Provinces of Vietnam

Provinces and municipalities of Vietnam
*Tỉnh và thành phố trực thuộc trung ương Việt Nam* (Vietnamese)
Provinces and municipalities of Vietnam; Tỉnh và thành phố trực thuộc trung ương Việt Nam (Vietnamese)
Category	Unitary state
Location	Vietnam
Created	2 July 1976;
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	Marxist-Leninist single party provincial government;
Subdivisions	Commune;

Vietnam is divided into 34 first-level subdivisions, comprising 28 provinces (tỉnh) and six 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 into communes (xã), wards (phường) and special administrative regions (đặc khu) as the second-tier units.

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, simply Tỉnh ủy - Provincial Committee for short) 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 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 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 (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 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

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

State Treasury

Provincial Military Command

List and statistics

By the end of 2024, the population of Vietnam was 101,343,800.^[2] The most populous top-level administrative unit is Hồ Chí Minh City, one of the six centrally governed cities, having 14,002,598 people living within its official boundary. The second most populous administrative unit is Hà Nội with 8,807,523 people. The least populous is Lai Châu, a mountainous province in the remote northwest with 512,601 people.

In land area, the largest province is Lâm Đồng with 24,233.09 km², the smallest is Hưng Yên (2,514.81 km²), located in the populous Red 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
Province/city	Number on map	Administrative center	Area (in km²)	Population ^[3]	Density (/km²)	Communes	Wards	Special administrative regions	Region
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

