The Vietnamese people or the Kinh people (Vietnamese: người Việt or người Kinh), are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam.
They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the
population at the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam. The earliest recorded name for the ancient Vietnamese people appears as Lạc.
Although geographically and linguistically labeled as Southeast
Asians, long periods of Chinese domination and influence have placed the
Vietnamese culturally closer to East Asians, or more specifically their
immediate northern neighbours, the Southern Chinese and other peoples
within South China. The word Việt is shortened from Bách Việt, a name used in ancient times. Nam means "south".
Origins
Written history knows the ancient Vietnamese people first simply as the Lạc or Lạc Việt, and the country of Vietnam as Văn Lang. Archaeological evidence of the Đông Sơn culture (also known as Lac Society) is the result of society from the Bronze Age.
In a 2013 book, professor emeritus of history at UCLA, Damodar R. SarDesai said that Vietnamese people were thought for a long time to have come from Tibet, but SarDesai said that more modern hypotheses indicate that Vietnamese people are a mixture of many peoples, peoples who are Mongoloid and non-Mongoloid. SarDesai said that Vietnamese are a mix of the Mongoloid Yueh (Viet) people, and the Austro-Indonesian people who lived in Guangdong and Guangxi. SarDesai said that, in around the 3rd century BCE, the Viet people moved into the Red River Delta. SarDesai said that, because the Mongoloid Thai people invaded Tonkin in the 8th century CE, the Viet people came across the Mongoloid Thai people. SarDesai said that the Vietnamese language has in it both monotonicIndonesian and "variotonic Mongoloid elements."
SarDesai said that the mixed origins of Vietnamese people explains the
reason that Vietnamese people have in common a variety of animistic beliefs, which are common to all peoples who are Austro-Indonesian.[34][35]
Ann Kumar (1998) said that Michael Pietrusewsky (1992) said that, in a craniometric study, Borneo, Vietnam, Sulu, Java, and Sulawesi are closer to Japan, in that order, than Mongolian and Chinese populations are close to Japan. In the craniometric study, Michael Pietrusewsky (1992) said that, even though Japanese peoplecluster with Mongolians, Chinese and Southeast Asians in a larger Asian cluster, Japanese people are more closely aligned with several mainland and island Southeast Asian samples than with Mongolians and Chinese.[38][39]
Hirofumi Matsumura et al. (2001) said that Japanese people,
Vietnamese people and other modern Southeast Asians are regarded to be a
mix of migrants from Northeast Asia and indigenous Southeast Asians who
are closely related to Australo-Melanesians.[40]
Hirofumi Matsumura et al. (2011) said that the earliest anatomically modern humans
in Northern Vietnam are called Sonvians or Hoabinhians. The oldest
anatomically modern human culture in Northern Vietnam is the Son Vi Culture which starts at 30,000 BP. Later, the Hoabinhian Culture starts at 18,000 BP. The Hoabinhians samples in the study were consistently classified craniometrically as having close Australo-Melanesian affinity. Hoabinhians may have common ancestry with Aboriginal Australians and Melanesians. Coinciding with the terminal Hoabinhian, the Bac Son Culture is a phase from c. 9000 to 7000 years BP. Hoabinhians and Bac Son specimens tend to show "dolichocephaliccalvaria, large zygomatic bones, a remarkably prominent glabella and superciliary arches, a concavenasal root and a low and wide face with prominent prognathism." Examples of extensive population change in Northern Vietnam, which are
probably associated with large scale admixture with Northeast Asians,
are particularly evident from the Neolithic and early Metal Period. The study defined the term "Neolithic" as it is used in the study to mean the "pre-metal communities that show clear evidence for agriculturalsubsistence economies..." Man Bac, a Neolithic site which is dated to 3900–3500 years BP,
may show a population in transition where there occurs the first
appearance of people with genetic inheritance from the northern
periphery of Vietnam, which is present-day South China, along with the indigenous people
whose ancestry traces back to the Hoabinhians. In contrast to the
Hoabinhians and Bac Son specimens, most the specimens from the Metal
Period have "relatively narrow faces, low glabella, supercillary arches and nasal roots and round orbits."
Matsumura and Hudson (2005) said that a broad comparison of dental
traits indicated that modern Vietnamese and other modern Southeast
Asians derive from a northern source, supporting the immigration hypothesis, instead of regional continuity hypothesis, as the model for the origins of modern Southeast Asians.[44]
Genetics
Vietnamese show a close genetic relationship with other East Asians with the exception of seven unique markers.[which?][45] The reference population for Vietnamese (Kinh) used in the Geno 2.0 Next Generation is 83% Southeast Asia & Oceania, 12% Eastern Asia and 3% Southern Asia.[46]
Jin Han-jun et al. (1999) said that the mtDNA 9‐bp deletion frequencies in the intergenicCOII/tRNALys region for Vietnamese (23.2%) and Indonesians
(25.0%), which are the two populations constituting Southeast Asians in
the study, are relatively high frequencies when compared to the 9-bp
deletion frequencies for Mongolians (5.1%), Chinese (14.2%), Japanese (14.3%) and Koreans
(15.5%), which are the four populations constituting Northeast Asians
in the study. The study said that these 9-bp deletion frequencies are
consistent with earlier surveys which showed that 9-bp deletion
frequencies increase going from Japan to mainland Asia to the Malay Peninsula,
which is supported by the following studies: Horai et al. (1987);
Hertzberg et al. (1989); Stoneking & Wilson (1989); Horai (1991);
Ballinger et al. (1992); Hanihara et al. (1992); and Chen et al. (1995).
The Cavalli-Sforza's chord genetic distance (4D), from Cavalli-Sforza & Bodmer (1971), which is based on the allele frequencies of the intergenic COII/tRNALys
region, between Vietnamese and other East Asian populations in the
study, from least to greatest, are as follows: Vietnamese to Indonesian (0.0004), Vietnamese to Chinese (0.0135), Vietnamese to Japanese (0.0153), Vietnamese to Korean (0.0265) and Vietnamese to Mongolian (0.0750).[47]
Kim Wook et al. (2000) said that, genetically, Vietnamese people more probably clustered with Northeast Asians of which the study analyzed DNA samples of Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and Mongolians rather than with Southeast Asians of which the study analyzed DNA samples of Indonesians, Filipinos, Thais and Vietnamese. The study said that Vietnamese people were the only population in the study's phylogenetic
analysis that did not reflect a sizable genetic difference between
Northeast Asian and Southeast Asian populations. The study said that the
likely reason for Vietnamese people more probably clustering with
Northeast Asians was genetic drift and distinct founder populations. The study said that the alternative reason for Vietnamese people more probably clustering with Northeast Asians is a recent range expansion from South China. The study mentioned that the majority of its Vietnamese DNA samples were from Hanoi which is the closest region to South China.[48]
Schurr & Wallace (2002) said that Vietnamese people display genetic similarities with peoples from Malaysia. The study said that the aboriginal groups from Malaysia, the Orang Asli, are somewhat genetically intermediate between Malaysians and Vietnamese. The study said that mtDNA haplogroupF
is present at its highest frequency in Vietnamese and a high frequency
of this haplogroup is also present in the Orang Asli, a people with whom
Vietnamese have a linguistic connection (Austroasiatic languages).[49]
Jung Jongsun et al. (2010) said that genetic structure analysis found significant admixture in "Vietnamese (or Cambodian) with unknown Southern original settlers." The study said that it used Cambodians and Vietnamese to represent "Southern people," and the study used Cambodia (Khmer) and Vietnam (Kinh) as its populations for "South Asia." The study said that Chinese people are located between Korean and Vietnamese people in the study's genome map. The study also said that Vietnamese people are located between Chinese and Cambodian people in the study's genome map.[50]
He Jun-dong et al. (2012) did a principal component analysis using the NRY haplogroup
distribution frequencies of 45 populations, and the second principal
component showed a close affinity between Kinh and Vietnamese who were
most likely Kinh with populations from mainland southern China because of the high frequency of NRY haplogroup O-M88. The study said that Kinh often have NRY haplogroup O-M7 which is the characteristic Chinese haplogroup. Out of the study's sample
of seventy-six Kinh NRY haplogroups, twenty-three haplogroups (30.26%)
were O-M88 and eight haplogroups (10.53%) were O-M7. The study said
that, in northern Vietnam, it is suggested that there has been
considerable Chinese assimilation through immigration into the Kinh
people.[51]
A 2015 study revealed that Vietnamese (Kinh) test subjects showed
more genetic variants in common with Chinese compared to Japanese.[52]
Sara Pischedda et al. (2017) said that modern Vietnamese have a major part of their origins from South China and a minor part of their origins from a Thai and Indonesian composite. The study said that admixture analysis indicates that Vietnamese Kinh have a major part which is most common in Chinese and two minor parts which have the highest prevalence in the Bidayuh of Malaysia and the Proto-Malay. The study said that multidimensional scaling analysis indicates that Vietnamese Kinh have a closeness to Malaysians,
Thai and Chinese, and the study said that Malaysians and Thai are the
samples which could be admixed with Chinese in the Vietnamese gene pool.
