VND

$NA

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$NA

Currency (code):

dong (VND)

Currency code:

Exchange rates:

dong (VND) per US dollar - 16,119 (2007), 15,983 (2006), 15,746 (2005), NA (2004), 15,510 (2003)

Communications
Vietnam

Telephones - main lines in use:

10.8 million (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

33.2 million (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: Vietnam is putting considerable effort into modernization and expansion of its telecommunication system, but its performance continues to lag behind that of its more modern neighbors domestic: all provincial exchanges are digitalized and connected to Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City by fiber-optic cable or microwave radio relay networks; main lines have been substantially increased, and the use of mobile telephones is growing rapidly international: country code - 84; a landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3, the C2C, and Thailand-Vietnam-Hong Kong submarine cable systems; the Asia-America Gateway submarine cable system, scheduled for completion by the end of 2008, will provide new access links to Asia and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 65, FM 7, shortwave 29 (1999)

Radios:

8.2 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

67 (includes 61 relay, provincial, and city TV stations) (2006)

Televisions:

3.57 million (1997)

Internet country code:

.vn

Internet hosts:

84,151 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

5 (2000)

Internet users:

17.87 million (2007)

Transportation
Vietnam

Airports:

44 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 37 over 3,047 m: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 10 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2007)

Heliports:

1 (2007)

Pipelines:

condensate/gas 432 km; gas 510 km; oil 49 km; refined products 206 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 2,600 km standard gauge: 178 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 2,169 km 1.000-m gauge dual gauge: 253 km three-rail track combining 1.435 m and 1.000-m gauges (2006)

Roadways:

total: 222,179 km paved: 42,167 km unpaved: 180,012 km (2004)

Waterways:

17,702 km (5,000 km navigable by vessels up to 1.8 m draft) (2005)

Merchant marine:

total: 387 by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 36, cargo 280, chemical tanker 12, container 14, liquefied gas 6, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 32, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 2 (Hong Kong 1, Japan 1) registered in other countries: 64 (Honduras 1, Liberia 4, Mongolia 23, Panama 30, Tuvalu 5, unknown 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Da Nang, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City

Transportation - note:

the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial and offshore waters in the South China Sea as high risk for piracy and armed robbery against ships; numerous commercial vessels have been attacked and hijacked both at anchor and while underway; hijacked vessels are often disguised and cargo diverted to ports in East Asia; crews have been murdered or cast adrift

Military
Vietnam

Military branches:

People's Armed Forces: People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) (includes
People's Navy Command (with naval infantry, coast guard), Air and
Air Defense Force (Kon Quan Nhan Dan), Border Defense Command),
People's Public Security Forces, Militia Force, Self-Defense Forces
(2005)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age (male) for compulsory military service; females may volunteer for active duty military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (3 to 4 years in the navy); 18-45 years of age (male) or 18-40 years of age (female) for Militia Force or Self Defense Forces (2006)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 24,586,328 females age 16-49: 24,335,132 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 18,849,274 females age 16-49: 20,575,884 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 903,734 female: 845,306 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

2.5% of GDP (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues
Vietnam

Disputes - international:

southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; Cambodia and Laos protest Vietnamese squatters and armed encroachments along border; an estimated 300,000 Vietnamese refugees reside in China; establishment of a maritime boundary with Cambodia is hampered by unresolved dispute over the sovereignty of offshore islands; demarcation of the China-Vietnam boundary proceeds slowly and although the maritime boundary delimitation and fisheries agreements were ratified in June 2004, implementation has been delayed; China occupies the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; involved in complex dispute with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; Vietnam continues to expand construction of facilities in the Spratly Islands; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands

Illicit drugs:

minor producer of opium poppy; probable minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin; government continues to face domestic opium/heroin/methamphetamine addiction problems despite longstanding crackdowns

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

@Virgin Islands

Introduction
Virgin Islands

Background:

During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848.

Geography
Virgin Islands

Location:

Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic
Ocean, east of Puerto Rico

Geographic coordinates: