Overview of Vietnam
The overview of Vietnam includes the following aspects:
Geographical location: Vietnam is located in the eastern part of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia, bordering Guangxi and Yunnan in China to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west, and the South China Sea to the east and southeast. Its coastline is 3260 kilometers long.
Land area and terrain: Vietnam has a narrow territory with an area of approximately 330000 square kilometers. The terrain is mainly composed of mountains and plateaus, with the west being higher and the east being lower. 70% of the country's land is composed of mountains and plateaus.
Population and ethnicity: The population of Vietnam is approximately 100.3 million (2023), with the main ethnic group being the Jing ethnic group, accounting for 86% of the total population. In addition, there are other ethnic groups such as Dai, Dai, Mang, Chinese, and Nong.
Political system: Vietnam is a socialist country, and the Communist Party of Vietnam is the only ruling party. Vietnam is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the World Trade Organization, and is one of the founding members of the Asia Europe Meeting.
Economic situation: In 2023, Vietnam's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be approximately 430 billion US dollars, with a per capita GDP of 4284 US dollars and a GDP growth rate of 5.05%. In recent years, Vietnam's economy has developed rapidly, especially attracting a large amount of investment in the mid to low end industries.
Culture: The main language of Vietnam is Vietnamese, and the main religions include Buddhism, Catholicism, Hoa Hao, and Cao Dai. Vietnamese festivals include the founding day of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3), National Day of Vietnam (September 2), Southern Liberation Day of Vietnam (April 30), and Ho Chi Minh's birthday (May 19).
Historical background: Vietnam has a long history and was once one of the vassal states of Chinese dynasties. Its name has been changed multiple times, including "Jiaozhi", "Annam", "Dai Viet", etc., and finally named "Vietnam". Vietnam experienced multiple historical events, including the War of Resistance against France and the War to Save the Country from the United States, and finally achieved national reunification in 1975.
These pieces of information provide a comprehensive overview of Vietnam's geographical location, land area, population, political system, economic situation, culture, and historical background.
The economic profile of Vietnam can be summarized as follows:
Economic growth rate: In the first three quarters of 2024, Vietnam's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 6.82% year-on-year, with GDP in the third quarter growing by 7.4% year-on-year, the strongest performance in two years. The International Monetary Fund predicts that Vietnam's GDP growth rate in 2024 will be 6.1%, while the Asian Development Bank expects it to be 6.0%.
Economic structure: Vietnam's economy is highly dependent on external markets, with the total amount of imported and exported goods accounting for 159% of GDP. This proportion will further increase to 175% in the first three quarters of 2024. Strong export and industrial production performance, coupled with increasing foreign investment, offset the impact of natural disasters on the economy.
Main industries: Vietnam's processing and manufacturing industry has shown particularly outstanding growth, with a growth rate of 11.41% in the third quarter, the highest increase of 12% in the same period in nearly 6 years. In addition, industries such as finance, services, and real estate also maintain optimistic growth.
Foreign Investment Attraction: In the first nine months of 2024, Vietnam attracted over 24.78 billion US dollars in foreign investment, a year-on-year increase of 11.6%. The processing and manufacturing industry absorbs the most foreign investment, accounting for 63.1% of the total foreign investment absorbed in the country.
Trading partner: The United States is the largest exporter of Vietnamese goods, with exports to the US worth $89.4 billion in the first three quarters of this year and imports from the US worth $10.9 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $78.5 billion with the US. China is the main channel for Vietnam to import goods, with Vietnam importing goods from China worth 105 billion US dollars and a trade deficit with China of 61.4 billion US dollars.
Economic outlook: Despite global economic uncertainty, Vietnam maintains stable and strong growth momentum and is rapidly becoming one of the most dynamic economies in Southeast Asia. Institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank have optimistic expectations for Vietnam's economic growth.
In summary, the Vietnamese economy has shown strong growth momentum in the first three quarters of 2024, mainly due to the increase in exports, industrial production, and foreign investment, while highly relying on external markets, especially the United States and China. In the future, Vietnam's economy will still face challenges from the global economy, but the overall outlook is optimistic.