The study said that Vietnamese mtDNA
genetic variation matches well with the pattern seen in Southeast Asia,
and the study said that most Vietnamese people had mtDNA haplotypes that clustered in cladesM7 (20%) and R9’F (27%) which are clades that also dominate maternal lineages in Southeast Asia more generally.[53]
Y-chromosome DNA
Kayser et al. (2006) found four members of O-M95, four members of O-M122(xM134), one member of C-M217, and one member of O-M119 in a sample of ten individuals from Vietnam.[54]
He Jun-dong et al. (2012) found that the NRY haplogroup profile for a sample of 76 Kinh in Hanoi, Vietnam was as follows: twenty-three (30.26%) belonged to O-M88, nine (11.84%) belonged to O-M95*(xM88), nine (11.84%) belonged to C-M217, eight (10.53%) belonged to O-M7, seven (9.21%) belonged to O-M134, seven (9.21%) belonged to O-P200*(xM121, M164, P201, 002611), five (6.58%) belonged to O-P203, two (2.63%) belonged to N-M231, two (2.63%) belonged to O-002611, two (2.63%) belonged to O-P201*(xM7, M134), one (1.32%) belonged to K-P131*(xN-M231, O-P191, Q-P36, R-M207), and one (1.32%) belonged to R-M17.[51]
Having analyzed the Y-DNA of another sample of 24 males from Hanoi, Vietnam, Trejaut et al. (2014) found that six (25.0%) belonged to O-M88, three (12.5%) belonged to O-M7, three (12.5%) belonged to O-M134(xM133), two (8.3%) belonged to O-M95(xM88), two (8.3%) belonged to C-M217, two (8.3%) belonged to N-LLY22g(xM128, M178), one (4.2%) belonged to O-PK4(xM95), one (4.2%) belonged to O-JST002611, one (4.2%) belonged to O-M133, one (4.2%) belonged to O-M159, one (4.2%) belonged to O-M119(xP203, M50), and one (4.2%) belonged to D-M15.[55]
Schurr & Wallace (2002) displayed the mtDNA haplogroup profile for a sample of 28 Vietnamese as follows: 17.9% belonged to B/B*, 32.1% belonged to F, 32.1% belonged to M and 17.9% belonged to other haplogroups.[49]
He Jun-dong et al. (2012) found that the mtDNA haplogroup profile for a sample of 139 Kinh was as follows: twenty-four (17.27%) belonged to B4, nineteen (13.67%) belonged to B5, one (0.72%) belonged to B6, four (2.88%) belonged to D, twenty-nine (20.86%) belonged to F, one (0.72%) belonged to G, seven (5.04%) belonged to M*, twenty-one (15.11%) belonged to M7, twelve (8.63%) belonged to M8, four (2.88%) belonged to M9a'b, one (0.72%) belonged to M10, two (1.44%) belonged to M12, one (0.72%) belonged to N*, two (1.44%) belonged to N9a, ten (7.19%) belonged to R9 and one (0.72%) belonged to W4.[51]
Sara Pischedda et al. (2017) found that the mtDNA haplogroup profile for a sample of 399 Kinh was as follows: 1% belonged to A, 23% belonged to B, 2% belonged to C, 4% belonged to D, 35% belonged to M (xD,C), 8% belonged to N(xB,R9'F,A) and 27% belonged to R9'F.[53]
Genetic contribution to Koreans
Bhak Jong-hwa, a professor in the biomedical engineering department at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), said that the ancient Vietnamese, which was a population that flourished with rapid agricultural development after 8,000 BC, slowly travelled north to ancient civilizations in the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East. Bhak said that Korean people were formed from the admixture of agricultural Southern Mongoloids from Vietnam who went through China, hunter-gatherer Northern Mongoloids in the Korean Peninsula and another group of Southern Mongoloids. Bhak said, "We
believe the number of ancient dwellers who migrated north from Vietnam
far exceeds the number of those occupying the peninsula," making Koreans inherit more of their DNA from southerners.[59][60]
In later history, there was intermarriage between the
aristocracies of Korea and Vietnam, especially with that involving an
heir of the Lý Dynasty, Lý Long Tường, who was exiled to Goryeo and who was to become the progenitor of the Hwasan Lee clan that would take root on the Korean peninsula.
Legend and early history
According to legend, the first Vietnamese descended from the dragon lord Lạc Long Quân and the female heavenly angel Âu Cơ. They married and had one hundred eggs, from which hatched one hundred children. Their eldest son ruled as the Hùng king.
First Vietnamese
Historians believe that the earliest Vietnamese people gradually moved from the Indonesian archipelago through the Malay Peninsula and Thailand until they settled on the edges of the Red River in the Tonkin Delta.[citation needed] Archaeologists follow a path of stone tools from the Late Pleistocene
across Java, Malaysia, Thailand and north to Burma. These stone tools
are thought to be the first human tools used in Southeast Asia.
Archaeologists believe that at this time the Himalayas, a chain of
mountains in northern Burma and China, created an icy barrier which
isolated the people of Southeast Asia. During the Last Glacial Maximum
(25,000-18,000 BCE), ocean levels dropped significantly. This resulted
in the exposure of the shallow areas surrounding the coasts and islands
of Southeast Asia - today known as the Sunda Shelf.
It is generally thought[citation needed]
that the exposed Sunda Shelf looked like a giant salt plain, and that
perhaps people ventured out across this area to settle on other coasts
or islands. Later, when the glaciers melted, the Sunda Shelf again
disappeared under water. Because it is a relatively shallow body of
water, it has always provided a safe area for traders and travelers in
small boats to pass safely without the threat of high or choppy seas. In
this way, the geography of the area has had a lot to do with the way in
which cultures developed. As the map indicates, outside the Sunda Shelf
are deep ocean basins which were not often crossed until heavier and
wider Chinese vessels (massive vessels from the Song dynasty (960-1279), which dwarfed later European man-of-war sailing ships) could traverse these deep and sometimes dangerous seas.
As the glaciers melted and the seas near these coasts rose,
traders and other travelers who wanted to migrate to other areas, or
perhaps to proselytize religion, used boats as transport. For the next
4,000 years, until 8000 BCE, people also moved across the mainland of
Southeast Asia towards the Tonkin Delta, some stopping and settling
along the way. Eventually, the descendants of these migratory peoples
entered the Neolithic Age (from around 8000-800 BCE), when humans
started to use simple stone tools. Remains of these people and the Hoabinhian culture have been found in the Hòa Bình Caves along the Red River and in the Tonkin Delta. In the Middle Neolithic Period (2500–2000 BCE), more people appeared in the area of present-day Vietnam and settled at another location called Bắc Sơn, in a central area of the Tonkin Delta. These people were probably somewhat taller and lighter-skinned than the Hoabinhian negritos; they excelled in the art of basket weaving as well as in the manufacturing and use of polished double-edged stone tools.
Sometime after the advent of the societies found at Hòa Bình and Bắc
Sơn, another group of people developed a culture in what is modern Nghệ An Province, where an aspect of their religion was manifested in large mounds of mollusk shells which had been collected from the Red River Delta. Bodies had been buried under these piles of shells in a seated position
with bent knees - in the same position as many buried bodies found
throughout Indonesia and the Philippines. This signifies to
archaeologists that these early people had an advanced society based on
fishing and that their religion was oriented toward the sea. At a
location further south of the Tonkin Delta, in the central region of Vietnam's coast, remains of another culture have been found at Sa Huỳnh. The Sa Huỳnh culture
existed from about 4000 to 1000 BCE. Tools, ornamental beads, and
funerary jars have also been found at these archaeological sites. These
jars were usually located at the water's edge and probably signified a
dead person's journey out to sea.
Throughout Southeast Asia, the Neolithic Period can be considered
the period in which organized societies developed. During this period
the Vietnamese people spread across a large area from the foothills of
the Annamite Range to the eastern coast of Northern Vietnam.
It is thought that they lived in small communities with groups of
extended families living in a simple communal way. The growing of rice,
their staple food, had developed into two distinct methods, shifting
cultivation, done on a dry field, usually in upland areas, and wet rice
cultivation, which involved the construction of dikes around rivers that
collected water into knee-deep ponds in which the rice was grown.
Cultural and historical influences
North
Before the Chinese actually colonized Vietnam, groups from southern
China began to move into the Tonkin Delta in order to start new lives
after being forced to leave their homelands. Thus, around the 3rd
century BC, changes in China began to heavily influence the Đông Sơn culture
which was thriving in Vietnam. One important series of changes occurred
along the Yangtze River in southern China. According to historians, in
333 BC, three cultures, the Shu, the Ch'u, and the Yueh
began to fight among themselves, causing the Yueh to move south in
small scattered kingdoms. At the same time, the central power of
northern China, the Ch'in Dynasty, began to split so that a large number
of princes and members of the aristocracy also moved south to start
their own small kingdoms. Sino-Vietnamese 越 gave the name "Viet".
The people of the Red River civilizations, also known as Lac society,
began to feel the effects of these newcomers who gradually moved into
their homelands. Many historians believe that it was not difficult for
the Yueh to be incorporated into Lac society. However, the Au Lac lords
began to fight with the Ch'in princes. While they were involved in this
fighting, another group from the northwest, the Thuc (who had once been
the Shu of the Yangtze River) took advantage of weakness in the area and
asserted their authority. The legendary Cổ Loa Citadel, the remains of which can still be seen today. An Dương Vương's arrival explains the origins of the legendary Âu Lạc kingdom which is usually associated with the height of Đông Sơn culture. Vietnamese language may be representative of these influences.
South
Vietnam today is characterized by two major river deltas, the Red River Delta in the north and the Mekong Delta
in the south. In prehistoric times, before the ethnic Vietnamese moved
southward, another kingdom formed along the coasts north of the Mekong
Delta. It was composed of Malayo-Polynesian people and was highly
influenced by Indian and Indonesian traders and religious people. This
area developed into the kingdom of Champa which was similar to other Hindu-Buddhist civilizations which were being formed in Indonesia, Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia.
