officially SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM, Vietnamese CONG HOA XA HOI CHU NGHIA VIET NAM, country occupying the eastern part of the Indochinese Peninsula. It has an area of 127,800 square miles (331,000 square kilometers). From north to south it extends about 1,025 miles (1,650 kilometers) and at its narrowest part is about 30 miles wide. Vietnam is bordered by China to the north, the South China Sea to the east and south, the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest, and Cambodia and Laos to the west. The capital, Hanoi, is located in the north, while the country's largest city, Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), is in the south.

The current Vietnamese nation was established in July 1976, after a period of prolonged warfare and after being partitioned (1954-75) first militarily and later politically into the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, better known as North Vietnam, and the Republic of Vietnam, usually called South Vietnam.

Additional info on Vietnam

The Land of Vietnam
The People of Vietnam
The Economy of Vietnam
Administration and Social Conditions of Vietnam
The Cultural Life of Vietnam
Origins of the Vietnamese People
Cities of Vietnam
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