Statistics
12/11/2008
Okay, I'm a professor, and can't help myself! Those of you who don't like statistics may want to skip this blog entry, but I just have to share some of these basic statistics about Vietnam. The professor in me also is providing some links to the sources of my information for those of you who might want to read more. Enjoy!- Vietnam's size is equivalent to Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee combined.
- The population in 2007 was 85.15 million, compared to 305, 857, 624 in the U.S. as of 12/11/08, 9:21 a.m. (Source: http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html)
- The literacy rate is 90%.
- Life expectancy is 70.8 overall, a little less for men, a little more for women. Two-thirds of the population is under 30.
- The GDP in 2007 was $71.4 billion, compared to $14.3 trillion (est.) for the U.S. (Who can even comprehend these numbers???)
- The principal agricultural products are rice, maize, sweet potatoes, peanuts, soya beans, cotton, coffee, and cashews.
- Vietnam exports $48.39 billion, and its principal exports are crude oil, garments/textiles, footwear, fishery products, wood products, rice (it is the second-largest exporter of rice in the world), sea products, coffee, rubber, and handicrafts. (Check your closets to see how many of your clothes and shoes are from Vietnam. You might be surprised. Also, if any of you are knitters, Lantern Moon is a Vietnamese company). In 2007, $10.6 billion of Vietnam's exports were to the U.S, while it imported $1.9 billion from the U.S.
- Per capita annual income in 2007 was $832. (For the sake of comparison, in 2006 the per capita personal income for Indiana was $32,288, according to Infoplease.)
- If we think our inflation is bad, we should compare it to Vietnam's. According to the Department of State's Background Notes, inflation there was approaching 30% as of August 2008.
- If you are interested in education, about 10 percent of Vietnam's college-age population attends college, and entrance is governed by competitive examinations. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Vietnam sends approximately 3,600 students to the United States each year. The same article notes that university salaries in Vietnam are capped at $150 per month. which means there is little incentive for college graduates to become college and university teachers. For the full Chronicle article, see: http://chronicle.com/news/article/4778/as-vietnam-expands-its-higher-education-system-professors-are-in-short-supply
- Libraries, anyone? The National Library of Vietnam "oversees a network of 64 provincial and municipal libraries, 577 district libraries and some 7,000 commune and village libraries or book cabinets; a further c 7,000 reading rooms are attached to ‘post offices of culture’ run by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT); some 200 university and college libraries and over 17,000 libraries and reading rooms operate under the guidance of the Ministry of Education and Training; and numerous specialist libraries are attached to research institutes, government ministries and agencies and the armed forces." Source: http://www.culturalprofiles.net/Viet_Nam/Directories/Vi_ACYAIw-7879_ADs-t_Nam_Cultural_Profile/-562.html (If you're interested in a cultural profile of Vietnam, take a look at this great site.)
