompted the flight of great numbers of
refugee BOAT PEOPLE. In the late 1980s economic failure
and food shortages, both exacerbated by a U.S. economic
embargo, led to decentralization and limited free enterprise,
but the party retained tight political control. In 1992 the U.S.
began to ease its embargo in response to Vietnam's support
for the Cambodian peace process and cooperation in the
search for missing American servicemen.
Vietnam, republic (1990 est. pop. 65,500,000), 128,401 sq
mi (332,559 sq km), SE Asia, bordered by Cambodia and
Laos (W), China (N), and the South China Sea (E, S).
Major cities are HANOI (the capital) and HO CHI MINH
CITY (formerly Saigon). The terrain is generally rugged; the
two principal regions, the Red R. delta in the north and the
Mekong R. delta in the south, are linked by a narrow,
mountainous strip. Agriculture, primarily the growing of rice,
is the basis of the economy, engaging more than 80% of the
work force; Vietnam is a major rice exporter. Peanuts, corn,
cassava, and sweet potatoes, and beans are also grown for
subsistence; cash crops include cotton, jute, coffee, and tea.
Fishing is also important. Mining, particularly of coal, heavy
industry, and most of the timber resources are concentrated
in the north. Offshore petroleum deposits have been
developed, and crude oil is exported. About 80% of the
population are Vietnamese. Significant minorities include
highland tribal peoples such as the Nungs and Meos and
Cambodians and Thais. Large numbers of ethnic Chinese
fled the country after a border clash with China in 1979.
Buddhism and Roman Catholicism are practiced, but religion
is discouraged by the government. History. The area that is
now Vietnam is composed of the historic regions of
TONKIN, ANNAM, and COCHIN CHINA. European
traders arrived in the early 16th cent. The French captured
Saigon in 1859, organized the colony of Cochin China in
1867, and declared protectorates over Tonkin and Annam
in 1884. The three were merged with Cambodia in 1887 to
form French INDOCHINA. A nationalist movement arose
in the early 20th cent., gaining momentum during the
Japanese occupation in WORLD WAR II. After the
Japanese withdrew in 1945 the VIET MINH, a coalition of
nationalists and Communists, established a republic headed
by HO CHI MINH. French attempts to reassert control and
establish BAO DAI as emperor resulted in the French
Indochina War (1946"“54), which ended with the French
defeat at DIENBIENPHU. At the Geneva Conference of
1954 Vietnam was provisionally divided, pending nationwide
free elections, into Communist North Vietnam and nationalist
South Vietnam. Fearing a Communist victory, the regime of
Ngo Dinh DIEM refused to hold the scheduled elections and
declared the south an independent republic in 1955. The
VIETNAM WAR ensued, with the U.S. aiding South
Vietnam. A cease-fire was signed and U.S. troops
withdrawn in 1973, but the Communists overran the south in
1975, reunifying (1976) the country. The regime launched a
large-scale resettlement and reeducation program to
suppress continued opposition in the south. In 1978"“79 it
invaded Cambodia, overthrowing the regime of POL POT
and provoking a brief invasion of N Vietnam by China.
Continued political and social upheaval took its toll on the
economy and also prompted the flight of great numbers of
refugee BOAT PEOPLE. In the late 1980s economic failure
and food shortages, both exacerbated by a U.S. economic
embargo, led to decentralization and limited free enterprise,
but the party retained tight political control. In 1992 the U.S.
began to ease its embargo in response to Vietnam's support
for the Cambodian peace process and cooperation in the
search for missing American servicemen.
