Provinces of Vietnam

On the first tier, Vietnam is divided into fifty-eight provinces (tỉnh) and five municipalities under the command of the central government (Vietnamese: thành phố trực thuộc trung ương). Municipalities are the highest-ranked cities in Vietnam.[1] Municipalities are centrally-controlled cities and have special status equal to the provinces.

Provinces and Municipalities of Vietnam
Các tỉnh, thành phố trực thuộc Trung ương Việt Nam (Vietnamese)
CategoryUnitary state
LocationVietnam
Created
  • 1976
Number58 provinces
5 municipalities (as of 2020)
Populations338,000 (Bắc Kạn) –9,125,000 (Hồ Chí Minh City)
Areas822.7 km2 (317.6 sq mi) (Bắc Ninh) – 16,493.7 km2 (6,368.3 sq mi) (Nghệ An)
Government
Subdivisions

The provinces are divided into provincial cities (thành phố thuộc tỉnh), municipal city (thành phố trực thuộc thành phố trung ương), towns/borough (thị xã), urban district (quận), rural districts (huyện) as the second-tier units. At the third tier, provincial city or town is divided into ward (phường) and commune (), township (thị trấn).

Governance

Provincial Committee of the Communist Party

Provincial Committee of the Communist Party (Đảng bộ Đảng Cộng sản cấp tỉnh or Tỉnh ủy Đảng Cộng sản) is a provincial subordinate of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Since Vietnam is a one party state, the provincial committee of the Communist Party is the most prominent organ of provincial governance.

Each provincial committee of the Communist Party is headed by a Secretary (Bí thư). The Secretary is de facto leader of the province.

People's Council

The legislative branch of a province is the People's Council (Hội đồng Nhân dân or HDND for short). The People's Council votes on the policy, regulations and orders for development of the province.

Members of People's Council are called delegates or councillors (đại biểu) and are elected by people living within that province. It is equivalent to the legislative National Assembly of Vietnam. The People's Council is headed by a Chairman (Chủ tịch) and a Vice Chairman (Phó Chủ tịch).

The number of councillors varies from province to province, depending on the population of that province. The People's Council appoints a People's Committee, which acts as the executive arm of the provincial governance. This arrangement is a somewhat simplified version of the situation in Vietnam's national government. Provincial governments are subordinates to the central government.

People's Committee

The executive branch of a province is the People's Committee (Uỷ ban Nhân dân or UBND for short). The People's Committee is responsible for implementing policy and executing laws and orders. The People's Committee is equivalent to the executive Government of Vietnam. People's Committee also manages the provincial departments (Sở) which are equivalent to the Ministries.

Members of the People's Committee are called commissioners (Ủy viên). The People's Committee is headed by a Chairman (Chủ tịch) and Vice Chairmen (Phó Chủ tịch), and consists of between 4 and 7 commissioners. The number of commissioners depends on the population of the province. The chairman and Vice Chairmen of the People's Committee are also councillors of the People's Council.

People's Court

The judiciary branch of a province is the People's Court (Tòa án Nhân dân or TAND for short). The People's Court is responsible for judiciary processes and trials. The People's Court is equivalent to the judiciary Supreme People's Court of Vietnam.

The People's Court is headed by a Chief Judge (Chánh án) and consists of a number of judges (thẩm phán).

Police Department

Provincial police department is under direct command of the Ministry of Public Security.

State Treasury

Provincial Military Command

List and statistics

Provinces of Vietnam

Island areas:

*-Bạch Long Vĩ Island (Bạch Long Vĩ District, Haiphong Municipality [3])

**-Phú Quý Islands (Phú Quý District, Bình Thuận Province [46])

***-Côn Đảo Islands (Côn Đảo District, Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu Province [51])

****-Phú Quốc Island (Phú Quốc City, Kiên Giang Province [58])

*****-Thổ Chu Islands (Thổ Châu Commune, Phú Quốc City, Kiên Giang Province [58])

✱-Paracel Islands (Hoàng Sa District, Đà Nẵng Municipality [4])

✱✱-Spratly Islands (Trường Sa District, Khánh Hòa Province [43])

According to the census results of April 1, 2023, the population of Vietnam is 103,403,000 people.[2] The most populous top-level administrative unit in Vietnam is Hồ Chí Minh City, one of the five centrally governed cities. It has 9,125,000 people living within its official boundaries. The second most populous administrative unit is the recently expanded Hà Nội with 8,146,000[3] people. Prior to the expansion of the capital city, this rank belonged to Thanh Hóa with 3,689,000 people. The least populous is Bắc Kạn, a mountainous province in the remote northeast with 338,000 people.

