Vietnam

B

Political Divisions

Vietnam is divided into 61 provinces grouped in 7 regions: North Mountain and Midland, Red River Delta, North Central Coast, South Central Coast, Central Highlands, North Eastern South Region, and Mekong River Delta, plus the 3 municipalities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Haiphong.

C

Principal Cities

Most of the larger urban centres are located in southern Vietnam. Of the major cities, only the capital city of Hanoi (population, 2000 estimate, 3,734,000) is not located on the coast. Other large cities are Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon (4,615,000, 2000 estimate); Haiphong (1,679,000, 2000 estimate), Hanoi’s port; and Đa Nãng (382,674, 1992 estimate), near the ancient city of Huê (219,149, 1992 estimate). The government formerly attempted to reverse the rural-to-urban migration stream by establishing new economic zones in the countryside and forcing city residents to relocate to these.

D

Religion

Historically the country is mostly Buddhist, a reflection of Chinese influence. To the traditional religion of Mahayana Buddhism has been added the newer faiths of Cao Dai and Hoa Hao. The philosophical creeds of Confucianism and Daoism, along with related Chinese religion, are also important. There are an estimated 4.5 million Roman Catholics.

E

Language

Vietnamese, the official language, is spoken by the majority of the population. The use of French, a remnant of colonial times, is declining, becoming a language spoken by older generations, while youngsters prefer to learn English as a foreign language. The majority (94 per cent) of languages spoken in Vietnam are from the Austro-Asiatic Language family. Tày, a Tai-Kadai language, is spoken by the largest minority, and other minority mother tongues include Muong (Austro-Asiatic), Yue Chinese (Sino-Tibetan), and Nung (Tai-Kadai).

F

Education

The long period of military conflict in Vietnam seriously disrupted educational progress and cultural programmes, especially those remnants that dated from the years of French rule. After national reunification, emphasis was placed on the re-education of the people in the south to instruct them in the Communist system.

All schools in Vietnam were nationalized following reunification, and by 1994 there were some 9,725,000 primary-school pupils attending 13,092 schools with 275,640 teachers, and 3,953,250 secondary- and technical- school pupils attending 6,215 schools with 179,165 teachers. Schooling is free and compulsory. Principal universities in Vietnam are the University of Hanoi (1956) and the University of Ho Chi Minh City (1917); in 1994 there were a total of 104 universities and higher education institutes, with 118,580 students. Around 94 per cent of the adult population is literate.