Vietnam is situated on the eastern rim of the Indochinese peninsula. Its northernmost point is the village of Lung Cu (23° 22’ N.Lat.), its southernmost point is Cape Ca Mau (8° 30’ N. Lat) while its easternmost point is Cape Hon Gai (109° 29’ E.Long) and its westernmost geographical formation is Mount Na San (102° 10’E.Long). From north to south, the territory of Vietnam extends for 1,750 kms., its widest and narrowest territories are 600 kms and 50 kms wide respectively. Vietnam’s territory comprises a number of islands with the total area of the country being just little over 331,690 sq. kms.
In the north, Vietnam is bordered by China and in the west by Laos and Cambodia. It has over 3,000 kms of coastline. In the east it is washed by the South China Sea (called East Sea by the Vietnamese) and in the southeast by the Gulf of Thailand.
The Vietnamese people represent a mixture of the Chinese and the Polynesian races of peoples. There is no official religion but many Vietnamese profess Buddhism and Christianity. The population of Vietnam is about 84 million with approximately 13% of the people belonging to 53 diverse ethnic groups and approximately 87% of them belonging to Kinh ethnic and linguistic group. The whole population primarily speaks one language, i.e., Vietnamese.
According to official figures, Vietnam now has six major religions with around 20 million believers. Buddhism makes up half of the religious population. There are also 6 million Catholics and about 66,700 Muslims. Protestantism counts 6,400 followers. Caodaism and Hoa Hao Buddhism were founded in the early and middle 20th century, respectively. The former now has almost 2.3 million followers and the latter, over 1.2 million followers. The government recognized two more religions in 2007, the Pure Land Buddhist Home-Practice Association and the Tu An Hieu Nghia religion, with total of over 2 million disciples.
Vietnam’s climate is tropical and monsoonal, with humidity averaging 84 per cent throughout the year. Annual rainfall ranges between 120 cms. to 300 cms. Vietnam’s major cities are Hanoi, the capital, Ho Chi Minh City (erstwhile Saigon), Hai Phong, Da Nang, Nam Dinh, Hue, Can Tho.