In land area, the largest province is Nghệ An, which runs from the city of Vinh up the wide Sông Cả valley. The smallest is Bắc Ninh, located in the populous Red River Delta region.

Per capita personal income 2022 (Vietnamese đồng/month): Binh Duong 8,076,000, Ha Noi 6,423,000, Ho Chi Minh City 6,392,000, Dong Nai 6,346,000, Hai Phong 5,897,000, Da Nang 5,807,000, Bac Ninh 5,470,000, Can Tho 5.324,000, Vinh Phuc 5,194,000, Nam Dinh 5,100,000, Hai Duong 4,936,000, Ninh Binh 4,893,000, Ba Ria Vung Tau 4,815,000, Quang Ninh 4,811,000...

GDP Per capita 2022 (Vietnamese đồng/ year): Ba Ria Vung Tau 331,100,000, Quang Ninh 197,600,000, Hai Phong 175,000,000, Bac Ninh 170,000,000, Binh Duong 166,000,000...

GDP/GRDP 2022 (Vietnamese đồng/year): Ho Chi Minh City 1,479,000,000,000, Ha Noi 1,196,000,000,000, Binh Duong 459,000,000,000, Dong Nai 435,000,000,000, Ba Ria Vung Tau 390,000,000,000, Hai Phong 365,500,000,000, Quang Ninh 269,000,000,000...

Economic growth (2017–2021): Hai Phong 14,162 %/year, Bac Giang 13,274 %/year, Thanh Hoa 11,338%/ year, Quang Ninh 10,708 %/year, Ninh Thuan 10,216%/ year...

Economic growth (2022): Khanh Hoa 20,7%, Bac Giang 19,3%, Da Nang 14,05%, Hau Giang 13,94%, Hung Yen, 13,41%, Can Tho 12,64%, Thanh Hoa 12,51%, Hai Phong 12,32%,...

Economic growth ( 2023): Bac Giang 13,45%, Hau Giang 12,27%, Quang Ninh 11,03%, Khanh Hoa 10,35%, Hai Phong 10,34%, Nam Dinh 10,19%, Hung Yen 10,05%, Ha Nam 9,41%, Ninh Thuan 9,40%, Phu Yen 9,16%, Tra Vinh 8,25%, Hai Duong 8,16%, Binh Thuan 8,10%, Ha Tinh 8,05%, Ca Mau 7,83%, Binh Dinh 7,61%, Tuyen Quang 7,46%, Thai Binh 7,37%, An Giang 7,34%, Kon Tum 7,32%, Ninh Binh 7,27%, Bac Lieu 7,24%, Nghe An 7,14%, Thua Thien Hue 7,03%, Thanh Hoa 7,01%, Lang Son 7,00% ...

HDI (2020): Ha Noi 0,799, Ho Chi Minh City 0,795, Ba Ria Vung Tau 0,793, Hai Phong 0,782, Da Nang 0,779, Quang Ninh 0,769, Bac Ninh 0,768,...

The following is a table of Vietnam's provinces broken down by population and area, April 1, 2023, based on 2023.04.01 Census[2] and 2018 area data from Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.[4]

