ABSTRACT
Vietnam is located in southeastern Asia. It is bordering the Gulf of Thailand, the Gulf of Tonkin, and the South China Sea. Its adjoining neighbouring countries include China, Laos and Cambodia. The country has a total area of about 329,560 square kilometres covering land (325,360 square kilometres) and water (4,200 square kilometres). It has a long coastline of about 3,500 kilometres (excluding islands) (CIA World Factbook, 2001). Vietnam has tropical climate in the south, and monsoonal climate in the north. Its
hot, rainy season covers the period between mid-May to mid-September. Warm, dry weather is found mainly between mid-October and mid-March. The topography of Vietnam is characterized by low, flat deltas in the south and north. Central highlands and mountainous areas are located in the far north and northwest regions. The elevation ranges from the lowest at the South China Sea to Phanxipan peak (3,143 metres). Vietnam is rich in the natural resources such as phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests and hydropower. Land uses include arable land (17 per cent of total land), permanent crops (4 per cent) permanent pastures (1 per cent) forests and woodland (30 per cent) and others (48 per cent). A total of 18,600 square kilometres (1993 estimates) was classified as irrigated land (CIA World Factbook, 2001). Vietnam has a population of about 80 million. About 90 per cent of the population
are ethnic Vietnamese. They originated in southern China and northern Vietnam and moved southwards during the past centuries to occupy the eastern seaward part of the Indochinese Peninsula. The remaining 10 per cent of the population comprises many other ethnic groups. For example, approximately 1.2 million Chinese are concentrated mainly in southern Vietnam. The central highland people constitute another large group, commonly known as theMontagnards (mountain people), which comprise two main ethnolinguistic groups: Malayo-Polynesian and Mon-Khmer. In the highland territory, there are over 30 groups of various local cultures and dialects. Furthermore, there are about 600,000 of Khmer Krom (Cambodians) concentrating in southern provinces near Cambodia and at the mouth of the Mekong River. Other minority groups in the north include Chams, Hmong and Thai (Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, 1998).
