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Viet Nam

Viet Nam is located on the eastern coast of the Indochinese Peninsula in south-east Asia. The country shares a border with China in the north and with Laos and Cambodia in the west.

It was not until 1802 that the present Viet Nam was united under a single ruler. However, the French had annexed the territory by 1885. After the French were defeated in 1954 it was agreed that Viet Nam would have dual administrations in the North and South. However, when the North attempted to forcibly reunify the country the South Viet Nam Government requested US help. Thus the Viet Nam War came about (note that the Vietnamese refer to the same conflict as 'chien tranh My', meaning The American War).

Eventually fighting ended and formal reunification took place on 2 July 1976 with the foundation of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.

In recent times, Viet Nam has made significant steps to opening up its economy. Despite such efforts, there remain a number of issues affecting development in the communist state.

Contact our China & Viet Nam program office.

Development Issues

Socio-economic issues
Health issues
Environmental issues

Socio-economic issues

While Viet Nam achieved great improvement in terms of its social economic state, there remain many challenges to continued development. The incidence of poverty, according to the international poverty line, remained at 20 per cent as of 2004. Further, many households have risen barely above the poverty line and, therefore, remain vulnerable to falling back into poverty.

Growth has also been associated with an increase in inequality. This inequality is visible geographically. Ho Chi Minh City and the surrounding provinces constitute the power-house of economic development. There, GDP per capita has reached nearly US$2000, as against a national average of US$723. The inequality is also illustrated by the widening rural-urban income gap; about 90 percent of the poor live in rural areas.

Development is also hampered by problems with education - although substantial progress in the area has been made. For example, school completion rates among ethnic minorities and girls remain relatively low and there remain shortages in skilled workers throughout the country. One of the main reasons for this is that people have to pay for school, and poor families are left disadvantaged.

For up-to-date information and statistics on socio-economic development issues in Viet Nam, please refer to the following sources: 
UNDP Human Development Reports Website - Viet Nam Country Page
Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Viet Nam Country Profile
Asian Development Bank - Viet Nam Economic Outlook 2006 (pdf)

Health issues

With Viet Nam's rapid growth has come improved health for its people. Nevertheless, there remain a number of development issue with regards to health in Viet Nam. Malnutrition remains high, particularly among children under five. The country also faces a number of re-emerging and new diseases such and a rising number of traffic accidents.

Viet Nam is lacking in infrastructure and trained medical personnel. A significant proportion of the population remains without access to sustainable sanitation or sustainable access to an improved water source. In terms of medical personnel, the country has only 5.3 doctors and 5.6 nurses for every 10,000 people in the country (2001).

There is a rapidly increasing HIV-epidemic in Viet Nam. The number of people living with HIV more than doubled between 2000 and 2005, from approximately 122,000 to 263,000. The estimated national adult (aged 15-49) HIV prevalence rate stands at 0.5 per cent.

A further health issue affecting Viet Nam's development has been the outbreak of avian influenza (or bird flu). The costs involved in combating avian influenza and also preventing further outbreaks also represent a significant drain on the Vietnamese economy.

For up-to-date information and statistics on HIV/AIDS in Viet Nam, please refer to the following sites: 
UNDP Human Development Reports Website - Viet Nam Country Page
UNAIDS page on Viet Nam
WHO Viet Nam country profile

Environmental issues

Continued development in Viet Nam requires sustainable use of the environment. To this end there are a number of environmental issues that need to be addressed.

Viet Nam has suffered from the twin problems of land degradation and deforestation. The soil degradation has been increasing both in its speed and seriousness. Much of the land degradation results from practices such as deforestation and over-intensive farming. Fortunately, since 1990, plantation forestry has partly contributed to controlling deforestation in Viet Nam. The quality of forest plantation has also improved.

Air and water pollution are two further problems. Rapid urbanisation and industrialisation has been the primary cause. In the industrial zones, wastewater is discharged directly into rivers and lakes without treatment. Wastewater from municipal areas is also directly discharged into rivers. The growing exploitation of ground water in some cities and towns has lead to a sharp fall in ground water levels and increased its salt infiltration. Air pollution is also a problem.

Waste management remains a further key issue. The collection efficiency is still very low; most cities have yet to fully establish collection services. Further, the treatment efficiency is not satisfactory and the existing dumping sites are not properly designed.