Champa
did not become an established kingdom until 192 AD after which time it
became quite advanced with walled cities, books and archives, palaces,
and monuments, many of which were built by slaves. Residents of Champa
were able to grow two crops of rice per year with a sophisticated
system of irrigation which was overseen by a water chief, someone
selected to monitor the irrigation ditches and canals. While some cities
in Champa remained centers of religion and trade, this kingdom was
mostly made up of small territories in river valleys and on coastal
plains, each with a local ruler who was seen by his subjects as a
representative of the gods. The height of Cham civilization occurred
during the 6th to 8th centuries. At this time, much trading occurred
between the Chams and the highlanders who needed salt as well as with
coastal villages in Vietnam and with China. Important trade items
included elephant and rhinoceros tusks, cardamom, bee wax, aromatic
woods and betel nut.
However, when times were not going well in the small coastal
city-states, the people turned to looting and pirating in other coastal
towns of Champa and Vietnam. After centuries of these pirate raids, the
Vietnamese began to fight back and eventually conquered Champa, but not
before many aspects of Cham society were incorporated into the societies
of Vietnam Cham society is organized in a cluster of City-States, not
very different from ancient Greece, in contrast of centralized
Vietnamese society influenced by China in the north.
Prehistoric mythology
The movement and changing cultures of early Vietnam are explained
through myths which give historians insight into what might have
happened in the Dong Son era. The most well-known origin myth says the
first Vietnamese people originated from the marriage of a dragon father
and a fairy mother who had 100 sons. Because the dragon was a water
creature and the fairy was a land creature, they decided they could no
longer stay together. The fairy mother took 50 sons to the highlands,
and the dragon father took 50 sons to the coast. One of the sons who
went with the dragon father became the founder of the Hung Dynasty which
is thought to have existed from as early as 2769 BC until 100 AD. The
50 sons who went to the coast are considered to be the people of the Lac
Kingdom. According to historians and archaeologists, the Lac people
were coastal people who had developed a sophisticated wet rice
agricultural society from as early as 1500 BC. The Hungs, as depicted in
the mythology, were mountain people who are believed to have had a
reciprocal agreement with the Lac Kingdom so that the Hungs protected
the Lacs from aggressive mountain groups in return for rice and other
crops grown on the coastal plains of the Red River. These mythological
stories, which in many cases can be matched with archaeological remains,
tell of the joining of fire and water, or the earth people and the
water people. The joining of these two elements has both historical and
religious meaning.[61]
Percentage of Vietnamese people, by province (2009)[62]
<20 div="">
20%-40%
40%-60%
60%-80%
80%-95%
>95%
Many historians believe that the original people of Vietnam came both
overland and across the water bringing different cultures, languages,
and types of people together in the Tonkin Delta. Some historians
believe that the water god of the Dong Son people was the frog, which
might explain the many frogs found on the Dong Son drums and might
indicate that the first Dong Son people arrived in Vietnam by sea. Later
this symbol was changed to the dragon following Chinese mythology.
These origin myths were not written down by the Vietnamese people until
about the 13th century AD, long after the Vietnamese had been colonized
by the Chinese.[63]
Origin myths also show how the early Vietnamese people saw themselves
in terms of their environment. Since water and sun were the most
important elements of nature, they were incorporated into their
mythology in a way which gave the people and the elements a common
origin. Much of early Vietnamese religion involved nature and human
relationships with their surroundings. The early Vietnamese people
compared the soil, the water, and the sun to God in animism.
In these elements there was energy which benefited the people and the
greater power to help or to destroy. At times this power was compared to
that of a child who may cause great destruction without even realizing
it. In the earliest times people believed in ghosts and spirits which
were thought to dwell in every tree, stone, mountain, cloud, stream, and
animal. Rocks and mountains were thought to be able to multiply. These
spirits were said to be the wandering souls of the dead, the ancestors
of the people who had settled nearby. This type of religion is known as
an ancestor cult. Because the ancestor spirits were the medium between
living people and the greater forces of nature, they had to be honored
in rituals and sacrifices in order to maintain harmony between the
elements, the spirits, the ancestors, and the people. Later, as the
Vietnamese people were converted to Buddhism, Taoism, and then Confucianism by the Chinese, most villagers maintained these original beliefs—especially those involving ancestor cult
and incorporated them into the new religions. This is an example of
"creative borrowing" by a people while their own culture remains a
strong underlying force.[64]
Early historical period
Chinese histories refer to the early inhabitants of southern China and northern Vietnam as the Baiyue, also shortened to Yuè,[65] which is cognate to Vietnamese Việt. In 258 BCE An Dương Vương founded the kingdom of Âu Lạc in the area of present-day northern Vietnam. In 208 BC, Zhao Tuo, a former Qin dynasty general from China, allied with the leaders of the Yue in the area of modern-day Guangdong and declared himself king of the Nanyue "Southern Yue". He defeated An Dương Vương and combined Âu Lạc with his territories in southern China.
Originally from northern Vietnam and southern China, the Vietnamese have conquered much of the land belonging to the former Champa Kingdom and Khmer Empire
over the centuries. They are the dominant ethnic group in most
provinces of Vietnam, and constitute a significant portion of the
population of Cambodia.
Beginning around the sixteenth century, groups of Vietnamese
migrated to Cambodia and China for commerce and political purposes.
Descendants of Vietnamese migrants in China form the Gin ethnic group in the country and primarily reside in and around Guangxi Province. Vietnamese form the largest ethnic minority group in Cambodia, at 5% of the population.[66] Under the Khmer Rouge, they were heavily persecuted and survivors of the regime largely fled to Vietnam.
During French colonialism,
Vietnam was regarded as the most important colony in Asia by the French
colonial powers, and the Vietnamese had a higher social standing than
other ethnic groups in French Indochina.[67]
As a result, educated Vietnamese were often trained to be placed in
colonial government positions in the other Asian French colonies of Laos
and Cambodia rather than locals of the respective colonies. There was
also a significant representation of Vietnamese students in France
during this period, primarily consisting of members of the elite class. A
large number of Vietnamese also migrated to France as workers,
especially during World War I and World War II,
when France recruited soldiers and locals of its colonies to help with
war efforts in Metropolitan France. The wave of migrants to France
during World War I formed the first major presence of Vietnamese people
in France and the Western world.[68]
When Vietnam gained its independence from France in 1954, a
number of Vietnamese loyal to the colonial government also migrated to
France. During the partition of Vietnam into North and South,
a number of South Vietnamese students also arrived to study in France,
along with individuals involved in commerce for trade with France, which
was a principal economic partner with South Vietnam.[68]
The Fall of Saigon and end of the Vietnam War
prompted the start of the Vietnamese diaspora, which saw millions of
Vietnamese fleeing the country from the new communist regime.
Recognizing an international humanitarian crisis, many countries
accepted Vietnamese refugees, primarily the United States, France, Australia and Canada.[69] Meanwhile, under the new communist regime, tens of thousands of Vietnamese were sent to work or study in Eastern Bloc
counties of Central and Eastern Europe as development aid to the
Vietnamese government and for migrants to acquire skills that were to be
brought home to help with development.[70]
However, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a vast majority of these
overseas Vietnamese decided to remain in their host nations.
The northern part of Vietnam was part of Imperial China
for over a millennium, from 111 BC to AD 939. An independent Vietnamese
state was formed in 939, following a Vietnamese victory in the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Successive Vietnamese imperial dynasties flourished as the nation expanded geographically and politically into Southeast Asia, until the Indochina Peninsula was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century.
Following a Japanese occupation in the 1940s, the Vietnamese fought French rule in the First Indochina War. On 2 September 1945 President Hồ Chí Minh
declared Vietnam's independence from France under the new name of the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam. In 1954, the Vietnamese declared victory
in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu,
which took place between March and May 1954 and culminated in a major
French defeat. Thereafter, Vietnam was divided politically into two
rival states, North Vietnam (officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (officially the Republic of Vietnam). Conflict between the two sides intensified in what is known as the Vietnam War, with heavy intervention by the United States on the side of South Vietnam from 1965 to 1973. The war ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975.
The name Việt Nam (Vietnamese pronunciation: [viə̀t naːm]) is a variation of Nam Việt (Chinese: 南越; pinyin: Nányuè; literally "Southern Việt"), a name that can be traced back to the Triệu Dynasty of the 2nd century BC.[14] The word Việt originated as a shortened form of Bách Việt (Chinese: 百越; pinyin: Bǎiyuè), a group of people then living in southern China and Vietnam.[15] The form "Vietnam" (越南) is first recorded in the 16th-century oracular poem Sấm Trạng Trình. The name has also been found on 12 steles carved in the 16th and 17th centuries, including one at Bao Lam Pagoda in Haiphong that dates to 1558.[16]
In 1802, Nguyễn Phúc Ánh established the Nguyễn dynasty, and in the second year, he asked the Qing Emperor Jiaqing to confer him the title 'King of Nam Viet/Nanyue' (南越 in Chinese), but the Grand Secretariat of Qing dynasty pointed out that the name Nam Viet/Nanyue includes regions of Guangxi and Guangdong in China.
