Vietnam (pronounced /ˌviː.ɛtˈnɑːm/; Vietnamese: Việt Nam), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea, referred to as East Sea (Vietnamese: Biển Đông), to the east. With a population of over 86 million, Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in the world.
The people of Vietnam regained independence and broke away from China in AD 938 after their victory at the battle of Bạch Đằng River. Successive dynasties flourished along with geographic and political expansion deeper into Southeast Asia, until it was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. Efforts to resist the French eventually led to their expulsion from the country in the mid-20th century, leaving a nation divided politically into two countries. Fighting between the two sides continued during the Vietnam War, ending with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975.
Emerging from this prolonged military engagement, the war-ravaged nation was politically isolated. The government’s centrally planned economic decisions hindered post-war reconstruction[citation needed] and its treatment of the losing side engendered more resentment than reconciliation. In 1986, it instituted economic and political reforms and began a path towards international reintegration.[citation needed] By 2000, it had established diplomatic relations with most nations. Its economic growth had been among the highest in the world in the past decade. These efforts culminated in Vietnam joining the World Trade Organization in 2007.
Việt Nam (chính thể hiện tại: Cộng hòa Xã hội Chủ nghĩa Việt Nam) là một quốc gia nằm ở phía đông bán đảo Đông Dương, thuộc khu vực Đông Nam Á. Việt Nam phía bắc giáp Trung Quốc, phía tây giáp Lào và Campuchia, phía tây nam giáp vịnh Thái Lan, phía đông và phía nam giáp biển Đông và có hơn 4.000 hòn đảo, bãi đá ngầm lớn nhỏ, gần và xa bờ, có vùng nội thủy, lãnh hải, vùng đặc quyền kinh tế và thềm lục địa được Chính phủ Việt Nam xác định gần gấp ba lần diện tích đất liền (khoảng trên 1 triệu km²). Trên biển Đông có quần đảo Trường Sa và Hoàng Sa được Việt Nam tuyên bố chủ quyền nhưng vẫn đang bị tranh chấp với các quốc gia khác như Đài Loan, Trung Quốc và Philippines.
Sau khi Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa ở miền Bắc và Mặt trận dân tộc giải phóng miền nam Việt Nam giành chiến thắng trước Việt Nam Cộng hòa ở miền Nam ngày 30 tháng 4 năm 1975, hai miền Bắc-Nam được thống nhất. Ngày 2 tháng 7 năm 1976 nước Việt Nam được đặt Quốc hiệu là Cộng hòa Xã hội Chủ nghĩa Việt Nam.
Việt Nam (Vietnamese pronunciation: [vjə̀tnam]) was adopted as the official name of the country by Emperor Gia Long in 1804.[4] The name, Việt Nam, is variation of "Nam Việt," (南越, Southern Việt) a name for the country used during ancient times.[5] In 1839, Emperor Minh Mạng renamed the country Đại Nam ("Great South").[6] In 1945, the nation's official name was changed back to "Vietnam". The name is also sometimes rendered as "Viet Nam" in English.[7]
The history of Vietnam begins around 2,700 years ago. Successive dynasties based in China ruled Vietnam directly for most of the period from 207 BC until 938 when Vietnam regained its independence.[1] Vietnam remained a tributary state to its larger neighbor China for much of its history but repelled invasions by the Chinese as well as three invasions by the Mongols between 1255 and 1285.[2] Emperor Trần Nhân Tông later diplomatically submitted Vietnam to a tributary of the Yuan to avoid further conflicts. The independent period temporarily ended in the middle to late 19th century, when the country was colonized by France (see French Indochina). During World War II, Imperial Japan expelled the French to occupy Vietnam, though they retained French administrators during their occupation. After the war, France attempted to re-establish its colonial rule but ultimately failed in the First Indochina War. The Geneva Accords partitioned the country in two with a promise of democratic election to reunite the country.
However, rather than peaceful reunification, partition led to the Vietnam War. During this time, the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union supported the North while the United States supported the South. After millions of Vietnamese deaths, the war ended with the fall of Saigon to the North in April 1975. The reunified Vietnam suffered further internal repression and was isolated internationally due to the continuing Cold War and the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia. In 1986, the Communist Party of Vietnam changed its economic policy and began reforms of the private sector similar to those in China. Since the mid-1980s, Vietnam has enjoyed substantial economic growth and some reduction in political repression, though reports of corruption have also risen.
