God Save the King (former) Independence - Freedom - Happiness (provisional) | |||||||
| Anthem | "Đăng đàn cung (former) Việt Nam minh châu trời Đông (since 2023)" | ||||||
| Capital | Hue | ||||||
| Largest city | Hotown | ||||||
| Other cities | Hanoi, Danang, Namvang, Vantuong, Guangzhouwan | ||||||
| Language official |
Vietnamese, English | ||||||
| others | Khmer, Laotian, French, Chinese | ||||||
| Religion | 48.9% Buddhism 30.1% Folk Polytheism 7.2% Taoism 5.9% Catholicism 2.3% Islam 2.1% Eastern Orthodox 1.3% Hinduism 1.1% Protestanism 0.4% Haohoaism 0.7% Others | ||||||
| Demonym | Vietnamese, Indochinese | ||||||
| Government | unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy under colonial rule (1945-1954) one-party dictatorship under colonial rule (1954–1985) unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy (1985-2023) unitary parliamentary republic (2023-present) | ||||||
| Legislature | House of Representatives Senate | ||||||
| Monarch (abolished) | Charles III | ||||||
| Governor-General (abolished) | Bao Long, Duke of Hue | ||||||
| Prime Minister | Baroness Kim Ngan (Socialist Fatherland Front) | ||||||
| Area | 749,047 km² | ||||||
| Population | 80,504,201 (2019 Census) | ||||||
| GDP Total: |
$3,84 trillion | ||||||
| per capita | $48,243 | ||||||
| Established | 1946 | ||||||
| Independence | from British Empire | ||||||
| declared | 1985 | ||||||
| Currency | Vietnamese dong (₫) (VND), British pound sterling (£) (GBP) | ||||||
| Timezone | UTC+7 (Vietnam Standard Time) | ||||||
| Driving Side | Left | ||||||
| Calling Code | +84 | ||||||
| Internet TLD | .vn | ||||||
| Organizations | G8, G20, Commonwealth of Nations (withdrawn), ASEAN, OECD, APEC, United Nations | ||||||
Some information on this article may be out-of-date following the republic referendum on 1 April 2023.
Vietnam, officially the Commonwealth of Vietnam, is a nation located in the Indochinese peninsula. It is the second largest country by area in Southeast Asia, and is the sixth largest economy on earth by GDP. Vietnam borders China to the north, Thailand and Myanmar to the west, and shares maritime borders with the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia through the East Vietnam Sea. Its capital is Hue and its largest city is Hotown.
Vietnam was inhabited as early as the Paleolithic age. The first known Vietnamese nation during the first millennium BC centred on the Red River Delta, located in modern-day northern Vietnam. The Han dynasty annexed and put the Vietnamese under Chinese rule from 111 BC, until the first independent dynasty emerged in 939. Successive monarchical dynasties expanded southward to the Mekong Delta. The Nguyễn—the last imperial dynasty—fell to French colonisation in 1887. Following the August Revolution, the nationalist Viet Minh under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh proclaimed independence from France in 1945.
After WWII, the French returned to Vietnam in an attempt to recapture its former colony, but was supplanted by the British, with whom the Viet Minh eventually signed a ceasefire agreement in exchange for Vietnam's partial autonomy. The first democratic election was held in 1946, with the Viet Minh secured a super majority and led the country's post-war recovery for over a decade until being toppled by an MI6- and CIA-sponsored military coup that sent Vietnam into successive authoritarian regimes. The decline and withdrawal of the British in the 1980s saw Vietnam's formal independence being recognized in 1985 and the revitalization of democratic institutions. The Commonwealth of Vietnam had risen to become one of the wealthiest dominions of the British Empire, surpassing Canada and Australia, and earned it the title Pearl of the Crown. On 1 April 2023, the people of Vietnam voted overwhelmingly to become a republic and abolish the British constitutional monarchy in favor of an elected presidency.