Province/cityNumber
on map
Administrative
center
Area (in km2)
[citation needed]
Population
[2]
Density (/km2)
[3][note 1]
% Urban
[3]
HDI (2012)
[5]
GDP per capita
(2011 PPP US$)[5]
Region
Bắc Giang province20Bắc Giang3,895.591,884,000 [6]46311.40.7111,909.44Northeast
Bắc Kạn province14Bắc Kạn4,859.96338,000 [7]6520.70.6851,766.68
Cao Bằng province10Cao Bằng6,700.26576,000 [8]7923.30.6531,564.27
Hà Giang province9Hà Giang7,929.48910,000 [9]10815.90.5861,083.72
Lạng Sơn province11Lạng Sơn8,310.09828,000 [10]9420.40.7072,201.98
Phú Thọ province17Việt Trì3,534.561,515,000 [11]41418.10.7151,916.23
Quảng Ninh province21Hạ Long6,178.211,387,000 [12]21464.10.7847,834.55
Thái Nguyên province15Thái Nguyên3,526.641,356,000 [13]36531.90.7412,547.11
Tuyên Quang province13Tuyên Quang5,867.901,056,000[14]13413.80.6991,948.18
Lào Cai province8Lào Cai6,364.03898,000 [15]11523.50.6702,767.55Northwest
Yên Bái province12Yên Bái6,887.46950,000 [16]11919.80.6571,845.51
Điện Biên province6Điện Biên Phủ9,541.25705,000 [17]6314.40.6111,589.03
Hòa Bình province22Hòa Bình4,590.57979,000 [18]18615.70.7152,343.13
Lai Châu province7Lai Châu9,068.79527,000 [19]5117.80.5601,081.84
Sơn La province16Sơn La14,123.491,356,000 [20]8813.80.6341,773.90
Bắc Ninh province19Bắc Ninh822.711,447,000 [21]1,66427.50.7714,451.41Red River Delta
Hà Nam province26Phủ Lý861.93945,000 [22]98916.70.7242,131.93
Hải Dương province24Hải Dương1,668.242,003,000 [23]1,13425.20.7462,513.92
Hưng Yên province23Hưng Yên930.221,340,000 [24]1,34712.20.7432,503.79
Nam Định province27Nam Định1,668.571,852,000 [25]1,06718.20.7261,904.97
Ninh Bình province28Ninh Bình1,386.791,102,000 [26]708210.7332,478.79
Thái Bình province25Thái Bình1,586.351,934,000 [27]1,17310.60.7382,090.86
Vĩnh Phúc province18Vĩnh Yên1,235.871,296,000 [28]93225.60.7643,990.61
Hà Nội city1Hoàn Kiếm District3,358.608,146,000 [29]2,39849.20.7943,923.21
Hải Phòng city3Hồng Bàng District1,561.762,138,000 [30]1,29945.60.7733,849.18
Hà Tĩnh province31Hà Tĩnh5,990.671,402,000 [31]21519.50.7252,117.32North Central Coast
Nghệ An province30Vinh16,481.413,399,000 [32]20214.70.7152,379.59
Quảng Bình province32Đồng Hới8,065.3992,000 [33]112210.7162,203.01
Quảng Trị province33Đông Hà4,621.72687,000 [34]13730.90.6962,672.10
Thanh Hóa province29Thanh Hóa11,114.653,689,000 [35]32814.90.7162,434.69
Thừa Thiên-Huế province34Huế4,902.441,257,000 [36]23049.50.7353,072.58
Đắk Lắk province41Buôn Ma Thuột13,030.502,016,000 [37]14324.70.7082,555.78Central Highlands
Đắk Nông province42Gia Nghĩa6,509.27670,000 [38]9615.20.7103,000.70
Gia Lai province38Pleiku15,510.991,586,000 [39]98290.6893,023.20
Kon Tum province37Kon Tum9,674.18589,000 [40]56320.6562,075.42
Lâm Đồng province44Đà Lạt9,783.341,390,000 [41]13339.20.7353,331.80
Bình Định province39Quy Nhon6,066.211,679,000 [42]24531.90.7423,089.10South Central Coast
Bình Thuận province46Phan Thiết7,943.931,498,000 [43]15538.10.7323,090.17
Khánh Hòa province43Nha Trang5,137.791,371,000 [44]24042.20.7524,180.68
Ninh Thuận province45Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm3,355.34720,000 [45]17635.80.6952,402.34
Phú Yên province40Tuy Hòa5,023.421,056,000 [46]17428.70.7282,541.80
Quảng Nam province35Tam Kỳ10,574.861,697,000 [47]14125.40.7453,192.34
Quảng Ngãi province36Quảng Ngãi5,155.781,355,000 [48]23916.30.7183,516.44
Đà Nẵng city4Hải Châu District1,284.881,294,000 [49]88387.20.8034,811.58
Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province51Bà Rịa1,980.981,303,000 [50]58058.40.90136,786.39Southeast
Bình Dương province49Thủ Dầu Một2,694.642,564,000 [51]901800.7513,663.54
Bình Phước province47Đồng Xoài6,876.761,313,000 [52]14523.70.7343,606.56
Đồng Nai province50Biên Hòa5,863.603,227,000 [53]52832.90.7633,485.16
Tây Ninh province48Tây Ninh4,041.251,207,000 [54]28917.70.7444,058.65
Hồ Chí Minh City2District 12,061.419,125,000 [55]4,36379.20.8207,147.09
An Giang province56Long Xuyên3,536.682,057,000 [56]54031.60.7303,791.46Mekong Delta
Bạc Liêu province62Bạc Liêu2,669.011,105,000 [57]34027.70.7423,701.98
Bến Tre province55Bến Tre2,394.811,331,000 [58]5389.80.7502,978.48
Cà Mau province63Cà Mau5,221.191,369,000 [59]22922.70.7433,121.66
Đồng Tháp province53Cao Lãnh3,383.851,838,000 [60]47319.10.7182,240.56
Hậu Giang province59Vị Thanh1,621.70853,000 [61]45225.40.7432,943.84
Kiên Giang province58Rạch Giá6,348.781,789,000 [62]27128.30.7504,336.43
Long An province52Tân An4,494.941,730,000 [63]37616.10.7644,012.39
Sóc Trăng province61Sóc Trăng3,311.881,256,000 [64]36232.40.7152,835.46
Tiền Giang province54Mỹ Tho2,510.611,898,000 [65]703140.7703,781.77
Trà Vinh province60Trà Vinh2,358.261,067,000 [66]42817.20.7172,662.89
Vĩnh Long province57Vĩnh Long1,525.731,100,000 [67]67016.60.7573,360.01
Cần Thơ city5Ninh Kiều District1,438.961,456,000 [68]85869.70.7886,260.52

