Vietnam is a place.
Vietnam ( ˌ ; [ vîət nāːm ] ) , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ( SRV ; , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia . With an estimated 92.7 million inhabitants , it is the world 's 14th-most-populous country , and the ninth-most-populous Asian country . Vietnam is bordered by China to the north , Laos to the northwest , Cambodia to the southwest , Thailand across the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest , and the Philippines , Malaysia and Indonesia across the South China Sea to the east and southeast . Since 2000 , Vietnam 's economic growth rate has been among the highest in the world , and , in 2011 , it had the highest Global Growth Generators Index among 11 major economies . Vietnam remains one of the world 's four remaining one-party socialist states officially espousing communism .