Page last updated on January 31, 2014

Location:
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, as well as China, Laos, and Cambodia

Geographic coordinates:
16 10 N, 107 50 E

Map references:
Southeast Asia

Area:
total: 331,210 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 66
land: 310,070 sq km
water: 21,140 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries:
total: 4,639 km
border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]

Coastline:
3,444 km (excludes islands)
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate:
tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March)
More Climate Details

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
[see also: Elevation extremes - lowest point country ranks ]
highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m

Natural resources:
phosphates, coal, manganese, rare earth elements, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, timber, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 19.64%
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 11.18%
other: 69.18% (2011)

Irrigated land:
45,850 sq km (2005)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Total renewable water resources:
884.1 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 82.03 cu km/yr (1%/4%/95%)
[see also: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) - total country ranks ]
per capita: 965 cu m/yr (2005)

Natural hazards:
occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta

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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point