A developed country, Vietnam ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as quality of life, education, protection of civil liberties, government transparency, and economic freedom. In the 1950s, with substantial British aid, the economy has been rebuilt with the services and heavy industry as the core, thus moving away from the previous colonial economy built by France that focused solely on raw material export. The economy underwent major economic changes again during the early 2000s, which transformed it from a protectionist to a liberalised free-trade economy—closely following the previous success model of Hong Kong, another British Crown colony. The service sector dominates the national economy, followed by the industrial sector, and agriculture; international tourism is a significant source of revenue. After the end of British rule in 1985, land reform and nationalization of foreign companies halted the growth of the economy and allowed the redistribution of wealth necessary for the emergence of a middle-income class that propels Vietnam's economic growth in later periods, particularly the 2000s with the Miracle on the Delta River. With a GDP of $3.84 trillion in 2021, Vietnam is currently the world's sixth largest economy, after the US, China, India, Japan, and Germany (and ahead of both France and the United Kingdom, its former mother countries).
Vietnam is a parliamentary republic with legislative authority vested in a bicameral Parliament, which includes a popularly elected House of Representatives and a President-appointed Senate (formerly appointed by the Monarch). Executive political power is exercised by the Cabinet and led by the Prime Minister, who is responsible to parliament. Prior to the republican referendum in 2023, Vietnam was a constitutional monarchy with King Charles III as the country's figurehead monarch and represented by a Governor-General, whose assent is required to pass laws. However, most, if not all, actual power of the monarch and the Empire's institutions had been handed to the Vietnamese government after the passage of the Vietnam Act in 1985 that made Vietnam wholly independent. The Socialist Fatherland Front has been Vietnam's naturally-governing party since 1980s, with the Conservative Party being its largest rival.
Hotown, formerly Saigon, is the largest city and economic centre of Vietnam
Vietnam is organised into 104 provinces and the capital district of Hue. Its largest city is Hotown, named posthumously in honor of Ho Chi Minh, first Prime Minister of Vietnam and widely considered as the Father of modern Vietnam. The Commonwealth of Vietnam also includes the City of Guangzhouwan, the Paracel Islands (currently in dispute with China), the Spratly Islands, and the Phu Quoc Islands.
Vietnam is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations (soon to leave), G8, G20, OECD, ASEAN, APEC and WTO.
History[]
Archaeological excavations indicate that Vietnam was inhabited as early as the Paleolithic age. The ancient Vietnamese nation, which was centered on the Red River valley and nearby coastal areas, was annexed by the Han dynasty in the 2nd century BC, which subsequently made Vietnam a division of Imperial China for over a millennium. The first independent monarchy emerged in the 10th century AD. This paved the way for successive imperial dynasties as the nation expanded southward until the Indochina Peninsula was colonised by the French in the late 19th century. Despite being a protectorate of France, Vietnam was still de jure under the authority of the Nguyen Dynasty, which had ruled Vietnam since 1802.
World War II[]
During WW2, Japanese staged a coup d'état against the French colonial regime and established a short-lived puppet state known as the Empire of Vietnam. After the surrender of Japan, with the August Revolution, the Việt Minh had briefly seized all of the territories of Vietnam from Japan and declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945. After WW2, however, France had intended to return to Vietnam and reclaimed its colonies in Indochina with the promise of support from Britain. However, the British Empire, considering France as unworthy of the Indochinese territory, changed plan last minute and supplanted France instead. With the Treaty of Hong Kong, France handed sovereignty of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Guangzhouwan to the British Empire, who designated these territories as the unified Crown Realm of Vietnam—such negotiation was done without any participation of the Vietnamese.
Realm of Vietnam under British rule[]
Ho Chi Minh, first Prime Minister of Vietnam
The arrival of the British troops in Indochina was met with intense resistance by the local population. However, with a militant still in early harboring and a population suffering from a severe famine due to agricultural products confiscated by the Japanese during WW2, the Vietnamese led by the Viet Minh had to resort to a cease fire agreement in December 1946 with the British, who promised a democratic parliamentary system comparable to one established by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam after the August Revolution. The first parliamentary election under British rule took place democratically in 1946, with the Viet Minh's Coalition winning a majority and Ho Chi Minh became the first Prime Minister. Under Ho's Cabinet, Vietnam was rebuilt with extensive economic assistance from Britain and heavily industrialized, thus moving away from French colonial economy that focused solely on raw materials export.
First Vietnamese parliamentary election for the House of Representatives (1946). The Viet Minh coalition (Red and Green) won a super majority.
