Vietnam has a population of 92 million people (South Africa's is 55 million, and the United Kingdom 65 million). It has a GDP of $215 Billion, significantly less than South Africa's $326 Billion or the United Kingdom's $ 2.8 Trillion. Famous in the west for the war, it is one of the four remaining one-party officially socialist states (China, Cuba and Laos). Like China, it is now moving very much into the world of trade. Like China, deep poverty has been smashed by this increasing openness. Various trade agreements have reduced tariffs and kick started the destruction of poverty. The wonderful thing about a world where lots of people try different things is we can see what works, what doesn't, and learn from each other. We can 'absorb what is useful, discard what is not, and add what is uniquely our own' (Bruce Lee). A country known for Poverty & War doesn't have to define itself that way.
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