Archaeological excavations have revealed the existence of humans in what is now Vietnam as early as the Paleolithic age. Homo erectus fossils dating to around 500,000 BC have been found in caves in Lạng Sơn and Nghệ An provinces in northern Vietnam.[19] The oldest Homo sapiens fossils from mainland Southeast Asia are of Middle Pleistocene provenance, and include isolated tooth fragments from Tham Om and Hang Hum.[20] Teeth attributed to Homo sapiens from the Late Pleistocene have also been found at Dong Can,[21] and from the Early Holocene at Mai Da Dieu,[21] Lang Gao[22] and Lang Cuom.[23]
Map of Vietnam showing the conquest of the south (the Nam tiến), 1069–1757
900 AD
1100 AD
1475 AD
1650 AD
1760 AD
For the next thousand years, what is now northern Vietnam remained mostly under Chinese rule.[27] Early independence movements, such as those of the Trưng Sisters and Lady Triệu, were only temporarily successful, though the region gained a longer period of independence as Vạn Xuân under the Anterior Lý dynasty between AD 544 and 602.[28] By the early 10th century, Vietnam had gained autonomy, but not sovereignty, under the Khúc family.
In AD 938, the Vietnamese lord Ngô Quyền defeated the forces of the Chinese Southern Han state at Bạch Đằng River and achieved full independence for Vietnam after a millennium of Chinese domination.[29] Renamed as Đại Việt (Great Viet), the nation enjoyed a golden era under the Lý and Trần dynasties. During the rule of the Trần Dynasty, Đại Việt repelled three Mongol invasions.[30] Meanwhile, Buddhism flourished and became the state religion.
Following the 1406–7 Ming–Hồ War which overthrew the Hồ dynasty, Vietnamese independence was briefly interrupted by the Chinese Ming dynasty, but was restored by Lê Lợi, the founder of the Lê dynasty. The Vietnamese dynasties reached their zenith in the Lê dynasty of the 15th century, especially during the reign of Emperor Lê Thánh Tông (1460–1497). Between the 11th and 18th centuries, Vietnam expanded southward in a process known as nam tiến ("southward expansion"),[31] eventually conquering the kingdom of Champa and part of the Khmer Empire.[32][33]
From the 16th century onward, civil strife and frequent political
infighting engulfed much of Vietnam. First, the Chinese-supported Mạc dynasty
challenged the Lê dynasty's power. After the Mạc dynasty was defeated,
the Lê dynasty was nominally reinstalled, but actual power was divided
between the northern Trịnh lords and the southern Nguyễn lords, who engaged in a civil war
for more than four decades before a truce was called in the 1670s.
During this time, the Nguyễn expanded southern Vietnam into the Mekong Delta, annexing the Central Highlands and the Khmer lands in the Mekong Delta.
The division of the country ended a century later when the Tây Sơn
brothers established a new dynasty. However, their rule did not last
long, and they were defeated by the remnants of the Nguyễn lords, led by
Nguyễn Ánh and aided by the French.[34] Nguyễn Ánh unified Vietnam, and established the Nguyễn dynasty, ruling under the name Gia Long.
Vietnam's independence was gradually eroded by France
– aided by large Catholic militias – in a series of military conquests
between 1859 and 1885. In 1862, the southern third of the country became
the French colony of Cochinchina.
By 1884, the entire country had come under French rule, with the
Central and Northern parts of Vietnam separated in the two protectorates
of Annam and Tonkin. The three Vietnameses entities were formally integrated into the union of French Indochina
in 1887. The French administration imposed significant political and
cultural changes on Vietnamese society. A Western-style system of modern
education was developed, and Roman Catholicism was propagated widely. Most French settlers in Indochina were concentrated in Cochinchina, particularly in the region of Saigon.[35] The royalist Cần Vương movement rebelled against French rule and was defeated in the 1890s after a decade of resistance. Guerrillas of the Cần Vương movement murdered around a third of Vietnam's Christian population during this period.[36]
In 1941, the Viet Minh—a communist and nationalist liberation movement—emerged under the Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh,
who sought independence for Vietnam from France and the end of the
Japanese occupation. Following the military defeat of Japan and the fall
of its puppet Empire of Vietnam in August 1945, the Viet Minh occupied Hanoi and proclaimed a provisional government, which asserted national independence on 2 September. In the same year, the Provisional Government of the French Republic sent the French Far East Expeditionary Corps to restore colonial rule, and the Viet Minh began a guerrilla campaign against the French in late 1946.[39] The resulting First Indochina War lasted until July 1954.[40]
The defeat of French and Vietnamese loyalists in the 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu allowed Ho Chi Minh to negotiate a ceasefire from a favorable position at the subsequent Geneva Conference.
The colonial administration was ended and French Indochina was
dissolved under the Geneva Accords of 1954 into three countries:
Vietnam and the Kingdoms of Cambodia and Laos. Vietnam was further divided into North and South administrative regions at the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone, approximately along the 17th parallel north, pending elections scheduled for July 1956.[f] A 300-day period of free movement was permitted, during which almost a million northerners, mainly Catholics, moved south, fearing persecution by the communists.
The partition of Vietnam
was not intended to be permanent by the Geneva Accords, which
stipulated that Vietnam would be reunited after elections in 1956.[44] However, in 1955, the State of Vietnam's Prime Minister, Ngô Đình Diệm, toppled Bảo Đại in a fraudulent referendum organised by his brother Ngô Đình Nhu, and proclaimed himself president of the Republic of Vietnam.[45] At that point the internationally recognized State of Vietnam effectively ceased to exist and was replaced by the Republic of Vietnam in the south and Ho Chi Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the north.
The pro-Hanoi Viet Cong began a guerrilla campaign in the late 1950s to overthrow Diệm's government.[46] Between 1953 and 1956, the North Vietnamese government instituted various agrarian reforms, including "rent reduction" and "land reform",
which resulted in significant political oppression. During the land
reform, testimony from North Vietnamese witnesses suggested a ratio of
one execution for every 160 village residents, which extrapolated
nationwide would indicate nearly 100,000 executions. Because the
campaign was concentrated mainly in the Red River Delta area, a lower
estimate of 50,000 executions became widely accepted by scholars at the
time. However, declassified documents from the Vietnamese and Hungarian
archives indicate that the number of executions was much lower than
reported at the time, although likely greater than 13,500.[51]
In the South, Diệm countered North Vietnamese subversion (including the
assassination of over 450 South Vietnamese officials in 1956) by
detaining tens of thousands of suspected communists in "political
reeducation centers". This was a ruthless program that incarcerated many
non-communists, although it was also successful at curtailing communist
activity in the country, if only for a time. The North Vietnamese
government claimed that 2,148 individuals were killed in the process by
November 1957.[52] In 1960 and 1962, the Soviet Union and North Vietnam signed treaties providing for further Soviet military support.
In 1963, Buddhist discontent with Diệm's regime erupted into mass demonstrations, leading to a violent government crackdown.[53] This led to the collapse of Diệm's relationship with the United States, and ultimately to the 1963 coup in which Diệm and Nhu were assassinated.[54] The Diệm era was followed by more than a dozen successive military governments, before the pairing of Air Marshal Nguyễn Cao Kỳ and General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu
took control in mid-1965. Thieu gradually outmaneuvered Ky and cemented
his grip on power in fraudulent elections in 1967 and 1971.[55] Under this political instability, the communists began to gain ground.
To support South Vietnam's struggle against the communist
insurgency, the United States began increasing its contribution of
military advisers, using the 1964 Tonkin Gulf incident
as a pretext for such intervention. US forces became involved in ground
combat operations in 1965, and at their peak they numbered more than
500,000.[56][57] The US also engaged in a sustained aerial bombing campaign. Meanwhile, China and the Soviet Union provided North Vietnam with significant material aid and 15,000 combat advisers.[58][59] Communist forces supplying the Viet Cong carried supplies along the Ho Chi Minh trail, which passed through Laos.[60]
The communists attacked South Vietnamese targets during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Although the campaign failed militarily, it shocked the American establishment, and turned US public opinion against the war.[61][62] During the offensive, communist troops massacred over 3,000 civilians at Hue.[63]
Facing an increasing casualty count, rising domestic opposition to the
war, and growing international condemnation, the US began withdrawing from ground combat roles in the early 1970s. This process also entailed an unsuccessful effort to strengthen and stabilize South Vietnam.[64]
Following the Paris Peace Accords of 27 January 1973, all American combat troops were withdrawn by 29 March 1973. In December 1974, North Vietnam captured the province of Phước Long and started a full-scale offensive, culminating in the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975.[65] South Vietnam was briefly ruled by a provisional government
while under military occupation by North Vietnam. On 2 July 1976, North
and South Vietnam were merged to form the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam.[3] The war left Vietnam devastated, with the total death toll standing at between 966,000 and 3.8 million.[38][66][67]
In the aftermath of the war, under Lê Duẩn's
administration, there were no mass executions of South Vietnamese who
had collaborated with the U.S. or the Saigon government, confounding
Western fears.[68] However, up to 300,000 South Vietnamese were sent to reeducation camps, where many endured torture, starvation, and disease while being forced to perform hard labor.[69] The government embarked on a mass campaign of collectivization of farms and factories.[70] This caused
economic chaos and resulted in triple-digit inflation, while national
reconstruction efforts progressed slowly. In 1978, the Vietnamese
military invaded Cambodia to remove from power the Khmer Rouge, who had been attacking Vietnamese border villages.[71] Vietnam was victorious, installing a government in Cambodia which ruled until 1989.[72] This action worsened relations with the Chinese, who launched a brief incursion into northern Vietnam in 1979.[73] This conflict caused Vietnam to rely even more heavily on Soviet economic and military aid.
At the Sixth National Congress
of the Communist Party of Vietnam in December 1986, reformist
politicians replaced the "old guard" government with new leadership.[74][75] The reformers were led by 71-year-old Nguyễn Văn Linh, who became the party's new general secretary.[74][75] Linh and the reformers implemented a series of free-market reforms – known as Đổi Mới ("Renovation") – which carefully managed the transition from a planned economy to a "socialist-oriented market economy".
