Vietnam is located on the eastern margin of the Indochinese peninsula and occupies about 331,211.6 square kilometres (127,881.5 sq mi), of which about 25% was under cultivation in 1987. It borders the Gulf of Tonkin, Gulf of Thailand, and Pacific Ocean, along with China, Laos, and Cambodia. The elongated roughly S shaped country has a north-to-south distance of 1,650 km (1,030 mi) and is about 50 km (31 mi) wide at the narrowest point. With a coastline of 3,260 km (2,030 mi), excluding islands, Vietnam claims 12 nautical miles as the limit of its territorial waters, an additional 12 nautical miles as a contiguous customs and security zone. It has an exclusive economic zone of 417,663 km2 (161,261 sq mi) with 200 nautical miles.
The Mekong Delta, also known as the Western Region or South-western region, is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of south-western Vietnam of over 40,500 km2 (15,600 sq mi). The size of the area covered by water depends on the season. Its wet coastal geography makes it an important source of agriculture and aquaculture for the country.
Cần Thơ, also written as Can Tho or Cantho, is the fourth-largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city along the Mekong Delta region in Vietnam.
The Khmer Krom are ethnically Khmer people living in or from the Mekong Delta, the south western part of Vietnam known in Khmer as Kampuchea Krom. The Khmer Krom people are considered as the Indigenous people of Southern Vietnam and having the oldest extant recorded history of inhabiting in the region. In Vietnam, they are recognized as one of Vietnam's fifty-three ethnic minorities.
The Central Highlands, South Central Highlands, Western Highlands or Midland Highlands is a region located in the south central part of Vietnam. It contains the provinces of Đắk Lắk, Đắk Nông, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, and Lâm Đồng.
Phú Yên is a central coastal province in the South Central Coast region, in Central Vietnam. It borders Bình Định to the north, Khánh Hòa to the south, Gia Lai to the northwest, Đắk Lắk to the southwest and the East Sea to the east.
Tiền Giang is a province in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam.
In Vietnam, South Central Coast and South Central Region are two terms which can refer to the same region or two regions that do not correspond to each other. South Central Coast consists of the independent municipality of Đà Nẵng and seven other provinces, which means South Central Coast doesn't include Central Highlands. Nevertheless, the term "South Central Region" can also be used to include Central Highlands as it is part of southern part of Central Vietnam.
Bắc Trung Bộ is one of the geographic regions of Vietnam. It consists of six provinces in northern part of Central Vietnam: Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên–Huế. The last two provinces were the northernmost provinces of State of Vietnam and South Vietnam until Reunification of Vietnam in 1976. In the Nguyễn dynasty, this area was known as Hữu Trực Kỳ.
Tây Bắc is one of the regions of Vietnam, located in the mountainous northwestern part of the country. It consists of four provinces: Điện Biên, Lai Châu, Sơn La, and Hòa Bình. Lào Cai and Yên Bái are usually seen as part of the Northwest region. It has a population of about two and a half million and it is fully landlocked.
The Red River Delta or Hong River Delta is the flat low-lying plain formed by the Red River and its distributaries merging with the Thái Bình River in northern Vietnam. Hồng (紅) is a Sino-Vietnamese word for "red" or "crimson". The delta has the smallest area but highest population and population density of all regions. The region, measuring some 15,000 square kilometres (6,000 sq mi) is well protected by a network of dikes. It is an agriculturally rich and densely populated area. Most of the land is devoted to rice cultivation.
Northern Vietnam, Central Vietnam and Southern Vietnam are the three main historical, geographical and cultural regions within Vietnam. Each region consists of subregions, with considerable cultural differences originating from each subregions.
Northern Vietnam is one of three geographical regions within Vietnam. It consists of three administrative regions: the Northwest, the Northeast, and the Red River Delta. It has a total area of about 109,942.9 km2. Tonkin is a historical exonym for this region plus the Thanh-Nghệ region.
Southern Vietnam is one of the three geographical regions of Vietnam, the other two being Northern and Central Vietnam. It includes 2 administrative regions, which in turn are divided into 19 First Tier units, of which 17 are provinces and 2 are municipalities. In a sub-context, "Southern Vietnam" may include part of Central Vietnam, the two south central costal provinces Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận are sometimes seen as part of the Southeast region, the Southern. Known as Nam Bộ today in Vietnamese, it was historically called as Gia Định (1779–1832), Nam Kỳ (1832–1945), Nam Bộ (1945–48), and Nam Phần (1948–75).
Đông Bắc is the region to the north of the Red River Delta in Vietnam, bordering China. It is called Northeast to distinguish it from the Tây Bắc or "Northwest", but it is actually in the north and northeast of Hanoi, wider than Việt Bắc or "Northern Vietnam". The Northeast is one of three sub-regions of Northern Vietnam. Sometimes the Northeast includes the Red River Delta.
Đông Nam Bộ is a region in Vietnam. This region includes one municipality, Ho Chi Minh City; and five provinces: Đồng Nai, Bình Dương, Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province, Bình Phước and Tây Ninh. The two south central provinces Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận are sometimes seen as part of the Southeast region. This region is the most economically developed region in Vietnam. In 2006, this region contributed 148,000 billion VND out of 251,000 billion VND to the state budget. This region is also the most highly urbanized in the country with more than 50% people living in urban areas.
Central Vietnam, also known as Middle Vietnam or The Middle, formerly known as Trung Phần by South Vietnam, Trung Kỳ and Annam under French Indochina, is one of the three geographical regions within Vietnam.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Vietnam:
Vietnam has a monsoon-influenced climate typical of that of mainland Southeast Asia. The diverse topography, long latitude, and influences from the South China Sea lead to climatic conditions varying significantly between regions. The northern region experiences a monsoonal and temperate climate (Cfa) with four distinct seasons with winters typically dry and summers ranging from hot to mild. In southern and central areas, the climate is tropical monsoon (Aw) with only two seasons. In addition, a temperate climate exists in mountainous areas, which are found in Sa Pa and Da Lat, while a more continental climate exists in Lai Châu Province and Sơn La Province.
Vietnam is divided into 58 provinces and 5 municipalities. It is a unitary state, so there is no such thing as a state or self-governing provinces.