See also List of postal codes in Vietnam

Regions

Regions of Vietnam

The Vietnamese government often groups the various provinces into eight regions, which are often grouped into three macro-regions: Northern, Central and Southern. These regions are not always used, and alternative classifications are possible. The regions include:

Regions of Vietnam
Macro-regionRegionProvinces
included
Area
(km2)
Population
(April 1, 2023)[69]
Population
density
(people /km2)
Notes
Northern Vietnam
(Bắc Bộ, Bắc Kỳ, Bắc Phần, Miền Bắc)
Northwest
(Tây Bắc Bộ)
44,301.15,415,000100.37Contains inland provinces in the west of Vietnam's northern region. Two of them are along Vietnam's border with Laos, and three border China (Dien Bien borders both China and Laos).
Northeast
(Đông Bắc Bộ)
50,684.19,850,000169.05Contains most of the mountainous provinces that lie to north of the highly populated Red River lowlands. Four of them are along Vietnam's border with China.
Red River Delta
(Đồng Bằng Sông Hồng)
14,957.722,203,0001,318.00Contains the small but populous provinces along the mouth of the Red River. The Red River Delta has the smallest area but highest population and population density of all regions. It is also the only region without any land borders with neighbouring countries.
Central Vietnam
(Trung Bộ, Trung Kỳ, Trung Phần, Miền Trung)
North Central
(Bắc Trung Bộ)
51,455.611,426,000203.53Contains the coastal provinces in the northern half of Vietnam's narrow central part. They all stretch from the coast in the east to Laos in the west.
South Central Coast
(Duyên hải Nam Trung Bộ)
44,376.810,670,000206.98Contains the coastal provinces in the southern half of Vietnam's central part. One province borders Laos.
Central Highlands
(Tây Nguyên)
54,641.06,251,000102.63Contains the mountainous provinces to the west of south-central Vietnam. There are a significant number of ethnic minorities in the region. One province is along Vietnam's border with Laos, and four border Cambodia (Kon Tum borders both Laos and Cambodia).
Southern Vietnam
(Nam Bộ, Nam Kỳ, Nam Phần, Miền Nam)
Southeast
(Đông Nam Bộ, Miền Đông)
23,590.718,739,000683.65Contains those parts of lowland southern Vietnam which are north of the Mekong delta. Two provinces border Cambodia.
Mekong River Delta
(Đồng Bằng Sông Cửu Long)
or Southwest
(Tây Nam Bộ, Miền Tây)
40,576.018,849,000434.00Vietnam's southernmost region, mostly containing small but populous provinces in the delta of the Mekong. It is sometimes referred to as the Southwest region (Tây Nam Bộ). Four provinces border Cambodia.

