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Go to Vietnam Population Ethnic composition : Vietnamese 85%, Chinese 3%, Muongs, Tais, Meos, Khmers, Mans, Chams The country is characterized by a great diversity of ethnic groups, 60 have been counted. But the population appears to be homogenous, due to the fact that it is largely dominated by the kinh, or viets, who are spread throughout the territory and make up 85% of the population. The other ethnic groups are mainly to be found in the mountains and the high plateaus. There are nearly a million Vietnamese of Chinese origin, the Hoa, who live mostly in the south of the country, particularly in Hô Chi Minh-Ville. There are 72.7 million inhabitants. The average density is 235 inhabitants per square kilometer. The areas of high population density are around the deltas, over 1,000 inhabs. per sq. km., around the Red River (13.3 million inhabitants) and the Mekong (23.1 million inhabitants). Half of the population are under 20 years old. Over a million young Vietnamese come on the job market every year. 0-14 years : 34.79% 15-64 years : 60.28% * 65 years and over : 4.93% Life expectancy : 68.37 years Working age population = 45 million of which the working population = 39 million Level of development: (latest available figures) Demographic growth 1997-2015 (%) ............................ +1,3 Urban population (% total pop.) .................................... 24 Child mortality (%) ............................................................. 29 Consumption of energy per capita TOE ....................... 0,45 Population without drinking water (% pop) ................... 57 Population without sanitary installations (% pop)........ 79 N° of doctors per 1,000 inhabitants ................................ 0,4 Telephone lines per 1,000 inhabitants ............................. 21 Mobile phones per 1,000 inhabitants ............................... 2 Private cars per 1,000 inhabitants ..................................... 2 N° of computers per 1,000 inhabitants ........................... 4,6 Adult literacy rate (%) ........................................................ 8 Secondary schooling /age group (%) ............................. 47 University students /age group (%) ................................. 5 The rate of natural growth has gone under 2% since 1996 and the government wants to reduce it more by encouraging policies of family planning. Languages Vietnamese : The Vietnamese language (kinh) has borrowed from the Khmer, Thai and Chinese languages. However in the 17th century European missionaries introduced Latin characters, and this makes the language, if not easy, at least fairly accessible to Europeans. Other languages spoken : Chinese, English, Russian, French, and other minority languages. French is still spoken by elderly people who lived through the colonial period and although it is only spoken by about 100,000 people, French and French-speaking organizations do a lot to promote it. In fact the use of the French language lets the country's leaders promote the country as being apart in Asia, and also encourages French enterprises to set up in a country which partly shares the same culture. Today Engish is the language used in business, and it is widely taught in the universities. Religion Corresponding to this ethnical diversity, there is a vast variety of religions : ancestral cults, Taoism, Confucianism, Hinduism,Islam, Christianity and particularly Buddhism which is largely dominant. Vietnam has the second biggest Roman Catholic population in Asia (8 to 10% of the population), after the Philippines. Money The national currency, the dong, is not convertible. In spite of government pressure to ban the use of the dollar in commercial transactions, the economy is very 'dollarized'. After the dong and gold, the dollar is the third currency in the country. You can use dollars everywhere, it is recommendable to have lots of small notes with you. Credit cards and travellers cheques are starting to be accepted. The dong is in bank notes of 50 000, 10 000, 5 000, 2 000, 1 000, 500, 200 The exchange rate is 2,500 dong for 1 franc 1 000 dong = 0.488 Francs 1 dong = 100 xu 1 euro = 14914.08 dong 1 dollar = 13 943 dong Travellers cheques and Visa or Mastercard are accepted in all the places that receive tourists. - bank cards : you have to have with you your passport or an identity card delivered by the Vietnamese authorities to residents. Visa or Mastercard : you can draw cash - 3% bank charges JCB Card (Japanese card) : you can draw cash with no bank charges American Express : you cannot draw cash, but you can use it to pay hotel or restaurant bills, or directly in a shop. - travellers cheques : you have to have with you your passport or an identity card delivered by the Vietnamese authorities to residents. 1% bank charges. Banks are open from Monday to Saturday morning, from 8am to 11am and from 1.30pm to 3.30pm. You can draw cash 24hrs /24 hrs at the automatic distributor at the ANZ Bank (the only one), 14 Le Thai To, in Hanoi. Tel 84 4 825 81 90, fax 84 4 825 81 88. The maximum you are able to withdraw is 2,000,000 dong, with a charge of $3US per operation, whatever the amount. Exchange Between the exchange rate given in the road or in the jewelry shops and the official one given by the banks there is a difference of about 7.5%. Avoid doing exchanges around the Post Office, the rate is not very good and you are in the road. The best is usually jewelry shops. When you are doing these unofficial exchanges you must insist on having 20,000 or 50,000 dong notes, otherwise you will need a suitcase to carry the money! Be careful, the 5,000 and 20,000 dong notes look nearly exactly alike. Try to pay as much as possible in dong, even when it is billed in dollars (air tickets for Vietnam Airlines, restaurants for foreigners etc), it can be very much in your favour. French banks in Vietnam Lyonnaise de banque, Crédit lyonnais, Société générale, Paribas, BFCE, CCF BNP, Indosuez Climate Temperature averages (max/min) J F M A M J J A S O N D 13/20 13/21 18/25 21/28 24/31 27/33 27/31 27/31 25/30 25/30 19/26 16/22 Rainfall : Height in mm HANOI J F M A M J J A S O N D 1 1 1 2 4 5 5 4 4 4 3 2 DENANG J F M A M J J A S O N D 4 5 6 7 8 8 8 7 6 5 4 4 HO-CHI-MINH-VILLE J F M A M J J A S O N D 6 7 7 7 5 5 4 5 4 5 5 6 Sea temperatures : monthly average CAP SAINT JACQUES J F M A M J J A S O N D 25 25 26 28 28 28 29 28 27 27 27 26 DENANG J F M A M J J A S O N D 24 24 25 27 27 28 29 28 28 27 26 24 Vietnam is situated in a region of tropical and subtropical climates, with monsoons, a lot of sun, a lot of rain and a lot of humidity. Certain regions near the Tropic of Cancer and in the mountains have a temperate climate. Nearly continental in the northern mountains, the climate becomes semi-tropical in the Hanoi basin and it gets more and more hot and humid as you descend towards the south and Saigon, where the monsoon arrives between June and September. In Vietnam there are two seasons, which are quite distinct one from another : the dry and cold season, from November to April, and the hot and rainy season, from May to October. In the north the temperature changes are quite marked, there can be a 12°C difference, in the south there is only about 3°C difference. During these two seasons however you can see the signs of spring, summer, autumn and winter, especially in the north. Vietnam is always pleasant to visit, being sunny all the year round. It can be quite cold though in winter in the north, so you have to be prepared, but the winter would seem to be the ideal period to visit the whole of Vietnam. South : dry from November to April Centre : rainy from September to January North : cool and even sometimes cold from November to April, and in the summer, sometimes touched by typhoons. Insects Mosquitoes all the year round in the forested and the mountain regions.

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