Though the authority of the state remained unchallenged under Đổi Mới,
the government encouraged private ownership of farms and factories,
economic deregulation and foreign investment, while maintaining control
over strategic industries.[77]
The Vietnamese economy subsequently achieved strong growth in
agricultural and industrial production, construction, exports and
foreign investment. These reforms have also caused a rise in income
inequality and gender disparities.[78][79][80]
The Presidential Palace in Hanoi, formerly the Palace of The Governor-General of French Indochina
Vietnam's current (2013) constitution asserts the central role of the Communist Party of Vietnam in all organs of politics and society.[81] The General Secretary
of the Communist Party performs numerous key administrative functions,
controlling the party's national organization. President performs
executive functions and state appointments, as well as setting policy.
Only political organizations affiliated with or endorsed by the
Communist Party are permitted to contest elections in Vietnam. These
include the Vietnamese Fatherland Front and worker and trade unionist parties. Although the state remains officially committed to socialism as its defining creed, its economic policies have grown increasingly capitalist,[82] with The Economist characterizing its leadership as "ardently capitalist communists".[83]
The Communist Party's propaganda poster commemorating the 80th founding and equating the party with "peace, prosperity and happiness"
Legislature
The National Assembly of Vietnam is the unicamerallegislature of the state, composed of 498 members.[84] The legislature is open to all parties.[84] Headed by a Chairman,
it is superior to both the executive and judicial branches, with all
government ministers being appointed from members of the National
Assembly.
Executive
The President of Vietnam is the elected head of state and the commander-in-chief
of the military, serving as the Chairman of the Council of Supreme
Defense and Security, holds the second highest office in Vietnam. The Prime Minister of Vietnam is the head of government, presiding over a council of ministers composed of five deputy prime ministers and the heads of 26 ministries and commissions.
Vietnam is divided into 58 provinces (Vietnamese: tỉnh, from the Chinese 省, shěng).[86] There are also five municipalities (thành phố trực thuộc trung ương), which are administratively on the same level as provinces.
The provinces are subdivided into provincial municipalities (thành phố trực thuộc tỉnh), townships (thị xã) and counties (huyện), which are in turn subdivided into towns (thị trấn) or communes (xã). The centrally controlled municipalities are subdivided into districts (quận) and counties, which are further subdivided into wards (phường).
Foreign relations
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accompanies U.S. President Donald Trump to a commercial deals signing ceremony with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, on November 12, 2017
Throughout its history, Vietnam's key foreign relationship has been
with its largest neighbour and one-time imperial master, China.
Vietnam's sovereign principles and insistence on cultural independence
have been laid down in numerous documents over the centuries, such as
the 11th-century patriotic poem Nam quốc sơn hà and the 1428 proclamation of independenceBình Ngô đại cáo. Though China and Vietnam are now formally at peace, significant territorial tensions in the South China Sea remain between the two countries.[87]
Currently, the formal mission statement of Vietnamese foreign
policy is to: "Implement consistently the foreign policy line of
independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development; the
foreign policy of openness and diversification and multi-lateralization
of international relations. Proactively and actively engage in
international economic integration while expanding international
cooperation in other fields."[88]
Vietnam furthermore declares itself to be "a friend and reliable
partner of all countries in the international community, actively taking
part in international and regional cooperation processes".[88]
Key steps had been taken by Vietnam to restore diplomatic ties with key countries, Full diplomatic relations were restored with New Zealand who opened its embassy in Hanoi in 1995, while Vietnam established an embassy in Wellington in 2003. Pakistan
reopened its embassy in Hanoi in October 2000. Vietnam also reopened
its embassy in Islamabad in December 2005 and trade office in Karachi in
November 2005. United States–Vietnam relations improved in August 1995,
both nations upgraded their Liaison Offices opened during January 1995
to embassy status. As diplomatic ties between the nations grew, the
United States opened a consulate general in Ho Chi Minh City, and
Vietnam opened a consulate in San Francisco.
By December 2007, Vietnam had established diplomatic relations
with 172 countries, including the United States, which normalized
relations in 1995.[89][90] Vietnam holds membership of 63 international organizations, including the United Nations, ASEAN, NAM, Francophonie and WTO. It also maintains relations with over 650 non-government organizations.[91]
In May 2016, US President Obama further normalized relations with Vietnam after he announced the lifting of an arms embargo on sales of lethal arms to Vietnam.[92]
Military
Vietnamese troops on one of the disputed Spratly Islands in 2009
Vietnam is located on the eastern Indochina Peninsula between the latitudes 8° and 24°N, and the longitudes 102° and 110°E. It covers a total area of approximately 331,210 km2 (127,881 sq mi),[5] making it almost the size of Germany. The combined length of the country's land boundaries is 4,639 km (2,883 mi), and its coastline is 3,444 km (2,140 mi) long.[5] At its narrowest point in the central Quảng Bình Province,
the country is as little as 50 kilometres (31 mi) across, though it
widens to around 600 kilometres (370 mi) in the north. Vietnam's land is
mostly hilly and densely forested, with level land covering no more
than 20%. Mountains account for 40% of the country's land area, and
tropical forests cover around 42%.
The northern part of the country consists mostly of highlands and the Red River Delta. Phan Xi Păng, located in Lào Cai Province,
is the highest mountain in Vietnam, standing 3,143 m (10,312 ft) high.
Southern Vietnam is divided into coastal lowlands, the mountains of the Annamite Range,
and extensive forests. Comprising five relatively flat plateaus of
basalt soil, the highlands account for 16% of the country's arable land
and 22% of its total forested land. The soil in much of southern Vietnam
is relatively poor in nutrients.
The Red River Delta in the North, a flat, roughly triangular region covering 15,000 km2 (5,792 sq mi),[95] is smaller but more intensely developed and more densely populated than the Mekong River Delta in the South. Once an inlet of the Gulf of Tonkin, it has been filled in over the millennia by riverine alluvial deposits. The delta, covering about 40,000 km2 (15,444 sq mi), is a low-level plain no more than 3 meters (9.8 ft) above sea level
at any point. It is criss-crossed by a maze of rivers and canals, which
carry so much sediment that the delta advances 60 to 80 meters (196.9
to 262.5 ft) into the sea every year.
Because of differences in latitude and the marked variety in
topographical relief, the climate tends to vary considerably from place
to place. During the winter or dry season, extending roughly from
November to April, the monsoon winds usually blow from the northeast along the Chinese coast and across the Gulf of Tonkin,
picking up considerable moisture. Consequently, the winter season in
most parts of the country is dry only by comparison with the rainy or
summer season. The average annual temperature is generally higher in the
plains than in the mountains, and higher in the south than in the
north. Temperatures vary less in the southern plains around Ho Chi Minh
City and the Mekong Delta, ranging between 21 and 28 °C (69.8 and
82.4 °F) over the course of the year. Seasonal variations in the
mountains and plateaus and in the north are much more dramatic, with
temperatures varying from 5 °C (41.0 °F) in December and January to
37 °C (98.6 °F) in July and August.
The saola, one of the world's rarest mammals, is native to Vietnam.
Vietnam lies in the Indomalaya ecozone. According to the 2005 National Environmental Present Condition Report.[96] Vietnam is one of twenty-five countries considered to possess a uniquely high level of biodiversity.
It is ranked 16th worldwide in biological diversity, being home to
approximately 16% of the world's species. 15,986 species of flora have been identified in the country, of which 10% are endemic, while Vietnam's fauna include 307 nematode species, 200 oligochaeta, 145 acarina, 113 springtails, 7,750 insects, 260 reptiles, 120 amphibians, 840 birds and 310 mammals, of which 100 birds and 78 mammals are endemic.[96]
Vietnam is furthermore home to 1,438 species of freshwater microalgae, constituting 9.6% of all microalgae species, as well as 794 aquatic invertebrates and 2,458 species of sea fish.[96] In recent years, 13 genera, 222 species, and 30 taxa of flora have been newly described in Vietnam.[96] Six new mammal species, including the saola, giant muntjac and Tonkin snub-nosed monkey have also been discovered, along with one new bird species, the endangered Edwards's pheasant.[97] In the late 1980s, a small population of Javan rhinoceros was found in Cát Tiên National Park. However, the last individual of the species in Vietnam was reportedly shot in 2010.[98]
In agricultural genetic diversity, Vietnam is one of the world's twelve original cultivar centers. The Vietnam National Cultivar Gene Bank preserves 12,300 cultivars of 115 species.[96]
The Vietnamese government spent US$49.07 million on the preservation of
biodiversity in 2004 alone, and has established 126 conservation areas,
including 28 national parks.[96]
Economy
In 2012, Vietnam's nominal GDP reached US$138 billion, with a nominal GDP per capita of $1,527.[7]
According to a December 2005 forecast by Goldman Sachs, the Vietnamese economy will become the world's 21st-largest by 2025, with an estimated nominal GDP of $436 billion and a nominal GDP per capita of $4,357.[99]
According to a 2008 forecast by PricewaterhouseCoopers,
Vietnam may be the fastest-growing of the world's emerging economies by
2025, with a potential growth rate of almost 10% per annum in real
dollar terms.[100] In 2012, HSBC predicted that Vietnam's total GDP would surpass those of Norway, Singapore and Portugal by 2050.[101]
Vietnam has been for much of its history a predominantly agricultural civilization based on wet rice cultivation. There is also an industry for bauxite mining in Vietnam, an important material for the production of aluminum. The Vietnamese economy is shaped primarily by the Vietnamese Communist Party in Five Year Plans made through the plenary sessions of the Central Committee and national congresses.
