Geography of Vietnam

For historical geography of Vietnam, see History of Vietnam.

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

Geographic coordinates:

Area:
:total: 329,560 km²
:land: 325,360 km²
:water: 4,200 km²

Area - comparative: slightly larger than the state of New Mexico in the United States.

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 nautical miles
:continental shelf: 200 nautical miles or to the edge of the continental margin
:exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles
:territorial sea: 12 nautical miles

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 km² (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

:See also : Vietnam, Halong Bay