However, the Viet Minh saw the cease fire with the British as merely a temporary compromise before it can secretly prepare a large enough militant force and economic means to drive the colonialists out of the country. Such plans of the Viet Minh came under notice of MI6 and the British authorities banned the Viet Minh from political participation and put its leaders under house arrest after 1954 on the grounds of "sympathizing with communism" and "treason". With its largest opposition being silenced and support from the British and American in rigging the votes, the Nationalist Party of Vietnam easily won subsequent elections and had ruled Vietnam until early 1970s, during which Vietnam was effectively ruled as a one-party state. By 1971, with the end of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, support for anti-Communist authoritarian regime was no longer sanctioned by the United States. With heavy pressure both domestically and internationally, the British had to allow Viet Minh and its leaders to participate in politics again.
Independent Vietnam[]
In April 1985, with the passage of the Vietnam Act, Vietnam's constitution was approved by the British Parliament and proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth II, making Vietnam wholly independent. However, British influence in Vietnam remained influential until the de facto collapse of the British Empire in 1997 after the handover of Hong Kong.
The Nationalist Party of Vietnam, which has ruled Vietnam for most of the duration of British rule as a dictatorship, collapsed shortly after 1985, and most of its leaders went into exile. All major parties in Vietnam have condemned the now-defunded Nationalists as a henchman and puppet for Western colonialism.
The current governing coalition is the Socialist Fatherland Front comprised of the Labor Party (successor of Viet Minh) and the Democratic Socialists. The largest Opposition is currently the right-leaning Conservative Party of Vietnam. The pro-business Libertarians and the Greens are considered "third parties" and sometimes joined the governing coalition in a tight electoral race, earning them the "kingmakers" title.
In some extent, Vietnam could be seen as a success story in gaining independence from Western imperialism without much bloodshed while benefitting from the economic and governing infrastructure left by the British.
After the end of British rule in 1985, Vietnam under the rule of the Labor Party, land reform and nationalization of foreign factories have been administered, much to the opposition of the European population in the country and Vietnamese aristocrats. However, thanks to these policies, Vietnam was able to redistribute wealth and ended the domination of Europeans in the Vietnamese economy, allowing for the rise of a native middle class that has propelled the growth of the country since. In early 2000s, the country adopted a more open economic reform known as "Đổi Mới" headed by Libertarian PM Vo Van Kiet which transformed it from a state-dominated protectionist to a liberalised free-trade economy. Vietnam became a G20 country by the late 2000s and then a G8 country by the 2020s.
His Royal Highness Bao Dai, 1st Duke of Hue and former Emperor of Vietnam
Vietnam is special in the sense that it was a monarchy it its own rights before being incorporated into the British Empire. By letters patent of King George VI, all existing nobilities of the Nguyen Dynasty were granted British-styled royal titles. Most notably among all is perhaps former Emperor Bao Dai, who was created the Duke of Hue and remained the only dukedom outside the British Royal Family being given the style of His Royal Highness. It has become customary that the Governor-General of Vietnam is the Duke of Hue; the current being HRH Bao Long, 2nd Duke of Hue. As representative of HM King Charles III's authority in Vietnam, the Governor-General is theoretically above the Prime Minister; however, his duties are mostly ceremonial and he must act on the advice of the Cabinet.
Decolonisation and Republicanism[]
Proposal flag for Vietnam if the republic referendum succeeds.
The call for Vietnam to become a republic has been renewed vigorously since 2019 due to Britain's refusal to take side during the Hai Yang Shi You 981 standoff, during which China installed an oil platform to the contested waters near the Paracel Islands that both Vietnam and China claimed. The Vietnamese saw the United Kingdom's inaction as a betrayal and hypocrisy since Britain itself had hugely benefitted from the oil resources of the Islands during British rule in Vietnam.
Since 2019, support for the referendum has been galvanized, especially among the Socialist Fatherland Front. The Front, which is currently in government. has started to refer itself as The People's Government instead of His Majesty's Government. The Conservative Party, which is currently in the Opposition, continued to support the monarchy and discredited the referendum as being treasonous.
There was also a minor movement that seeks to establish Bao Long, son of Bao Dai and Nam Phuong and current Governor-General, as the Monarch. However, the Nguyen dynasty's legacy of cooperating with foreign powers made them an unpopular choice for this symbolic head of state position.
The Vietnamese republic referendum was held on 1 April 2023 as a referendum to amend the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Vietnam. A majority voted in favor of abolishing the monarchy and installing in place a President to be appointed by parliament. As of May 2023, the country is still under transition to become a republic, with further referenda to be held to select the country's new flag, motto, and anthem, among others.
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