The Socialist Republic of Vietnam or Vietnam as it is commonly referred to as, is located in Southeast Asia. It is the easternmost nation on the Indochina Peninsula. On its east it is bordered by the South China Sea, on its southwest it is bordered by Cambodia, on its northwest it shares border with Laos and it has China on its north. With a population of about eighty-six million people, Vietnam is considered to be the 13th most populated nation in the world. There are fifty-eight provinces in the country and these provinces are further divided in to townships, counties and provincial municipalities.
Vietnam has an area of about 331,688 square kilometers and its size can be compared to the size of Germany. The country is covered 40% by mountains and it only has 20% level land. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and Halong Bay are the two natural heritage sites of the world. Vietnam is also home to the six biosphere reserves of the world and these reserves are Western Nghe An, Red River Delta, Kien Giang, Cat Ba, Cat Tien and the Can Gio Mangrove Forest. It is being estimated that the population of the country is about eighty-four million.
