Viet Nam

From Roach Busters

Việt Nam Cộng Hòa Republic of Viet Nam
Flag	Coat of arms
Motto "Tổ quốc - Danh dự - Trách nhiệm" (Vietnamese) "Fatherland – Honor – Responsibility"
Anthem Tiếng Gọi Công Dân (Call to the Citizens)
Capital (and largest city)	Sài Gòn 10°45′N 106°40′E
Official languages	Vietnamese
Demonym	Vietnamese
Government  - President  - Vice-President  - Prime Minister  - Deputy Prime Minister	Republic Nguyễn Thị Mai Dương Lâm Ngọc Minh Đoàn Thiêm Hồng Nguyễn Quang Xuân
Independence  - Declared  - De facto  - De jure  - Republic declared	from France September 2, 1945 May 7, 1954 July 21, 1954 October 26, 1955
Area  - Total  - Water (%)	331,690 km² 128,527 sq mi 1.3
Population  - July 2008 estimate  - 1999 census  - Density	86,116,559 76,323,173 259.6/km² 670/sq mi
GDP (PPP)  - Total  - Per capita	2008 estimate $1.28 trillion $14,869
GDP (nominal)  - Total  - Per capita	2008 estimate $1.02 trillion $11,850
Gini (2005)	41 (medium)
HDI (2005)	0.796 (medium)
Currency	Đồng (₫) (VND)
Time zone - Summer (DST)	(UTC +7) not observed (UTC +7)
Internet TLD	.vi
Calling code	+84

The Republic of Viet Nam (Vietnamese: Việt Nam Cộng Hòa) is the easternmost country on the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east. With a population of over 86 million, Viet Nam is one of the 15 most populous countries in the world.

Viet Nam was under Chinese control for a thousand years before becoming a nation-state in the 10th century. Successive dynasties flourished until it was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. Efforts to resist the French eventually led to their expulsion from the country in the mid-20th century, resulting in Vietnamese independence in 1954. to be continued