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How the crowd draws

1,085 drawings of its land border and 705 drawings of its coast, from memory on Borderline’s World map, 17 September 2026 to 27 October 2026.

Draw Vietnam

In numbers

Last updated on 27 October 2026
The real oneThe crowd’s
Area328,000 km²127,000 sq mi319,000 km²123,000 sq mi2.8% smaller
Outline7,557 km4,695 mi6,802 km4,226 mi10.0% shorter
Centre106.35° E, 16.56° N106.3° E, 16.6° N106.36° E, 17.00° N106.4° E, 17.0° N50 km north31 mi north
Westernmost102.13° E, 22.41° N102.1° E, 22.4° N102.45° E, 22.43° N102.5° E, 22.4° N34 km short21 mi short
Easternmost109.47° E, 12.89° N109.5° E, 12.9° N108.99° E, 13.10° N109.0° E, 13.1° N52 km short32 mi short
Southernmost104.86° E, 8.57° N104.9° E, 8.6° N104.87° E, 9.40° N104.9° E, 9.4° N93 km short58 mi short
Northernmost105.28° E, 23.36° N105.3° E, 23.4° N105.09° E, 22.97° N105.1° E, 23.0° N43 km short27 mi short

Near the land border, 48% of the crowd’s lines run inside Vietnam. Near the coast, 52% run inland.

Borders and coast

Why two lengths?

A line’s length depends on how closely it is drawn. The game’s lines are simplified: they keep a point every few kilometres and cut across small bends. The official lengths, from the CIA World Factbook, are measured on other lines. A border measured on a finer line, following every bend of its rivers and ridges, comes out longer.

Coasts differ most, and either way. Some official coastlines follow every inlet and island (Canada’s 202,080 km); others are smoothed on purpose, crossing bays and sounds (the United States’ 19,924 km), and can come out shorter than the game’s.

Players draw against the game’s line and are scored against it, so the crowd’s length is compared with the game’s, both measured the same way. Set against an official length measured another way, the comparison would say more about the two methods than about the crowd.

Vietnam and Laos: 1,468 km in the game, 2,161 km officially.

Vietnam’s coast: 4,595 km in the game, 3,444 km officially.

3 neighbours
Border withIn the gameThe crowd’s
Laos1,468 km in the game2,161 km officially1,448 km the crowd’s1.4% shorter
China916 km in the game1,297 km officially799 km the crowd’s12.8% shorter
Cambodia871 km in the game1,158 km officially823 km the crowd’s5.5% shorter
The coast4,595 km in the game3,444 km officially3,940 km the crowd’s14.3% shorter

How it is measured

The crowd’s Vietnam: every few km along the real line, each drawing’s nearest point, inside Vietnam or outside it; the median over a short stretch is where the crowd puts the line there, and the real outline moved by it is the crowd’s. Where the move folds a narrow inlet over itself, the loop is cut.

The 1,790 drawings that scored 10 or more on Borderline’s World map, scribbles left out, the real line the game’s own. Area true to scale; the outline copies the real line’s detail, so its length changes only where the shape moves or a loop is cut. The map lays the 1,000 most recent; the heat map, the crowd’s shape and every figure use all 1,790.

24 small pieces of Vietnam, 2,071 km² in all, keep their real shape, shown flat: islands no round asks players to draw, or too small to measure. They count in no figure.

Draw Vietnam yourself and add your line to the next update.