Vietnam
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| Cộng Hòa Xã Hội Chủ Nghĩa Việt Nam Socialist Republic of Vietnam |
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| National information | |||||
| National motto: | Independence, liberty, happiness (Vietnamese: Độc lập - Tự do - Hạnh phúc) |
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| National anthem: | "Tiến Quân Ca" | ||||
| About the people | |||||
| Official languages: | Vietnamese | ||||
| Population: (# of people) |
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| Geography / Places | |||||
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| Capital city: | Hanoi | ||||
| Largest city: | Ho Chi Minh City | ||||
| Area | |||||
| Politics / Government | |||||
| Established: | September 2, 1945 | ||||
| Leaders: | General Secretary: Nông Ðức Mạnh President: Nguyễn Minh Triết Prime Minister: Nguyễn Tấn Dũng |
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| Economy / Money | |||||
| Currency: (Name of money) |
đồng (₫) (VND) | ||||
| International information | |||||
| Time zone: | +7 | ||||
| Telephone dialing code: | +84 | ||||
| Internet domain: | .vn | ||||
Vietnam is a country in Southeast Asia. The official name of the country is the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. It is near China, Laos and Cambodia. The capital of Vietnam is Hànội. The largest city is Hồ Chí Minh City. That city was called Sàigòn, before 1975. About 86.5 million people live in Vietnam.
When it was ruled by the Chinese Empire for many hundred years, it was called Annam ("peaceful south").
Vietnam was conquered by France in 1858. The French were very brutal and killed many innocent Vietnamese people. In 1930 Nguyễn Ái Quốc made the Vietnamese Independence League, called Việt Nam Ðộc Lập Ðồng Minh Hội (Việt Minh for short). The Japanese took over Vietnam in World War II. The Việt Minh fought against both the Japanese and the Vichy French. When the Japanese were beaten, the Vietnamese people, led by the Việt Minh started the August Revolution. Then, on September 2, 1945, Nguyễn Ái Quốc (who was now calling himself Hồ Chí Minh, meaning 'Hồ (a common last name) with the will of light') read the Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in Ba Ðình Square, in Hànội. It was based on the American Declaration of Independence.
Then the French came back, so Vietnam with Hồ Chí Minh as Premier fought a war for independence from France. The French surrendered in 1954 after the Battle of Ðiện Biên Phủ. The nation was then divided into North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The anti-communist United States had a lot of influence in the South, and the communist and nationalist Việt Minh controlled the North. Hồ Chí Minh was extremely popular in the whole nation, so he became President of the Democratic Republic of (North) Việtnam. It was agreed that the nation would be reunited by elections in 1956. But, the Americans and the Southern government stopped the elections from happening.
Soon, the USA was at war with Vietnam. This war was known as the American War, the Vietnam War, or the Second Indochinese War. Soon, South Vietnam became a military dictatorship. The Southern army removed the unpopular Ngô Ðình Diệm from power and killed him.
On September 3, 1969, the day after Independence Day, President Hồ Chí Minh died of heart failure. People all across the nation cried for him. Even the Sàigòn newspaper said, "Việt Nam loses a unique politician".
On April 30, 1975, the National Liberation Front liberated Sàigòn and quickly renamed it Hồ Chí Minh City. The nation was fully reunified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on July 2, 1976.
| Countries and territories of Asia |
|
Afghanistan | Armenia2 | Azerbaijan | Bahrain | Bangladesh | Bhutan | Brunei | Cambodia | China (PRC) | Cyprus2 | East Timor | Gaza Strip | Georgia2 | Hong Kong3 | India | Indonesia | Iran | Iraq | Israel | Japan | Jordan | Kazakhstan | Kuwait | Kyrgyzstan | Laos | Lebanon | Macau3 | Malaysia | Maldives | Mongolia | Myanmar | Nepal | North Korea | Oman | Pakistan | Philippines | Qatar | Russia1 | Saudi Arabia | Singapore | South Korea | Sri Lanka | Syria | Taiwan (ROC) | Tajikistan | Thailand | Turkey1 | Turkmenistan | United Arab Emirates | Uzbekistan | Vietnam | West Bank | Yemen |
| 1. Includes territory in both Europe and Asia. 2. Usually thought of Europe for cultural, Politically and historical reasons. 3. Special territories. |
