Geography and Population

Inland area: 330,991 Km2

Length: 1,650 Km

Width: 600 km at the widest point and 50 km at the narrowest point.

Located on the eastern coast of South-East Asian Indochinese Peninsula, Vietnam shares its borders with Cambodia and Laos to the West, with China to the North and the East Sea to the East. Total coastline and borders stretch 2,500 Km. An estimated 66% of the total area is dominated by the rugged, heavily forested terrain of the Truong Son Range stretching North-South between the intensively cultivated and densely populated Red River (North) and the Mekong River (South) deltas. The highest peak in Vietnam is Fan Si Pan (3,143 m) in the extreme North. A long, narrow coastal plain links the two major river deltas. 22% of the land is arable and 40% is forested.

Vietnam has 91 million inhabitants with an average density of 250 inhabitants/km2.

88% of the population is Viet, 2% Chinese and 1.5% Khmer. 51 ethnic group make up the rest of the population of Vietnam: Muong, Nung, Dao, Thai, Cham, Hmong and various mountain-dwellers.

Read more: How to establish and maintain relationship with Vietnamese people?

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