Military branches People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) (includes Ground Forces, Navy, and AirForce)

Military manpower - military age 17 years of age

Military manpower - availability
males age 15-49: 19,172,473 (1996 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service
males: 12,123,118 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually
males : 802,154 (1997 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure $544 million (1995)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.7% (1995)

Disputes - international maritime boundary with Cambodia not defined; involved in a complex disputeover the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea with China, Malaysia, Philippines,Taiwan, and possibly Brunei; unresolved maritime boundary with Thailand; maritimeboundary dispute with China in the Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel Islands in theSouth China Sea occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; offshoreislands and sections of boundary with Cambodia are in dispute

Illicit drugs key growing areas in Vietnam cultivated 3,150 hectares of poppy in 1996,producing 25 tons of opium; opium producer and increasingly important transitpoint for Southeast Asian heroin destined for the US and Europe; growing opiumaddiction; possible small-scale heroin production

NOTE: The information regarding Vietnam on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Vietnam Military 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Vietnam Military 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.