Overview
Ho Chi Minh declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945. The First Indochina War with France (1946–54) ended at Dien Bien Phu, and the Geneva Accords of 1954 divided the country at the 17th parallel.
Key developments
The Vietnam War followed (1955–75) — the American war, in Vietnamese usage — ending with the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. The country was reunified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on July 2, 1976. Postwar hardship included the flight of the boat people, the war in Cambodia — the 1978–79 invasion that toppled the Khmer Rouge, with occupation lasting until the 1989 withdrawal — and a brief border war with China in 1979.
End and transition
The Doi Moi reforms of 1986 opened a market economy: US relations were normalized in 1995, Vietnam joined the WTO in 2007, and decades of rapid growth followed. The period continues today.