 | This article'sfactual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. The reason given is: The province-level administrative subdivisions of Vietnam have been reorganized followingmajor governmental reforms in 2025. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(June 2025) |
| Provinces and municipalities of Vietnam Tỉnh và thành phố trực thuộc trung ương Việt Nam (Vietnamese) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Category | Unitary state |
| Location | Vietnam |
| Created |
|
| Number | 28 provinces 6 municipalities (as of 2025) |
| Populations | 512,601 (Lai Châu) –14,002,598 (Ho Chi Minh City) |
| Areas | 2,514.81 km2 (970.97 sq mi) (Hưng Yên) – 24,233.07 km2 (9,356.44 sq mi) (Lâm Đồng) |
| Government |
|
| Subdivisions | |
 |
|---|
Legislative |
|
Military
|
|
 Politics portal |
| Administrative units of Vietnam |
|---|
| Province-level |
| Commune-level |
Vietnam is divided into 34first-level subdivisions, comprising 28provinces (tỉnh) andsix 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 that of the provinces.
The provinces and municipalities are divided intocommunes (xã),wards (phường) andspecial administrative regions (đặc khu) as the second-tier units.
Provincial Committee of the Communist Party (Đảng bộ Đảng Cộng sản cấp tỉnh orTỉnh ủy Đảng Cộng sản, simplyTỉnh ủy - Provincial Committee for short) is a provincial subordinate of theCommunist 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.
The legislative branch of a province is the People's Council (Hội đồng Nhân dân or HÐND for short). The People's Council votes on the policy, regulations and orders for development of the province.
Members of the People's Council are called delegates or councillors (đại biểu) and are elected by people living within that province. It is equivalent to the legislativeNational 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'snational government. Provincial governments are subordinates to the central government.
The executive branch of a province is thePeople's Committee (Ủy 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 executiveGovernment 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.
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 judiciarySupreme 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).
The provincial police department is under direct command of theMinistry of Public Security.
By the end of 2024, the population of Vietnam was 101,343,800.[2] The most populous top-level administrative unit isHồ Chí Minh City, one of the sixcentrally governed cities, having 14,002,598 people living within its official boundary. The second most populous administrative unit isHà Nội with 8,807,523 people. The least populous isLai Châu, a mountainous province in the remote northwest with 512,601 people.
In land area, the largest province isLâm Đồng with 24,233.09 km2, the smallest isHưng Yên (2,514.81 km2), located in the populousRed River Delta region.
The following is a table of Vietnam's provinces broken down by population and area.[3] Municipalities are written in bold.
| Province/city | Number on map | Administrative center | Area (in km2) | Population [3] | Density (/km2) | Administrative divisions | Region | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communes | Wards | Special administrative regions | |||||||
| Cao Bằng province | 10 | Thục Phán ward | 6,700.39 | 573,119 | 85 | 53 | 3 | 0 | Northeast |
| Lạng Sơn province | 11 | Lương Văn Tri ward | 8,310.18 | 881,384 | 106 | 61 | 4 | 0 | |
| Phú Thọ province | 15 | Việt Trì ward | 9,361.38 | 4,022,638 | 429 | 133 | 15 | 0 | |
| Quảng Ninh province | 17 | Hạ Long ward | 6,207.95 | 1,497,477 | 241 | 22 | 30 | 2 | |
| Thái Nguyên province | 13 | Phan Đình Phùng ward | 8,375.21 | 1,799,489 | 214 | 76 | 15 | 0 | |
| Tuyên Quang province | 12 | Minh Xuân ward | 13,795.50 | 1,865,270 | 135 | 177 | 7 | 0 | |
| Lào Cai province | 9 | Yên Bái ward | 13,256.92 | 1,778,785 | 134 | 89 | 10 | 0 | Northwest |
| Điện Biên province | 7 | Điện Biên Phủ ward | 9,539.93 | 673,091 | 70 | 42 | 3 | 0 | |
