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Tabular Data - Geography of Vietnam
| Location : |
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia |
| Geographic Coordinates : |
16 00 N, 106 00 E |
| Map References : |
Southeast Asia |
| Area : |
total: 329,560 sq km
land: 325,360 sq km
water: 4,200 sq km |
| Area - Comparative : |
slightly larger than New Mexico |
| Land Boundaries : |
total: 4,639 km
border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km |
| Coastline : |
3,444 km (excludes islands) |
| Maritime Claims : |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| 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 |
| Elevation Extremes : |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m |
| Natural Resources : |
phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower |
| Land Use : |
arable land: 19.97%
permanent crops: 5.95%
other: 74.08% (2001) |
| Irrigated Land : |
30,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Natural Hazards : |
occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta |
| Environment - Current Issues : |
logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City |
| Environment - International Agreements : |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - Note : |
Extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point. |
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