The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a country located in the eastern part of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia with its capital situated in Hanoi. It began in the 1940s, when the founding party of the state, the Communist Party of Vietnam, emerged and rose to power in midst of World War II. As the region fell under Vichy and Japanese influence, a communist/nationalist insurgency supported by the West and led by party leader Ho Chi Minh was launched – later known as the August Revolution. This effectively drove the Axis forces out, and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was formed. Just one year later, the French intervened in the Indochina War, but Vietnamese victory in the conclusive battle of Dien Bien Phu settled the Geneva Accord in 1954 and brought recognition to independent Vietnam – now split into North (backed by communists) and South (backed by the West). To support the regime, the US sent military aid to the South, and soon provoked the Vietnamese War after bombing the North. Having to withstand hardship for reunification, the war ended with the Fall of Saigon, liberation of the South, and a victory for the North. Renamed the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the nation failed to achieve any socio-economic targets in the first decade and fell into a period of stagnation. However, after the Reform (Doi Moi) in 1986, the economy skyrocketed, and the quality of life has significantly increased. With a population of nearly one hundred million, Vietnam has become the 15th most populous nation in the world. Wikidata: Q881