Vietnam is also known as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Capital of the South East Asia country is Hanoi, but people are more familiar with the largest city Ho Chi Minh.
Here is the relationships of the two countries Vietnam and Norway: The Vietnam – Norway relations.
Flag
The flag of Vietnam consists of a gold star centered on a red background. The red color
symbolizes the aims of social revolution behind the Socialist Republic of Vietnam uprising while the star is signified for five classes of Vietnam society including farmers, workers, military personnel, intellectuals and businessmen.
The flag was first designed in 1940 and later recognized as the official flag of unified Vietnam since 1976 after some modifications along the time.
Geography
Vietnam is located next to China in the North, and Cambodia and Laos in the West. It shares its maritime borders with Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Vietnam’s total area is roughly 331,212 km 2 . Land accounts for only 20% of its territory, and the majority of the area is mountains (40% of the area) that lie mainly in the North and Central Highlands.
Vietnam is also home of part of Fansipan (in Lao Cai province) – the highest summit on them Indochinese Peninsula. Its coastline in the East is quite long, which is 3,444 km.
Besides the mainland, the country has several islands across the country, of which the biggest and most well-known is Phu Quoc.
Ethic and language
In 2016, Vietnam’s population was over 94 million people. In which Viet or Kinh people
community dominates 85.7% of the population. Other 53 ethnic minorities are Tay, Nung, Dao, Muong, Hmong, Hoa, etc. live scattered across the country. Although some groups have their own language, almost everyone can speak Vietnamese. French colonial time produced many French speakers who are mainly the older generation. Nowadays, English also become a widely spoken language because it is a compulsory subject at schools.
Religion
Vietnamese people enjoy the freedom of religion. They can be either irreligious or follow a, religion. The most common religion is folk or irreligious (73.2% of nationals), followed by Buddism (12.2%) and Christianity (8.3%).
Others
Anthem
Vietnam’s national anthem is Tien Quan Ca composed in 1944 by Van Cao. It has 2 verses whose lyrics went through a lot of changes to be used as the official song today.
Currency
The official currency is dong. 1 dong is equivalent to approximately $US23,300 and 25,500 EUR. Cheque is not so popular except for business transactions.
Time zone
Vietnam is in UTC+7:00 zone.
Driving side
All walkers, riders, and drivers go on the right side.
More inflammations on the weather, transportation and the economy in this detailed article.
To learn more about the Vietnamese people and the culture, click here.
If you’re heading to Vietnam for a vacation, then you should definitely check out this travel guide.