Polity · 1955 CE – 1975 CE
Republic of Vietnam
Việt Nam Cộng hòa
- Peak recorded area
- 180,020 km²
- 1956 CE
- Rulers on record
- 4
- from 1955 CE
- Data series
- 43
- 1955 CE–1975 CE
Overview
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam, was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered international recognition in 1949 as the associated State of Vietnam within the French Union, with its capital at Saigon. Since 1950, it was a member of the Western Bloc during the Cold War. Following the 1954 partition of Vietnam, it became known as South Vietnam and was established as a republic in 1955.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
2 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 1975 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population22 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | 19.9Mpersons1975 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Urban Population22 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | 4.7Mpersons1975 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| % Buddhist4 obs · 1955 CE–1970 CE | 52%1970 CE · CoW World Religion Project |
| % Christian4 obs · 1955 CE–1970 CE | 14%1970 CE · CoW World Religion Project |
| % Nonreligious4 obs · 1955 CE–1970 CE | 15%1970 CE · CoW World Religion Project |
| % Other Religion4 obs · 1955 CE–1970 CE | 19%1970 CE · CoW World Religion Project |
Economy
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Total Exports22 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | 0million USD (current)1975 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports22 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | 0million USD (current)1975 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance22 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | 0million USD (current)1975 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Openness22 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | 0million USD (current)1975 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
Military
6 of 15 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score22 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | 0.0067CINC (share of world capability)1975 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production22 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | 0tons1975 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure22 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | 559Mcurrent USD1975 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel22 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | 570Kpersons1975 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Arms Imports Tiv Million21 obs · 1954 CE–1974 CE | 352tiv_million1974 CE · SIPRI Arms Transfers TIV |
| Energy Consumption21 obs · 1954 CE–1974 CE | 136Kcoal-ton equivalents1974 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Governance
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Rule Of Law Index173 obs · 1802 CE–1975 CE | 0.42index (0-1)1975 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Electoral Democracy Index160 obs · 1802 CE–1975 CE | 0.319index (0-1)1975 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index74 obs · 1902 CE–1975 CE | 0.197index (0-1)1975 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index74 obs · 1902 CE–1975 CE | 0.173index (0-1)1975 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type74 obs · 1902 CE–1975 CE | 1RoW index (0-3)1975 CE · V-Dem v15 |
Development
6 of 13 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index174 obs · 1802 CE–1975 CE | 0.473index (0-1)1975 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Commercial Vehicles24 obs · 1948 CE–1973 CE | 98count1973 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Passenger Cars24 obs · 1948 CE–1973 CE | 66Kcount1973 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Aviation Passenger Km22 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | 120passenger-km1975 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Mail Items22 obs · 1952 CE–1973 CE | 100items1973 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Newspaper Circulation22 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | 298.6Kcirculation1975 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
4 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Ngô Đình DiệmPresident of South Vietnam1955 CE – 1963 CE
- Nguyen Cao KyPrime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam1965 CE – 1967 CE
- Nguyễn Văn ThiệuPresident of South Vietnam1965 CE – 1975 CE
- Duong Van MinhPresident of South Vietnam1975 CE
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Vietnamese
- Currency
- South Vietnamese đồng
Memberships
- 13-member Non-Aggression Pact (1962)Historical alliance · member1962 CE – 1964 CE
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
CoW World Religion Projectv1.1
Maoz, Z. & Henderson, E.A. (2013). The World Religion Dataset, 1945-2010. International Interactions 39(3).
Free academic use, citation
SIPRI (2024). Arms Transfers Database (Trend-Indicator Values).
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Republic of Vietnam is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.