The collectivization
of farms, factories and capital goods was carried out as components in
establishing central planning, with millions of people working in state
enterprises. Vietnam's economy has been plagued with inefficiency and corruption in state-owned enterprises, poor quality and underproduction, and restrictions on economic activity. It also suffered from the post-war trade embargo instituted by the United States and most of Europe. These problems were compounded by the erosion of the Soviet bloc, which included Vietnam's main trading partners, in the late 1980s.
In 1986, the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party introduced socialist-oriented market economic reforms as part of the Đổi Mới reform program. Private ownership was encouraged in industries, commerce and agriculture; and state enterprises were restructured to operate under market constraints.[102]
Thanks largely to these reforms, Vietnam achieved around 8% annual GDP
growth between 1990 and 1997, and the economy continued to grow at an
annual rate of around 7% from 2000 to 2005, making Vietnam one of the
world's fastest growing economies. Growth remained strong even in the
face of the late-2000s global recession,
holding at 6.8% in 2010, but Vietnam's year-on-year inflation rate hit
11.8% in December 2010, according to a GSO estimate. The Vietnamese đồng was devalued three times in 2010 alone.
Manufacturing, information technology
and high-tech industries now form a large and fast-growing part of the
national economy. Though Vietnam is a relative newcomer to the oil industry,
it is currently the third-largest oil producer in Southeast Asia, with a
total 2011 output of 318,000 barrels per day (50,600 m3/d).[104] In 2010, Vietnam was ranked as the 8th largest crude petroleum producers in the Asia and Pacific region.[105]Like its Chinese neighbours, Vietnam continues to make use of centrally planned economic five-year plans.
Deep poverty, defined as the percentage of the population living
on less than $1 per day, has declined significantly in Vietnam, and the
relative poverty rate is now less than that of China, India, and the Philippines.[106] This decline in the poverty rate can be attributed to equitable economic policies aimed at improving living standards and preventing the rise of inequality; these policies have included egalitarian land distribution during the initial stages of the Đổi Mới program, investment in poorer remote areas, and subsidising of education and healthcare.[107] According to the IMF, the unemployment rate in Vietnam stood at 4.46% in 2012.[7]
Since the early 2000s, Vietnam has applied sequenced trade
liberalisation, a two-track approach opening some sectors of the economy
to international markets while protecting others.[107][108] In July 2006, Vietnam updated its intellectual property legislation to comply with TRIPS.
Vietnam has become increasingly integrated into the world economy,
particularly since its efforts to liberalize the economy enabled it to
join the World Trade Organization in 2007.[109]
The manufacturing and service sectors each account for 40% of GDP.
However, almost half the labour force (48%) is still employed in
agriculture. One million workers a year, out of a total of 51.3 million
in 2010, are projected to continue leaving agriculture for the other
economic sectors in the foreseeable future.[110][109]
Vietnam is now one of Asia's most open economies: two-way trade was
valued at around 160% of GDP in 2006, more than twice the contemporary
ratio for China and over four times the ratio for India.[111] Vietnam's chief trading partners include China, Japan, Australia, the ASEAN countries, the United States and Western Europe.
Vietnam's Customs office reported in July 2013 that the total
value of international merchandise trade for the first half of 2013 was
US$124 billion, which was 15.7% higher than the same period in 2012.
Mobile phones and their parts were both imported and exported in large
numbers, while in the natural resources market, crude oil was a
top-ranking export and high levels of iron and steel were imported
during this period. The U.S. was the country that purchased the highest
amount of Vietnam's exports, while Chinese goods were the most popular
Vietnamese import.[112]
As a result of several land reform measures, Vietnam has become a major exporter of agricultural products. It is now the world's largest producer of cashew nuts, with a one-third global share; the largest producer of black pepper, accounting for one-third of the world's market; and the second-largest rice exporter in the world, after Thailand. Vietnam is the world's second largest exporter of coffee.[113]
Vietnam has the highest proportion of land use for permanent crops – 6.93% – of any nation in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Other primary exports include tea, rubber,
and fishery products. However, agriculture's share of Vietnam's GDP has
fallen in recent decades, declining from 42% in 1989 to 20% in 2006, as
production in other sectors of the economy has risen.
In manufacturing, Vietnam is expected to lose some of its current
comparative advantage in low wages in the near future. It will need to
compensate for this loss with productivity gains, if it is to sustain
high growth rates: GDP per capita almost doubled between 2008 and 2013.
High-tech exports from Vietnam grew dramatically during 2008–2013,
particularly with respect to office computers and electronic
communications equipment – only Singapore and Malaysia exported more of
the latter. Vietnam will need to adopt strategies which enhance the
technical capacity and skills among local firms that are, as yet, only
weakly integrated with global production chains, such as by fostering
the transfer of technology and skills from large multinational firms to
smaller-scale domestic firms.[109]
In 2014 Vietnam negotiated a free trade agreement with the European Union, giving the country access to the EU's Generalized System of Preferences. This provides preferential access to European markets for developing countries through reduced tariffs.[114]
Much of Vietnam's modern transport network was originally developed
under French rule to facilitate the transportation of raw materials, and
was reconstructed and extensively modernized following the Vietnam War.
Vietnam's road system includes national roads administered at the
central level, provincial roads managed at the provincial level,
district roads managed at the district level, urban roads managed by
cities and towns, and commune roads managed at the commune level.
Bicycles, motor scooters and motorcycles remain the most popular forms
of road transport in Vietnam's urban areas, although the number of
privately owned automobiles is also on the rise, especially in the
larger cities. Public buses operated by private companies are the main
mode of long-distance travel for much of the population.
Road safety is a serious issue in Vietnam – on average, 30 people are killed in traffic accidents every day.[117]
Traffic congestion is a growing problem in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City,
as the cities' roads struggle to cope with the boom in automobile use.
Vietnam's primary cross-country rail service is the Reunification Express,
which runs from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, covering a distance of
nearly 2,000 kilometres. From Hanoi, railway lines branch out to the
northeast, north and west; the eastbound line runs from Hanoi to Hạ Long
Bay, the northbound line from Hanoi to Thái Nguyên, and the northeast line from Hanoi to Lào Cai.
In 2009, Vietnam and Japan signed a deal to build a high-speed railway
using Japanese technology; numerous Vietnamese engineers were later
sent to Japan to receive training in the operation and maintenance of
high-speed trains. The railway will be a 1,630-km-long[118] express route, serving a total of 26 stations, including Hanoi and the Thu Thiem terminus in Ho Chi Minh City.[119] Using Japan's Shinkansen technology,[120]
the line will support trains travelling at a maximum speed of 360
kilometres (220 mi) per hour. The high-speed lines linking Hanoi to Vinh, Nha Trang
and Ho Chi Minh City will be laid by 2015. From 2015 to 2020,
construction will begin on the routes between Vinh and Nha Trang and
between Hanoi and the northern provinces of Lào Cai and Lạng Sơn.
In addition, the Mekong Delta and Red River Delta
are vital to Vietnam's social and economic welfare – most of the
country's population lives along or near these river deltas, and the
major cities of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are situated near the Mekong and Red River deltas, respectively. Further out in the South China Sea, Vietnam currently controls the majority of the disputed Spratly Islands, which are the source of longstanding disagreements with China and other nearby nations.[123]
Vietnamese scholars developed many academic fields during the dynastic era, most notably social sciences and the humanities. Vietnam has a millennium-deep legacy of analytical histories, such as the Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư of Ngô Sĩ Liên. Vietnamese monks led by the abdicated Emperor Trần Nhân Tông developed the Trúc Lâm Zen branch of philosophy in the 13th century. Arithmetics and geometry have been widely taught in Vietnam since the 15th century, using the textbook Đại thành toán pháp by Lương Thế Vinh as a basis. Lương Thế Vinh introduced Vietnam to the notion of zero, while Mạc Hiển Tích used the term số ẩn (en: "unknown/secret/hidden number") to refer to negative numbers. Vietnamese scholars furthermore produced numerous encyclopedias, such as Lê Quý Đôn's Vân đài loại ngữ.
Scientific accomplishments
In recent times, Vietnamese scientists have made many significant contributions in various fields of study, most notably in mathematics. Hoàng Tụy pioneered the applied mathematics field of global optimization in the 20th century, while Ngô Bảo Châu won the 2010 Fields Medal for his proof of fundamental lemma in the theory of automorphic forms. Vietnam is currently working to develop an indigenous space program, and plans to construct the US$600 million Vietnam Space Center by 2018.[124] Vietnam has also made significant advances in the development of robots, such as the TOPIO humanoid model.[125] In 2010, Vietnam's total state spending on science and technology equalled around 0.45% of its GDP.[126]
Between 2005 and 2014, the number of scientific publications
recorded in Thomson Reuters' Web of Science increased at a rate well
above the average for Southeast Asia, albeit from a modest starting
point. Publications focus mainly on life sciences (22%), physics (13%)
and engineering (13%), which is consistent with recent advances in the
production of diagnostic equipment and shipbuilding. Almost 77% of all
papers published between 2008 and 2014 had at least one international
co-author.[109]
Policy developments
The autonomy which Vietnamese research centres have enjoyed since the
mid-1990s has enabled many of them to operate as quasi-private
organizations, providing services such as consulting and technology
development. Some have 'spun off' from the larger institutions to form
their own semi-private enterprises, fostering the transfer of public
sector S&T personnel to these semi-private establishments. One
comparatively new university, Ton Duc Thang (est. 1997), has already set
up 13 centres for technology transfer and services that together
produce 15% of university revenue. Many of these research centres serve
as valuable intermediaries bridging public research institutions,
universities and firms.[109]
In addition, Vietnam's Law on Higher Education (2012) offers
university administrators greater autonomy and there are reports that
growing numbers of academic staff are also serving as advisors to NGOs
and private firms.[109]
The Strategy for Science and Technology Development for
2011–2020, adopted in 2012, builds upon this trend by promoting
public–private partnerships and seeking to transform 'public S&T
organisations into self-managed and accountable mechanisms as stipulated
by law'. The main emphasis is on overall planning and priority-setting,
with a view to enhancing innovation capability, particularly in
industrial sectors. Although the Strategy omits to fix any targets for
funding, it nevertheless sets broad policy directions and priority areas
for investment, including:[109]
research in mathematics and physics;
investigation of climate change and natural disasters;
development of operating systems for computers, tablets and mobile devices;
biotechnology applied particularly to agriculture, forestry, fisheries and medicine; and
environmental protection.
