Part 803

Map ---

Location: 16 00 N, 106 00 E -- Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, between China and Cambodia

Flag ----

Description: red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center

Geography ---------

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

Geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 106 00 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area: total area: 329,560 sq km land area: 325,360 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries: total: 3,818 km border countries: Cambodia 982 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 1,555 km

Coastline: 3,444 km (excludes islands)

Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: maritime boundary with Cambodia not defined; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei; unresolved maritime boundary with Thailand; maritime boundary dispute with China in the Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel Islands in the South China Sea occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; offshore islands and sections of boundary with Cambodia are in dispute

Climate: tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March)

Terrain: low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: Ngoc Linh 3,143 m

Natural resources: phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil deposits, forests

Land use: arable land: 22% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 40% other: 35%

Irrigated land: 18,300 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment: current issues: logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices are contributing to deforestation; soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threatening marine life populations; inadequate supplies of potable water because of groundwater contamination natural hazards: occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban

People ------

Population: 73,976,973 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 36% (male 13,739,304; female 12,988,929) 15-64 years: 59% (male 20,956,735; female 22,448,944) 65 years and over: 5% (male 1,548,513; female 2,294,548) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.57% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 23 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.95 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 38.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)