Demographics of Vietnam

Historic estimates Source: Our World in Data. Sources: Lieberman and Mokyr. UN estimates Population by age groups Source: UN Statistics Division. Sex ratio : Total: 0.995 male(s)/female : At birth: 1.116 male(s)/female : Under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female : 15–64 years: 1 male(s)/female : 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female Source: General Statistics Office of Vietnam. Source: General Statistics Office of Vietnam. Fertility rate by region and province Source: General Statistics Office of Vietnam. Life expectancy in Vietnam since 1950 in Vietnam since 1960 by gender Source: UN World Population Prospects. == Ethnic groups ==

The Vietnamese government recognizes 54 ethnic groups, of which the Viet (Kinh) is the largest; according to official Vietnamese figures (2019 census), which account for 85.3% of the country's population and the non-Viet ethnic groups account for the remaining portion. The relation between China and Vietnam declined following reunification in 1976, with Vietnam siding with the Soviet Union against China in the Sino-Soviet split. In 1978–79, some 450,000 ethnic Chinese left Vietnam by boat as refugees (some officially encouraged and assisted) or were expelled across the land border with China. The government has performed an about turn and is encouraging overseas Hoa to return and invest, while the ethnic Chinese population has been in decline since the 1970s due to assimilation and lower birth rates. The central highland peoples, termed Degar or Montagnards (mountain people), comprise two main ethnolinguistic groups – Malayo-Polynesian and Mon–Khmer. About 30 groups of cultures and dialects are spread over the highland territory. Other minority groups include the Cham – remnants of the Champa kingdom, conquered by the Viet in the 15th century, Hmong, and Thái. == Languages ==

Vietnamese is the national language. It belongs to the Austroasiatic language family, which also includes languages such as Khmer and Mon. Vietnamese was spoken by 85–90 million people in Vietnam based on the 1999 census. Vietnamese is a tonal, monosyllabic language. Vietnamese was influenced by Chinese, with up to around 50–70% words having Chinese origins. Since the 20th century, the Vietnamese have used a Romanized script introduced by the French, developed by Jesuit missionaries led by Alexandre de Rhodes and later on, refined by Vietnamese scholars to produce what is later known as the Vietnamese alphabet. == Religion ==

According to the 2019 Census, the religious demographics of Vietnam are as follows: Estimates for the year 2010 published by the Pew Research Center: • Vietnamese folk religion, 45.3% • Unaffiliated, 29.6% • Buddhism, 16.4% • Christianity, 8.2% • Other, 0.5% == See also ==