The new Strategy foresees the development of a network of
organizations to support consultancy services in the field of innovation
and the development of intellectual property. The Strategy also
seeks to promote greater international scientific co-operation, with a
plan to establish a network of Vietnamese scientists overseas and to
initiate a network of 'outstanding research centres' linking key
national science institutions with partners abroad.[109]
The planned removal of restrictions on the cross-border movement of people and services by the ASEAN Economic Community
is expected to spur cooperation in science and technology. The greater
mobility of skilled personnel should be a boon for the region and
enhance the role of the ASEAN University Network, which counted 30 members in 2016.[109]
Vietnam has also devised a set of national development strategies
for selected sectors of the economy, many of which involve science and
technology. Examples are the Sustainable Development Strategy (April 2012) and the Mechanical Engineering Industry Development Strategy (2006), together with Vision 2020
(2006). Spanning the period 2011–2020, these dual strategies call for a
highly skilled human resource base, a strong R&D investment policy,
fiscal policies to encourage technological upgrading in the private
sector and private-sector investment and regulations to steer investment
towards sustainable development.[109]
Demographics
Hmong women in traditional dress in Sa Pa, northern Vietnam
As of 2016, the population of Vietnam as standing at approximately
94.6 million people. The population had grown significantly from the
1979 census, which showed the total population of reunified Vietnam to
be 52.7 million.[127] In 2012, the country's population was estimated at approximately 90.3 million.[7]
Ethnicity
According to the 2009 census, the dominant Viet
or Kinh ethnic group constituted nearly 73.6 million people, or 85.8%
of the population. The Kinh population is concentrated mainly in the alluvial deltas
and coastal plains of the country. A largely homogeneous social and
ethnic group, the Kinh possess significant political and economic
influence over the country. However, Vietnam is also home to 54 ethnic
minority groups, including the Hmong, Dao, Tay, Thai, and Nùng. Many ethnic minorities – such as the Muong,
who are closely related to the Kinh – dwell in the highlands, which
cover two-thirds of Vietnam's territory. Before the Vietnam War, the
population of the Central Highlands was almost exclusively Degar (including over 40 tribal groups); however, Ngô Đình Diệm's South Vietnamese government enacted a program of resettling Kinh in indigenous areas.[128] The Hoa (ethnic Chinese)[129] and Khmer Krom people are mainly lowlanders. As Sino-Vietnamese relations soured in 1978 and 1979, some 450,000 Hoa left Vietnam.[130]
Languages
The official national language of Vietnam is Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt), a tonal Mon–Khmer language which is spoken by the majority of the population. In its early history, Vietnamese writing used Chinese characters. In the 13th century, the Vietnamese developed their own set of characters, referred to as Chữ nôm. The folk epic Truyện Kiều ("The Tale of Kieu", originally known as Đoạn trường tân thanh) by Nguyễn Du was written in Chữ nôm. Quốc ngữ, the romanized Vietnamese alphabet used for spoken Vietnamese, was developed in the 17th century by the JesuitAlexandre de Rhodes and several other Catholicmissionaries.[131]Quốc ngữ became widely popular and brought literacy to the Vietnamese masses during the French colonial period.[131]
The French language,
a legacy of colonial rule, is spoken by many educated Vietnamese as a
second language, especially among the older generation and those
educated in the former South Vietnam, where it was a principal language
in administration, education and commerce; Vietnam remains a full member
of the Francophonie, and education has revived some interest in the language. Russian – and to a much lesser extent German, Czech and Polish – are known among some Vietnamese whose families had ties with the Soviet bloc during the Cold War.
In recent years, as Vietnam's contacts with Western nations have
increased, English has become more popular as a second language. The
study of English is now obligatory in most schools, either alongside or
in place of French.[135] Japanese and Korean have also grown in popularity as Vietnam's links with other East Asian nations have strengthened.
According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam's report
for 1 April 2009, 6.8 million (or 7.9% of the total population) are
practicing Buddhists, 5.7 million (6.6%) are Catholics, 1.4 million
(1.7%) are adherents of Hòa Hảo, 0.8 million (0.9%) practise Caodaism, and 0.7 million (0.9%) are Protestants. In total, 15,651,467 Vietnamese (18.2%) are formally registered in a religion.[137] According to the 2009 census, while over 10 million people have taken refuge in the Three Jewels of Buddhism,[138][139] the vast majority of Vietnamese people practice ancestor worship in some form. According to a 2007 report, 81% of the Vietnamese people do not believe in a God.[140]
About 8% of the population are Christians, totalling around six million Roman Catholics and fewer than one million Protestants.
Catholicism was introduced to Vietnam by Portuguese and Dutch traders
in the 16th and 17th centuries and propagated by French missionaries in
the 19th and 20th centuries. Protestantism was spread by American
missionaries during the Vietnam War, largely among the Montagnards of
South Vietnam.
The largest Protestant churches are the Evangelical Church of
Vietnam and the Montagnard Evangelical Church. Two-thirds of Vietnam's
Protestants are reportedly members of ethnic minorities.[141] Although a small religious minority, Protestantism is claimed to be the country's fastest-growing religion, expanding at a rate of 600% in the previous decade.[142]
The Vietnamese government is widely seen as suspicious of Roman Catholicism. This mistrust originated during the 19th century, when some Catholics collaborated with the French colonists in conquering and ruling the country and in helping French attempts to install Catholic emperors, such as in the Lê Văn Khôi revolt of 1833.[143] Furthermore, the Catholic Church's strongly anti-communist stance has made it an enemy of the Vietnamese state. The Vatican
Church is officially banned, and only government-controlled Catholic
organisations are permitted. However, the Vatican has attempted to
negotiate the opening of diplomatic relations with Vietnam in recent
years.[144]
Several other minority faiths exist in Vietnam. A significant number of people are adherents of Caodaism, an indigenous folk religion which has structured itself on the model of the Catholic Church. Sunni and Cham Bani Islam is primarily practiced by the ethnic Cham minority, though there are also a few ethnic Vietnamese adherents in the southwest. In total, there are approximately 70,000 Muslims in Vietnam,[145] while around 50,000 Hindus (also predominantly of Cham ethnicity) and a small number of Baha'is are also in evidence.
The Vietnamese government rejects allegations that it does not allow religious freedom.
The state's official position on religion is that all citizens are free
to their belief, and that all religions are equal before the law.[146]
Nevertheless, only government-approved religious organisations are
allowed; for example, the South Vietnam-founded Unified Buddhist Church
of Vietnam is banned in favour of a communist-approved body.[147]
Vietnam has an extensive state-controlled network of schools,
colleges and universities, and a growing number of privately run and
partially privatised institutions. General education in Vietnam is
divided into five categories: kindergarten, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and universities. A large number of public schools have been constructed across the country to raise the national literacy rate, which stood at 90.3% in 2008.[148]
A large number of Vietnam's most acclaimed universities are based
in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Facing serious crises, Vietnam's
education system is under a holistic
program of reform launched by the government. Education is not free;
therefore, some poor families may have trouble paying tuition for their
children without some form of public or private assistance. Regardless,
school enrollment is among the highest in the world,[149][150] and the number of colleges and universities increased dramatically in the 2000s, from 178 in 2000 to 299 in 2005.
Since 1995, enrolment in higher education has grown tenfold to
well over 2 million in 2012. By 2014, there were 419 institutions of
higher education.[151]
A number of foreign universities operate private campuses in Vietnam,
including Harvard University (USA) and the Royal Melbourne Institute of
Technology (Australia). The government's strong commitment to education,
in general, and higher education, in particular (respectively 6.3% and
1.05% of GDP in 2012), has fostered significant growth in higher
education but this will need to be sustained to retain academics. Reform
is under way. A law passed in 2012 gives university administrators
greater autonomy, although the Ministry of Education retains
responsibility for quality assurance.
In 2009, Vietnam's national life expectancy stood at 76 years for women and 72 for men,[152] and the infant mortality rate was 12 per 1,000 live births.[153] By 2009, 85% of the population had access to improved water sources.[152] However, malnutrition is still common in the rural provinces.[154] In 2001, government spending on health care corresponded to just 0.9% of Vietnam's gross domestic product (GDP), with state subsidies covering only about 20% of health care expenses.[155]
In 1954, North Vietnam established a public health system that reached down to the hamlet level.[156]
After the national reunification in 1975, a nationwide health service
was established. In the late 1980s, the quality of healthcare declined
to some degree as a result of budgetary constraints, a shift of
responsibility to the provinces, and the introduction of charges.
