Vietnam went through prolonged warfare through the 20th century. After World War II, France returned to reclaim colonial power in the First Indochina War, from which Vietnam emerged victorious in 1954. The Vietnam War began shortly after, during which the nation was divided into communist North supported by the Soviet Union and China, and anti-communist South supported by the United States. Upon North Vietnamese victory in 1975, Vietnam reunified as a unitarysocialist state under the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1976. An ineffective planned economy, trade embargo by the West, and wars with Cambodia and China crippled the country. In 1986, the Communist Party initiated economic and political reforms, transforming the country to a market-oriented economy.
The reforms facilitated Vietnamese integration into global economy and politics. A developing country with a lower-middle-income economy, Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies of the 21st century. It is part of international and intergovernmental institutions including the United Nations, the ASEAN, the APEC, the CPTPP, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, and the World Trade Organization. It has assumed a seat on the United Nations Security Council twice. Contemporary issues in Vietnam include corruption and a poor human rights record.
A Đông Sơn bronze drum, c. 800 BC
The greatest extent of dynastic Vietnam under Emperor Minh Mạng, c. 1840
The Grand Palais built for the 1902–1903 world's fair, when Hanoi was French Indochina's capital
Partition of French Indochina after the 1954 Geneva Conference
Three US Fairchild UC-123B aircraft spraying Agent Orange during the Operation Ranch Hand as part of a herbicidal warfare operation depriving the food and vegetation cover of the Việt Cộng, c. 1962–1971
Nature attractions in Vietnam, clockwise from top: Hạ Long Bay, Yến River and Bản-Giốc Waterfalls
Hoàng Liên Sơn mountain range, a part of the Fansipan which is the highest summit on the Indochinese Peninsula.
Köppen climate classification map of Vietnam.
Nha Trang, a popular beach destination has a tropical savanna climate.
Native species in Vietnam, clockwise from top-right: crested argus, a peafowl, red-shanked douc, Indochinese leopard, saola.
Sa Pa mountain hills with agricultural activities
Panoramic view of Hạ Long Bay
Nguyễn Xuân Phúc President
Phạm Minh Chính Prime Minister
The National Assembly of Vietnam building in Hanoi
President Trần Đại Quang with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 19 November 2016.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accompanies US President Donald Trump to a commercial deal signing ceremony with Vietnamese President on 12 November 2017.
Examples of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces weaponry assets. Clockwise from top right: T-54B tank, Sukhoi Su-27UBK fighter aircraft, Vietnam Coast Guard Hamilton-class cutter, and Vietnam People's Army chemical corps with Type 56.
A Communist Party propaganda poster in Hanoi
Tree map showing Vietnam's exports
Vietnam's tallest skyscraper, the Landmark 81 located in Bình Thạnh, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
Terraced rice fields in Sa Pa
A Vietnamese-made TOPIO 3.0 humanoid ping-pong-playing robot displayed during the 2009 International Robot Exhibition (IREX) in Tokyo.[298][299]
Vietnamese science students working on an experiment in their university lab.
Hội An, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is a major tourist destination.
HCMC–LT–DG section of the North–South Expressway.
Tan Son Nhat International Airport is the busiest airport in the country.
The port of Hai Phong is one of the largest and busiest container ports in Vietnam.
Sơn La Dam in northern Vietnam, the largest hydroelectric dam in Southeast Asia.[335]
In rural areas of Vietnam, piped water systems are operated by a wide variety of institutions including a national organisation, people committees (local government), community groups, co-operatives and private companies.
Vietnam population pyramid in 2019
District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
Urbanisation in west Hanoi
Religion in Vietnam (2019)[2]
Vietnamese folk religion or no religion (86.32%)
Buddhism (4.79%)
Catholicism (6.1%)
Protestantism (1.0%)
Hoahaoism (1.02%)
Caodaism (0.58%)
Islam (0.07%)
Others (0.12%)
Vietnamese calligraphy in Latin alphabet.
The Temple of Literature in Hanoi
The Imperial City of Huế
The Municipal Theatre (Saigon Opera House) in Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnamese traditional white school uniform for girls in the country, the áo dài with the addition of nón lá, a conical hat.
Vietnamese dragon on Emperor Khải Định's c. 1917 scroll in British Library collection.
Ca trù trio performance in northern Vietnam
Some of the notable Vietnamese cuisine, clockwise from top-right: phở noodle, chè thái fruit dessert, chả giò spring roll and bánh mì sandwich.
Vietnam Television (VTV), the main state television
Special Tết decoration in the country seen during the holiday