- Hanoi; 3,977,000 - 331,114 square kilometers (127,844 square
miles) - Vietnamese, English, French, Chinese, Khmer, local
languages - Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian, indigenous
beliefs, Muslim - Life Expectancy: - GDP per Capita: - U.S.
$2,300 - Literacy Percent: Vietnam Facts Flag Vietnam, in
Southeast Asia, stretches 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) north
to south, but is only about 40 kilometers (25 miles) wide at its
narrowest point near the country's center. The Red River delta
lowlands in the north are separated from the huge Mekong Delta
in the south by long, narrow coastal plains backed by the
forested Annam highlands. Hanoi, the capital, is the main city
on the Red River and Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon, is the main
city on the Mekong. Independent for almost a thousand years,
Vietnam fell prey to French colonialism in the mid-19th century.
During Japanese occupation in World War II, communist leader Ho
Chi Minh formed the Vietminh, an alliance of communist and
noncommunist nationalist groups. Ar