Inadequate funding has also contributed to a shortage of nurses, midwives, and hospital beds; in 2000, Vietnam had only 250,000 hospital beds, or 14.8 beds per 10,000 people, according to the World Bank.[155]
Handicapped children in Vietnam, most of them victims of Agent Orange, 2004
The use of herbicides as a chemical weapon by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War has left tangible, long-term impacts upon the Vietnamese people that live in Vietnam.[157][158]
For instance, it led to 3 million Vietnamese people suffering health
problems, one million birth defects caused directly by exposure to Agent Orange, and 24% of the area of Vietnam being defoliated.[159]
Since the early 2000s, Vietnam has made significant progress in combating malaria,
with the malaria mortality rate falling to about 5% of its 1990s
equivalent by 2005, after the country introduced improved antimalarial
drugs and treatment. However, tuberculosis
cases are on the rise, with 57 deaths per day reported in May 2004.
With an intensified vaccination program, better hygiene, and foreign
assistance, Vietnam hopes to reduce sharply the number of TB cases and
annual new TB infections.[155]
As of September 2005, Vietnam had diagnosed 101,291 HIV cases, of which 16,528 progressed to AIDS,
and 9,554 died. However, the actual number of HIV-positive individuals
is estimated to be much higher. On average, 40–50 new infections are
reported every day in Vietnam. As of 2007, 0.5% of the population is estimated to be infected with HIV, and this figure has remained stable since 2005.[160]
In June 2004, the United States announced that Vietnam would be one of
15 nations to receive funding as part of a US$15 billion global AIDS
relief plan.[155]
Vietnam's culture has developed over the centuries from indigenous ancient Đông Sơn culture with wet rice agriculture as its economic base. Some elements of the national culture have Chinese origins, drawing on elements of Confucianism and Taoism in its traditional political system and philosophy. Vietnamese society is structured around làng (ancestral villages); all Vietnamese mark a common ancestral anniversary on the tenth day of the third lunar month.[161] The influences of immigrant peoples – such as the Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien and Hainan cultures – can also be seen, while the national religion of Buddhism
is strongly entwined with popular culture. In recent centuries, the
influences of Western cultures, most notably France and the United
States, have become evident in Vietnam.
The traditional focuses of Vietnamese culture are humanity (nhân nghĩa) and harmony (hòa); family and community values are highly regarded. Vietnam reveres a number of key cultural symbols, such as the Vietnamese dragon, which is derived from crocodile and snake imagery; Vietnam's National Father, Lạc Long Quân, is depicted as a holy dragon. The lạc – a holy bird representing Vietnam's National Mother, Âu Cơ – is another prominent symbol, while turtle and horse images are also revered.[162]
In the modern era, the cultural life of Vietnam has been deeply
influenced by government-controlled media and cultural programs. For
many decades, foreign cultural influences – especially those of Western
origin – were shunned. However, since the 1990s, Vietnam has seen a
greater exposure to Southeast Asian, European and American culture and
media.[163]
Media
Vietnam's media sector is regulated by the government in accordance with the 2004 Law on Publication.[164]
It is generally perceived that Vietnam's media sector is controlled by
the government to follow the official Communist Party line, though some
newspapers are relatively outspoken.[165] The Voice of Vietnam
is the official state-run national radio broadcasting service,
broadcasting internationally via shortwave using rented transmitters in
other countries, and providing broadcasts from its website. Vietnam Television is the national television broadcasting company.
Since 1997, Vietnam has extensively regulated public Internet access, using both legal and technical means. The resulting lockdown is widely referred to as the "Bamboo Firewall".[166] The collaborative project OpenNet Initiative classifies Vietnam's level of online political censorship to be "pervasive",[167] while Reporters Without Borders considers Vietnam to be one of 15 global "internet enemies".[168]
Though the government of Vietnam claims to safeguard the country
against obscene or sexually explicit content through its blocking
efforts, many politically and religiously sensitive websites are also
banned.[169]
Music
The Vietnamese dan bau, a monochord zither instrument
Traditional Vietnamese music
varies between the country's northern and southern regions. Northern
classical music is Vietnam's oldest musical form, and is traditionally
more formal. The origins of Vietnamese classical music can be traced to
the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, when the Vietnamese captured a
Chinese opera troupe.[170] Throughout its history, Vietnamese has been most heavily impacted by the Chinese musical tradition, as an integral part, along with Korea, Mongolia and Japan.[171]Nhã nhạc is the most popular form of imperial court music. Chèo is a form of generally satirical musical theatre. Xẩm or Hát xẩm (Xẩm singing) is a type of Vietnamese folk music. Quan họ (alternate singing) is popular in Hà Bắc (divided into Bắc Ninh and Bắc Giang Provinces) and across Vietnam. Hát chầu văn or hát văn is a spiritual form of music used to invoke spirits during ceremonies. Nhạc dân tộc cải biên is a modern form of Vietnamese folk music which arose in the 1950s.
Ca trù (also hát ả đào)
is a popular folk music. "Hò" can not be thought of as the southern
style of Quan họ. There are a range of traditional instruments,
including the Đàn bầu (a monochord zither), the Đàn gáo (a two-stringed fiddle with coconut body), and the Đàn nguyệt (a two-stringed fretted moon lute).
Vietnamese literature
has a centuries-deep history. The country has a rich tradition of folk
literature, based on the typical 6–to-8-verse poetic form named ca dao, which usually focuses on village ancestors and heroes.[172] Written literature has been found dating back to the 10th-century Ngô dynasty, with notable ancient authors including Nguyễn Trãi, Trần Hưng Đạo, Nguyễn Du and Nguyễn Đình Chiểu. Some literary genres play an important role in theatrical performance, such as hát nói in ca trù.[173]
Some poetic unions have also been formed in Vietnam, such as the Tao
Đàn. Vietnamese literature has in recent times been influenced by
Western styles, with the first literary transformation movement – Thơ
Mới – emerging in 1932.[174]
Vietnam has a plethora of festivals based on the lunar calendar, the most important being the Tết New Year celebration. Traditional Vietnamese weddings remain widely popular, and are often celebrated by expatriate Vietnamese in Western countries.
Holidays
Officially, Vietnam has 11 national, government-recognized holidays. Public holidays in Vietnam are regulated by the Law.
Vietnam has become a major tourist destination since the 1990s,
assisted by significant state and private investment, particularly in
coastal regions.[176] About 3.77 million international tourists visited Vietnam in 2009 alone.[177]
On 14 February 2011, Joe Jackson, the father of American pop star Michael Jackson,
attended a ground breaking ceremony for what will be Southeast Asia's
largest entertainment complex, a five-star hotel and amusement park
called Happyland. The US$2 billion project, which has been designed to
accommodate 14 million tourists annually, is located in southern Long An Province, near Ho Chi Minh City. It was expected that the complex would be completed in 2014.[179] As of 2017, Happyland has yet to open.[180]
Clothing
The áo dài, a formal dress, is worn for special occasions such as weddings and religious festivals. White áo dài is the required uniform for girls in many high schools across Vietnam. Áo dài
was once worn by both genders, but today it is mostly the preserve of
women, although men do wear it to some occasions, such as traditional
weddings.[181] Other examples of traditional Vietnamese clothing include the áo tứ thân, a four-piece woman's dress; the áo ngũ, a form of the thân in 5-piece form, mostly worn in the north of the country; the yếm, a woman's undergarment; the áo bà ba, rural working "pyjamas" for men and women;[182] the áo gấm, a formal brocade tunic for government receptions; and the áo the, a variant of the áo gấm worn by grooms at weddings. Traditional headwear includes the standard conical nón lá and the "lampshade-like" nón quai thao.
Vietnam has participated in the Summer Olympic Games since 1952,
when it competed as the State of Vietnam. After the partition of the
country in 1954, only South Vietnam competed in the Games, sending
athletes to the 1956 and 1972 Olympics. Since the reunification of
Vietnam in 1976, it has competed as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,
attending every Summer Olympics from 1988 onwards. The present Vietnam
Olympic Committee was formed in 1976 and recognized by the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1979.[185] As of 2014, Vietnam has never participated in the Winter Olympics. In 2016, Vietnam participated in the Rio Olympics, where they won their first gold medal.[186]
Vietnamese cuisine traditionally features a combination of five fundamental taste "elements" (Vietnamese: ngũ vị): spicy (metal), sour (wood), bitter (fire), salty (water) and sweet (earth).[187] Common ingredients include fish sauce, shrimp paste, soy sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables. Vietnamese recipes use lemongrass, ginger, mint, Vietnamese mint, long coriander, Saigon cinnamon, bird's eye chili, lime and basil leaves.[188]
Traditional Vietnamese cooking is known for its fresh ingredients,
minimal use of oil, and reliance on herbs and vegetables, and is
considered one of the healthiest cuisines worldwide.[189]
In northern Vietnam, local foods are often less spicy than
southern dishes, as the colder northern climate limits the production
and availability of spices. Black pepper is used in place of chilis
to produce spicy flavors. The use of such meats as pork, beef, and
chicken was relatively limited in the past, and as a result freshwater
fish, crustaceans – particularly crabs – and mollusks
became widely used. Fish sauce, soy sauce, prawn sauce, and limes are
among the main flavoring ingredients. Many signature Vietnamese dishes,
such as bún riêu and bánh cuốn, originated in the north and were carried to central and southern Vietnam by migrants.
Vietnam 81,328,696 (2015)[1]
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![Location of Vietnam (green)in ASEAN (dark grey) – [Legend]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Location_Vietnam_ASEAN.svg)
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