Vietnam

1. Population
As of September 2016, the Vietnam population is 94.7 million, it have been growing
steadily for the past six decades. The male-to-female ratio is almost 1 to 1 and the
population age group are as follows; 25.2% are under 15 years old, 69.3% are between
15 and 65 years old and 5.5% are above 65 years old. The average life expectancy of
Vietnam is 72.2 years with female living 5 years longer than male on average. Majority of
the population in Vietnam are Vietnamese (85.7%), where the rest, 14.3% are of foreign
nationality.

Very good visual aids in the form of charts and graphs!

Very young country with little percentage of ageing population.
Is it possible to find out sentiments of Vietnamese citizens;
whether they are hopeful in the future of Vietnam?
How did Vietnam sustain its population growth over the past six
decades? Is it due to economic factors (developing economy
hence optimistic outlook in family planning), political factors
(baby benefits schemes from the government, considerate
housing schemes) or social factors (beliefs that a big family is
good)?

References
Viet Nam Population (2016)
http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/vietnam-population/

Demographics of Vietnam
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Vietnam

2. Education
In Vietnam, 94.52% of adults (15 years old and above) can read and write. The youth
literacy rate (15 24 years old) is very high, 98.06%. The education system structure
resembles most in South East Asia, where it starts with Preschool, followed by Primary
School, Secondary School, High School and lastly, Higher education (degree and above).
It takes a typical student 12 years to complete his or her High School education.

Is it possible to find out the mods or studies that the Vietnamese

students are exposed to?
Demographics of Vietnam
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Vietnam

Is it possible to go towards the sources listed in Wikipedia and

extract information, instead of taking from Wikipedia itself?
3. Language
The official language used in Vietnam is Vietnamese, , a tonal MonKhmer language
which is spoken by the majority of the countrys citizen. This official language is more
widely used in Southern than Northern Vietnam. Vietnamese is closely associated with
Cambodia's official language, Khmer, which is the second most spoken language in
Vietnam. In the Vietnamese language, with each syllable there are six different tones that
change the definition of most words, making it difficult for non-native speakers to pick
up, much less master, the language. Private language centres offering English as a
second language are in high demand in the large cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
No need for further explanation. Further examples has been provided for by
other groups, just have to integrate research.
References,
http://www.studycountry.com/guide/VN-language.htm
1. Religion
Officially, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is an atheist state as declared by
its communist government. However, citizens have freedom of religion and beliefs based
on Vietnams Constitution (Dodd, 2013).
Religions in Vietnam mainly consists majority of the Vietnamese folk religion and
Buddhism. Vietnam is one of the least religious countries in the world. According to the
2014 official statistics from the government, there are 24 million people identified with
one of the recognised organised religions, out of a population of 90 million. Of these, 11
million are Buddhists (12.2%), 6.2 million are Catholics (6.8%), 4.4 million
are Caodaists (4.8%), 1.4 million are Protestants (1.6%), 1.3 million
are Hoahaoists (1.4%), and there are 75,000 Muslims, 7,000 Bahais, 1,500 Hindus and
other smaller groups (<1%) (United Nations, 2014).
Although majority of the population have no affiliated religion, shared beliefs and
practices remains an essential part of Vietnamese life, and influences the social
behaviours and spiritual practices of Vietnamese individuals in Vietnam and abroad.
The triple religion referring to the combination of Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism,
and Taoism remain a strong influence on the beliefs and practices of the Vietnamese,
even if official figures from formal body of this religion does not reflect so (Embassy of
Vietnam, 2010).

One of the common form of spiritual practice to Vietnamese is ancestor worship, a

practice common with mainly Chinese and majority of other Asian cultures. Practically all
Vietnamese, regardless of formal religious affiliation, have an altar in their home or
business where prayers are offered to their ancestors. These offerings and practices are
done frequently during important traditional or religious celebrations such as the starting
of a new business, death anniversary and festivities. (Hue-Tam, 2010)

Is it possible to add in examples of ancestor worship? Practices

that are carried out in the worshipping? When are the festivals
that worshipping is done? Or is it done everyday?
Sources
United Nations' "Press Statement on the visit to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam by the
Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief". Hanoi, Viet Nam 31 July 2014. V
Philip Taylor. Goddess on the Rise: Pilgrimage and Popular Religion in Vietnam.
Jan Dodd, Mark Lewis, Ron Emmons. The Rough Guide to Vietnam, Vol. 4, 2003
Embassy of Vietnam (USA), "Beliefs and religions", 17 May 2010

2. Social Structure
Family solidarity and interdependence has traditionally been emphasized over
independence and self-reliance. Unity and hierarchy are given great importance which is
more prominent in the north. The same is applied to the south with more democratic
influences. (Hays, 2013)
Due to its communist influence, Vietnamese have been described as socialists. The
individual is seen as secondary to the group be it in the family, school or company.
Hence, there are strict rules for social dealings that are designed to protect a group's
face. As with most group-orientated societies there are also hierarchical structures.
These are very much based upon age and status in Vietnam. (Hays, 2013)
The society is also heavily influenced by Confucianism. This is so through emphasise on
social order. Everyone is seen as having a distinct place and role within the hierarchical
structure, be it the family or workplace. An example is seen in social situations where the
oldest person in a group is greeted or served first. Within the family the head would be
responsible for making decisions and approving marriages. (Hays, 2013)
In general, the society in Vietnam is divided into 5 classes. The upper class at the top,
followed by upper middle class, middle class, traditional middle class, lower middle class
and lastly, the working class. (Vietnam Political Social Hierarchy, 2013)
Sources

Vietnam Political Social Hierarchy. (2013). from

http://www.hierarchystructure.com/political-social-hierarchy/
Hays, J. (2013). SOCIETY IN VIETNAM: CONFUCIANISM, HISTORY, SOCIAL STRUCTURES
AND COMMUNISM from http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Vietnam/sub5_9c/entry3404.html

What are some examples of strict rules for social dealings? What
are the characteristics of each class?
3. Spread of distribution (Income and population)
Income
Inequality in income is seen as a rising economic problem in the coming years. The
Vietnamese Gini Coefficient of income inequality remained fairly stable in the early
2000s. However, from 2004 to 2010, the gap in average monthly income per capita of
the richest household and the poorest rose from 8.4 times in 2006 to 9.2 in 2010, a
relatively rapid rise in 4 years. (Berliner, 2013)

Are there any explanations for why the income gap widened? Is it
due to relaxed tax rates for the higher income group?
Population
Vietnam has one of the highest overall densities in Southeast Asia. It has an extremely
unequal distribution of its population. There are two main areas of high densities in
Vietnam. One is the Red River Delta region in the north and the other is the Mekong River
Delta region in the south. This is due to both river deltas having fertile lands for
agriculture. Hence, farmers gathered around the region to grow their crops. The coastal
areas also tend to have much higher densities than the uplands and interior parts of the
country. (Duy, 2011) About 33.6% of the population live in urban areas (CIA, 2015).

What about those living in the cities? Is it a high percentage? Is

there a trend of people going to urban areas to stay, or do they
choose to stay in farm regions?
Sources
Berliner T, Thanh D.K, McCarty A. Inequality, Poverty Reduction and the Middle-Income
Trap in Vietnam. July 2013
Duy T.X, Lewis R, Jia Lu, Mills James. Population and Natural Resources, 2011
CIA, The World Factbook , https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/vm.html, 2015