| Lai Châu province | 8 | Tân Phong ward | 9,068.73 | 512,601 | 56 | 36 | 2 | 0 | |
| Sơn La province | 14 | Chiềng Cơi ward | 14,108.89 | 1,404,587 | 99 | 67 | 8 | 0 | |
| Bắc Ninh province | 16 | Tân Tiến ward | 3,194.72 | 3,619,433 | 1,132 | 66 | 33 | 0 | Red River Delta |
| Hưng Yên province | 18 | Phố Hiến ward | 2,514.81 | 3,567,943 | 1,418 | 93 | 11 | 0 | |
| Ninh Bình province | 19 | Hoa Lư ward | 3,942.62 | 4,412,464 | 1,119 | 97 | 32 | 0 | |
| Hanoi | 1 | Hoàn Kiếm ward | 3,359.84 | 8,807,523 | 2,621 | 75 | 51 | 0 | |
| Haiphong | 3 | Hồng Bàng ward | 3,194.72 | 4,664,124 | 1,459 | 67 | 45 | 2 | |
| Hà Tĩnh province | 22 | Thành Sen ward | 5,994.45 | 1,622,901 | 270 | 60 | 9 | 0 | North Central Coast |
| Nghệ An province | 21 | Trường Vinh ward | 16,486.50 | 3,831,694 | 232 | 119 | 11 | 0 | |
| Quảng Trị province | 23 | Đồng Hới ward | 12,700 | 1,870,845 | 147 | 69 | 8 | 1 | |
| Thanh Hóa province | 20 | Hạc Thành ward | 11,114.71 | 4,324,783 | 389 | 147 | 19 | 0 | |
| Huế | 6 | Thuận Hóa ward | 4,947.11 | 1,432,986 | 289 | 19 | 21 | 0 | |
| Đắk Lắk province | 26 | Buôn Ma Thuột ward | 18,096.40 | 3,346,853 | 184 | 88 | 14 | 0 | South Central Coast |
| Gia Lai province | 25 | Quy Nhon ward | 21,576.93 | 3,583,693 | 166 | 110 | 25 | 0 | |
| Lâm Đồng province | 28 | Xuân Hương – Đà Lạt ward | 24,233.07 | 3,872,999 | 159 | 103 | 20 | 1 | |
| Khánh Hòa province | 27 | Nha Trang ward | 8,555.86 | 2,243,554 | 262 | 48 | 16 | 1 | |
| Quảng Ngãi province | 24 | Cẩm Thành ward | 14,832.55 | 2,161,755 | 145 | 86 | 9 | 1 | |
| Da Nang | 4 | Hải Châu ward | 11,859.59 | 3,065,628 | 258 | 70 | 23 | 1 | |
| Đồng Nai province | 30 | Trấn Biên ward | 12,737.18 | 4,491,408 | 352 | 72 | 23 | 0 | Southeast |
| Tây Ninh province | 29 | Long An ward | 8,536.44 | 3,254,170 | 381 | 82 | 14 | 0 | |
| Ho Chi Minh City | 2 | Saigon ward | 6,772.59 | 14,002,598 | 2,067 | 54 | 113 | 1 | |
| An Giang province | 32 | Rạch Giá ward | 9,888.91 | 4,952,238 | 500 | 85 | 14 | 3 | Mekong Delta |
| Cà Mau province | 34 | Tân Thành ward | 7,942.39 | 2,606,672 | 328 | 55 | 9 | 0 | |
| Đồng Tháp province | 31 | Mỹ Tho ward | 5,938.64 | 4,370,046 | 735 | 82 | 20 | 0 | |
| Vĩnh Long province | 33 | Long Châu ward | 6,296.20 | 4,257,581 | 676 | 105 | 19 | 0 | |
| Cần Thơ | 5 | Ninh Kiều ward | 6,360.83 | 4,199,824 | 660 | 72 | 31 | 0 | |
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:
| Macro-region | Region | provinces included | Area (km2) | Population [3] | Population density (people /km2) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Vietnam (Bắc Bộ) | Northwest (Tây Bắc Bộ) | 45,974.47 | 4,369,064 | 95 | Contains inland provinces in the west of Vietnam's northern region. Two of them are along Vietnam's border withLaos, and three border China (Điện Biên borders both China and Laos). | |
| Northeast (Đông Bắc Bộ) | 52,750.61 | 10,639,377 | 201 | Contains 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) | 16,206.71 | 25,071,487 | 1,546 | Contains the small but populous provinces along the mouth of theRed 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) | North Central (Bắc Trung Bộ) | 51,242.77 | 11,212,364 | 218 | Contains the coastal provinces in the northern half of Vietnam's narrow central part. They all stretch from the coast in the east toLaos in the west. | |
| South Central Coast (Nam Trung Bộ) | 99,154.4 | 18,274,482 | 184 | Contains the coastal and mountainous provinces in the southern half of Vietnam's central part. There are a significant number of ethnic minorities in the region. Two provinces are along Vietnam's border with Laos, and four borderCambodia (Quảng Ngãi borders both Laos and Cambodia). | ||
| Southern Vietnam (Nam Bộ) | Southeast (Đông Nam Bộ) | 28,046.21 | 21,748,176 | 775 | Contains 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) | 36,426.97 | 20,386,361 | 559 | Vietnam's southernmost region, mostly containing small but populous provinces in the delta of theMekong. It is sometimes referred to as the Southwest region (Tây Nam Bộ). Two provinces border Cambodia. |
^†Municipality (thành phố trực thuộc trung ương)
