Geography of Vietnam
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For historical geography of Vietnam, see History of Vietnam.
Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia
Geographic coordinates: Template:Coor dm
Area:
- total: 329,560 km²
- land: 325,360 km²
- water: 4,200 km²
Area - comparative: slightly larger than the state of New Mexico in the United States.
Land boundaries:
Coastline: 3,444 km (excludes islands)
Maritime claims:
- contiguous zone: 24 nautical miles
- continental shelf: 200 nautical miles or to the edge of the continental margin
- exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles
- territorial sea: 12 nautical miles
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: Ngoc Linh 3,143 m
Natural resources: phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower
Land use:
- arable land: 17%
- permanent crops: 4%
- permanent pastures: 1%
- forests and woodland: 30%
- other: 48% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 18,600 km² (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban