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Red River Delta Đồng bằng sông Hồng | |
|---|---|
 Location of the Red River Delta region in Vietnam | |
| Country |  Vietnam |
| Area | |
• Total | 15,070.70 km2 (5,818.83 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[1] | |
• Total | 22,091,250 |
| • Density | 1,465.841/km2 (3,796.511/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Total | VND 1,753 trillion US$ 77.0 billion (2021) |
| Time zone | UTC+7 (UTC +7) |
| HDI (2022) | 0.768[3] high ·1st |
TheRed River Delta orHong River Delta (Vietnamese:Đồng bằng sông Hồng) is the flat low-lying plain formed by theRed River and its distributaries merging with theThái Bình River inNorthern Vietnam.Hồng (紅) is aSino-Vietnamese word for "red" or "crimson". The delta has the smallest area but highest population and population density of allregions in Vietnam. The region, measuring some 15,000 square kilometres (6,000 sq mi) is well protected by a network ofdikes. It is an agriculturally rich and densely populated area. Most of the land is devoted to rice cultivation.[4]
Eightprovinces, together with two municipalities (the capitalHanoi, and the port ofHaiphong) form the delta. It had a population of almost 23 million in 2019.
In 2021,Paul Sidwell proposed that the locus of Proto-Austroasiatic languages was in this area about 4,000–4,500 years before present.[5] The Hong River Delta is the cradle of the Vietnamese nation.Water puppetry originated in the rice paddies here. The region was bombed byUnited Stateswarplanes during theVietnam War. The region was designated as theRed River Delta Biosphere Reserve as part ofUNESCO'sMan and the Biosphere Programme in 2004.[6]
| Province- Level Division | Capital | Population (2022)[1] | Area (in km2)[1][2] | Population density (/km2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bắc Ninh | Bắc Ninh | 1,488,200 | 822.71 | 1,809 |
| Hà Nam | Phủ Lý | 878,000 | 861.93 | 1,019 |
| Hải Dương | Hải Dương | 1,946,820 | 1,668.28 | 1,167 |
| Hưng Yên | Hưng Yên | 1,290,850 | 930.20 | 1,388 |
| Nam Định | Nam Định | 1,876,850 | 1,668.83 | 1,125 |
| Ninh Bình | Hoa Lư | 1,010,700 | 1,411.78 | 716 |
| Thái Bình | Thái Bình | 1,878,540 | 1,584.61 | 1,185 |
| Vĩnh Phúc | Vĩnh Yên | 1,197,620 | 1,236.00 | 969 |
| Hanoi (municipality) | Hoàn Kiếm district | 8,435,650 | 3,359.84 | 2,511 |
| Haiphong (municipality) | Hồng Bàng district | 2,088,020 | 1,526.52 | 1,368 |
| Totals | 22,091,250 | 15,070.70 | 1,466 | |
Spanning some 150 km in width, the Red River Delta is located in the western coastal zone of theGulf of Tonkin. The Red River is the second largest river in Vietnam and one of the five largest rivers on the East Asia coast. Its catchment covers parts of China and Vietnam and its water and sediment discharges greatly influence the hydrology in the Gulf of Tonkin.
In 2003, of the 78 million people in Vietnam, almost a third (24 million) live in the Red River basin, including over 17 million people in the delta itself. There are many large industrial zones in the Red River Delta clustering inViet Tri, Hanoi, Haiphong andNam Dinh. Most of the population works in rice cultivation but the delta region hosts other important economic activities such asfisheries,aquaculture,land reclamation for agriculture, harbor construction,mangroveforestry, etc. The socio-economic development in the delta is also affected by seasonalstorms,flooding,coastal erosion,silting,salt water intrusion, etc.
Though the Red River Delta makes up only 5% of Vietnam's land, 30% of the country's population live there, making it the most densely populated part of the country. 80% of the population are employed in agriculture, but the agricultural lands of the delta amount to only about .3-.5hectares per household, making the limited supply of arable lands a significant constraint to improving living standards.
Agriculturally the Red River Delta is the second most importantrice-producing area in Vietnam, accounting for 20% of the national crop. Production of rice is close to optimal with very littleyield gap to exploit and employingdouble cropping techniques to achieve close to maximum yields. However the rich soil of the delta does present a possibility of crop diversification and there is potential for further development of aquaculture.[8] With these developmental pressures the estuarine environment and ecosystem face degradation due to threats of pollution, over-fishing and aquaculture destroying natural habitats.[9]
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