South-eastern Asia · VNM
Vietnam
The story · 13 chapters
How it was drawn
A Red River state that broke free from China in 938, fought off Song, Mongol, Ming and Qing armies, marched south down the coast for eight centuries, and was colonised, divided and reunited in the twentieth century.
Play the story Take the first lessonThrough the ages
Rivals in history
The kingdoms, empires and states Vietnam fought or stood against, from the first to today.
- Chinese dynasties111 BC to 938
The Han conquer the Red River delta in 111 BC, and Chinese dynasties rule it for more than a thousand years. Revolts such as those of the Trưng sisters in 40 AD and of Lý Bí in 544 win only brief freedom.
- Southern Han930 to 938
The Southern Han, a kingdom based in Guangzhou, tries to restore Chinese rule. In 938 Ngô Quyền lures its fleet onto iron tipped stakes in the Bạch Đằng river and destroys it, winning independence.
- Song China981 to 1077
Song China invades in 981 and is defeated by Lê Hoàn. In 1075 Lý Thường Kiệt strikes first into southern China, and a Song counterattack stalls on the Như Nguyệt river in 1077.
- Champa982 to 1832
Đại Việt and Champa fight for five centuries. Lê Hoàn sacks the Cham capital in 982, Champa raids Thăng Long in the 1370s, and in 1471 the Lê take Vijaya. The last Cham principality is annexed in 1832.
- Mongol Empire1258 to 1288
The Mongols invade Đại Việt three times, in 1258, 1285 and 1287 to 1288. Each time the Trần court abandons the capital and wears them down, and Trần Hưng Đạo destroys their fleet on the Bạch Đằng in 1288.
- Ming China1406 to 1427
The Ming invade in 1406 and rule Đại Việt as a Chinese province from 1407. Lê Lợi's ten year rebellion drives them out in 1427, and he founds the Lê dynasty in 1428.
- Kingdom of Cambodia1698 to 1845
Vietnamese settlers and the Nguyễn lords take over the Mekong delta from Cambodia, with Saigon under Nguyễn control by 1698. In the 1830s Vietnam occupies Cambodia itself and tries to absorb it, until a compromise with Siam in 1845.
- Siam1785 to 1845
A Siamese army sent to help the Nguyễn against the Tây Sơn is crushed at Rạch Gầm and Xoài Mút in 1785. Later Siam and Vietnam fight over Cambodia, from 1831 to 1834 and from 1841 to 1845.
- Qing China1788 to 1789
The Qing send an army in 1788 to restore the last Lê emperor. Quang Trung destroys it at Đống Đa during the Tết of 1789, then makes peace and accepts Qing investiture.
- France1858 to 1954
France attacks Đà Nẵng in 1858, conquers the whole country by 1885 and rules it as part of French Indochina. The Việt Minh defeat it at Điện Biên Phủ in 1954, ending French rule.
- United States1965 to 1973
The United States backs South Vietnam from the 1950s and sends combat troops in 1965, more than half a million at the peak. After heavy losses on all sides it withdraws under the Paris Peace Accords of 1973.
China seizes the Paracel Islands from South Vietnam in 1974, invades northern Vietnam in 1979 and sinks Vietnamese ships at Johnson South Reef in the Spratlys in 1988. The two still dispute both island groups.
- Khmer Rouge (Democratic Kampuchea)1975 to 1979
The Khmer Rouge, in power in Cambodia from 1975, raid Vietnamese border villages and claim the Mekong delta. Vietnam invades in December 1978 and drives them from Phnom Penh in January 1979.
Today
Vietnam now
Vietnam's early history included periods of occupation by outside forces and eventual power consolidation under Vietnamese dynastic families. A succession of Han Chinese emperors ruled the area, which was centered on the Red River Valley, until approximately the 10th century. The Ly Dynasty (11th-13th century) created the first independent Vietnamese state, which was known as Dai Viet, and established their capital at Thang Long (Hanoi).
- Capital
- Hanoi
- Government
- communist party-led state
- Head of government
- Phạm Minh Chính
- Head of state
- Tô Lâm
- Languages
- Vietnamese
- Area
- 331,338 km²
Through time
Then and now
- Population100 million2023 · 25.1 million in 1950
- Life expectancy74.6 years2023 · 48.0 years in 1950
- GDP per person$8,0502022 · $1,049 in 1950
- Living in cities39%2025 · 10% in 1950
- Literacy96%2022 · 18% in 1950
- Political regimeClosed autocracy2025
- Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
- Military spending2.2% of GDP2025
- War deathsNone2025
Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.
Relations
Close partners and tensions
Close partners
- United States
- China
- Russian Federation
Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.