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Vietnam Vietnam, a nation located along the eastern coast of Southeast Asia, has had a turbulent history. Emerging as a distinct civilization during the 1st millennium BC, Vietnam was controlled by China during the Han Dynasty and subject to 1,000 years of foreign rule. Later in the 19th century, it was absorbed into French Indochina. Deprived of a political and economic role by the colonial administration, Vietnamese patriots turned to protest or revolt. By the late 1930’s, the Communist party became the leading force in the movement. During WWII, Japan occupied Vietnam until their surrender in August 1945. Shortly before in 1941, the Viet Minh, an antiJapanese and antiFrench front founded by Ho Chi Minh revolted and seized power. For eight years they fought a war against colonial rule which ended in 1954 with the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. Shortly after, the major powers met at Geneva and divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel and called for national elections in 1956 to reunify the country. Ho Chi Minh established a Communist government in North Vietnam. The territory in the south became the Republic of Vietnam, though it was commonly called South Vietnam. Ngo Dinh Diem, who vigorously opposed Communist control, became president of South Vietnam in 1955. With the approval of the United States, he refused to go along with the proposed nationwide election. He argued that the Communists would not permit fair elections in North Vietnam. President Eisenhower sent several hundred U.S. civilian and military advisers to assist Diem. In 1963, widespread unrest broke out among the Buddhists in South Vietnam, who claimed the government restricted their religious practices. This led to political unrest in South Vietnam. From 1957 to 1965, the struggle was mainly between the South Vietnamese army (supported by the U.S.) and the Communisttrained South Vietnamese rebels known as Viet Cong. From 1965 to 1969 U.S. and North Vietnam did most of the fighting. In 1968 the North Vietnamese opened a new phase called the Tet Offensive. They attacked major cities including the South Vietnam capitol Saigon. In 1973, a cease-fire agreement was signed in Paris by the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and Viet Cong. It permitted North Vietnam to leave troops in the south and called for internationally supervised elections to decide the political future of South Vietnam. North Vietnam helped establish Communist governments in Laos and Cambodia in 1975. In 1976, it officially united North and South Vietnam into the single nation of Vietnam. About 58,000 American military personnel died in the war, and about 300,000 were wounded. South Vietnamese losses ranged between 500,000 and 1 million. Countless numbers of civilians in North and South Vietnam also were killed. Socialist Republic of Vietnam Population: 86,116,559 Religions: Buddhist 9.3%, Catholic 6.7%, Hoa Hao 1.5%, Cao Dai 1.1%, Protestant 0.5%, Muslim 0.1%, none 80.8% Government: Communist Economy: the last 30 years has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally-planned economy. GDP Ranking: 47th