^† Municipality (thành phố trực thuộc trung ương)

Historical provinces of Vietnam

  • Ái Châu – existed during the third Chinese domination.
  • An Xuyên – existed from 1956 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
  • Biên Hòa – existed from 1832 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
  • Bình Trị Thiên – administrative grouping of Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên - Huế provinces between 1976 and 1992.
  • Bình Tuy – existed from 1956 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
  • Chợ Lớn – existed from 1900 until 1957.
  • Vĩnh Phú – administrative grouping of Vĩnh Phúc and Phú Thọ provinces between 1968 and 1996.
  • Chương Thiện – existed from 1961 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
  • Cửu Long – administrative grouping of Vĩnh Long and Vĩnh Bình provinces between 1976 and 1992.
  • Bắc Thái – administrative grouping of Bắc Kạn and Thái Nguyên provinces between 1965 and 1996.
  • Định Tường – existed from 1832 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
  • Gia Định – existed from 1832, became Hồ Chí Minh City following the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
  • Gò Công – existed from 1900 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
  • Hà Bắc – administrative grouping of Bắc Giang and Bắc Ninh provinces between 1962 and 1996.
  • Hà Nam Ninh – administrative grouping of Hà Nam, Nam Định and Ninh Bình provinces between 1975 and 1991.
  • Hà Tây – existed from 1965 to 1975 and 1991 until 2008, when it was merged into Hà Nội.
  • Hà Đông – existed from 1904 until 1965.
  • Hải Hưng – administrative grouping of Hải Dương and Hưng Yên provinces between 1968 and 1996.
  • Hậu Nghĩa – existed from 1963 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
  • Long Khánh – existed from 1956, became Đồng Nai province following the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
  • Minh Hải – administrative grouping of Cà Mau and Bạc Liêu provinces between 1976 and 1996.
  • Nghệ Tĩnh – administrative grouping of Nghệ An and Hà Tĩnh provinces between 1976 and 1991.
  • Phú Bổn – in 1962 split from Pleiku province until 1976.
  • Phước Long – existed from 1956 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
  • Phước Thành – existed from 1959 until 1965.
  • Nghĩa Bình – administrative grouping of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định provinces between 1975 and 1989.
  • Phước Tuy – existed from 1956 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
  • Quảng Tín – existed from 1962 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
  • Sa Đéc – existed from 1900 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
  • Sông Bé – administrative grouping of Bình Dương and Bình Phước provinces between 1976 and 1997.
  • Tân An – existed from 1900 until 1956.
  • Vĩnh Bình – existed from 1956 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
  • Quảng Nam - Đà Nẵng/Quảng Đà – administrative grouping of Quảng Nam provinces and Đà Nẵng city, between 1975 and 1996.
  • Phú Khánh – administrative grouping of Phú Yên and Khánh Hòa provinces between 1975 and 1989.
  • Gia Lai - Kon Tum – administrative grouping of Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces between 1975 and 1991.
  • Thuận Hải – administrative grouping of Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận provinces between 1975 and 1991.
  • Quảng Đức – existed from 1959 until 1976.
  • Tuyên Đức – existed from 1958 until 1976.
  • Hà Sơn Binh – administrative grouping of Hà Tây (old) and Hòa Bình provinces between 1975 and 1991.
  • Hoàng Liên Sơn – administrative grouping of Lào Cai and Yên Bái provinces between 1975 and 1991.
  • Hưng Hóa – existed from 1831 until 1903.

See also

Notes

References

External links