South Vietnam (the former republic of Vietnam), located in Southwest Asia, bounded by North Vietnam on the north, Laos and Cambodia on the west, and the South China Sea on the east and south, had an area of 66,280 sq. mi. (171,665 sq. km.) and a population of 20 million. Capital: Saigon. The economy of the area is predominantly agricultural. ,South Vietnam, the direct successor to the French-dominated regime (also known as the State of Vietnam), was created after the first Indochina War (between the French and the Viet-Minh) by the Geneva agreement of 1954 which divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel of latitude. Elections which would have reunified North and South Vietnam in 1956 never took place, and the North continued the war for unification of Vietnam under the Democratic Republic of (North) Vietnam. The Republic of Vietnam surrendered unconditionally on April 30, 1975. There followed a short period of coexistence of the two Vietnamese states, but the South was governed by the North through the Peoples Revolutionary Government (PRG). On July 2, 1976, South and North Vietnam joined to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.,, ,Also see Vietnam.,, Monetary System:,,, ,1 Dong = 100 Xu,,