Regions

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-region	Region	provinces included	Area (km²)	Population ^[3]	Population density (people /km²)	Notes
Northern Vietnam (Bắc Bộ)	Northwest (Tây Bắc Bộ)	Điện Biên Lai Châu Lào Cai Sơn La	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 with Laos, and three border China (Điện Biên borders both China and Laos).
	Northeast (Đông Bắc Bộ)	Cao Bằng Lạng Sơn Phú Thọ Quảng Ninh Thái Nguyên Tuyên Quang	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)	Bắc Ninh Hanoi ^† Haiphong ^† Hưng Yên Ninh Bình	16,206.71	25,071,487	1,546	Contains 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)	North Central (Bắc Trung Bộ)	Hà Tĩnh Nghệ An Quảng Trị Thanh Hóa Huế ^†	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 to Laos in the west.
Central Vietnam (Trung Bộ)	South Central Coast (Nam Trung Bộ)	Da Nang ^† Đắk Lắk Gia Lai Khánh Hòa Lâm Đồng Quảng Ngãi	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 border Cambodia (Quảng Ngãi borders both Laos and Cambodia).
Southern Vietnam (Nam Bộ)	Southeast (Đông Nam Bộ)	Đồng Nai Ho Chi Minh City ^† Tây Ninh	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.
Southern Vietnam (Nam Bộ)	Mekong River Delta (Đồng bằng sông Cửu Long)	An Giang Cà Mau Cần Thơ ^† Đồng Tháp Vĩnh Long	36,426.97	20,386,361	559	Vietnam'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). Two 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.
Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu – existed from 1991 until merged with Ho Chi Minh City in 2025.
Bạc Liêu – existed from 1997 until merged with Cà Mau province in 2025.
Bắc Giang – existed from 1997 until merged with Bắc Ninh province in 2025.
Bắc Kạn – existed from 1997 until merged with Thái Nguyên province in 2025.
Bắc Thái – administrative grouping of Bắc Kạn and Thái Nguyên provinces between 1965 and 1996.
Bến Tre – existed from 1976 until merged with Vĩnh Long province in 2025.
Biên Hòa – existed from 1832 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
Bình Dương – existed from 1997 until merged with Hồ Chí Minh City province in 2025.
Bình Định – existed from 1989 until merged with Gia Lai province in 2025.
Bình Phước – existed from 1997 until merged with Đồng Nai province in 2025.
Bình Thuận – existed from 1991 until merged with Lâm Đồng province in 2025.
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.
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.
Đắk Nông – existed from 2004 until merged with Lâm Đồng province in 2025.
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.
Gia Lai – Kon Tum – administrative grouping of Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces between 1975 and 1991.
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 Đông – existed from 1904 until 1965.
Hà Giang – existed from 1991 until merged with Tuyên Quang province in 2025.
Hà Nam – existed from 1991 until merged with Ninh Bình province in 2025.
Hà Nam Ninh – administrative grouping of Hà Nam, Nam Định and Ninh Bình provinces between 1975 and 1991.
Hà Sơn Bình – administrative grouping of Hà Tây (old) and Hòa 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 Tuyên – administrative grouping of Hà Giang and Tuyên Quang provinces between 1975 and 1991.
Hải Hưng – administrative grouping of Hải Dương and Hưng Yên provinces between 1968 and 1996.
Hải Dương – existed from 1997 until merged with Haiphong city in 2025.
Hậu Giang – existed from 2004 until merged with Cần Thơ city in 2025.
Hậu Nghĩa – existed from 1963 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
Hòa Bình – existed from 1991 until merged with Phú Thọ province in 2025.
Hoàng Liên Sơn – administrative grouping of Lào Cai and Yên Bái provinces between 1975 and 1991.
Hưng Hóa – existed from 1831 until 1903.
Kiên Giang – existed from 1976 until merged with An Giang province in 2025.
Kiến An – existed from 1888 until merged with Hải Phòng City in 1962.
Kon Tum – existed from 1991 until merged with Quảng Ngãi province in 2025.
Long An – existed from 1976 until merged with Tây Ninh province in 2025.
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.
Nam Định – existed from 1991 until merged with Ninh Bình province in 2025.
Nghệ Tĩnh – administrative grouping of Nghệ An and Hà Tĩnh provinces between 1976 and 1991.
Nghĩa Bình – administrative grouping of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định provinces between 1975 and 1989.
Ninh Thuận – existed from 1992 until merged with Khánh Hòa province in 2025.
Phú Bổn – in 1962 split from Pleiku province until 1976.
Phú Khánh – administrative grouping of Phú Yên and Khánh Hòa provinces between 1975 and 1989.
Phú Yên – existed from 1989 until merged with Đắk Lắk province in 2025.
Phúc Yên – existed from 1904 until merged with Vĩnh Yên in 1950.
Phước Long – existed from 1956 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
Phước Thành – existed from 1959 until 1965.
Phước Tuy – existed from 1956 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
Quảng Bình – existed from 1989 until merged with Quảng Trị province in 2025.
Quảng Đức – existed from 1959 until 1976.
Quảng Nam – existed from 1997 until merged with Đà Nẵng city in 2025.
Quảng Nam–Đà Nẵng/Quảng Đà – administrative grouping of Quảng Nam provinces and Đà Nẵng city, between 1975 and 1996.
Quảng Tín – existed from 1962 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
Sa Đéc – existed from 1900 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
Sóc Trăng – existed from 1991 until merged with Cần Thơ city in 2025.
Sông Bé – administrative grouping of Bình Dương and Bình Phước provinces between 1976 and 1997.
Tân An – existed from 1900 until 1956.
Thái Bình – existed from 1890 until merged with Hưng Yên province in 2025.
Thừa Thiên Huế, the southernmost province of Vietnam's North Central Coast region, existed until 2025 of which the whole province is now direct-controlled as a municipality.
Thuận Hải – administrative grouping of Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận provinces between 1975 and 1991.
Tiền Giang – existed from 1976 until merged with Đồng Tháp province in 2025.
Trà Vinh – existed from 1992 until merged with Vĩnh Long province in 2025.
Tuyên Đức – existed from 1958 until 1976.
Vĩnh Bình – existed from 1956 until the Vietnamese reunification of 1976.
Vĩnh Phú – administrative grouping of Vĩnh Phúc and Phú Thọ provinces between 1968 and 1996.
Vĩnh Phúc – existed from 1997 until merged with Phú Thọ province in 2025.
Yên Bái – existed from 1991 until merged with Lào Cai province in 2025.

References

^ ISO 3166-2:VN
^ "SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION IN THE FOURTH QUARTER AND 2024". www.gso.gov.vn. General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO). 6 January 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Nghị quyết số 202/2025/QH15 về việc sắp xếp đơn vị hành chính cấp tỉnh". Cổng thông tin điện tử Quốc hội Việt Nam. Archived from the original on 12 June 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.

External links

CityMayors.com article
(in English and Chinese) Comprehensive map of Vietnam's provinces c. 1890

[1] ISO 3166-2:VN

[2] "SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION IN THE FOURTH QUARTER AND 2024". www.gso.gov.vn. General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO). 6 January 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.

[202/2025/QH15-3] "Nghị quyết số 202/2025/QH15 về việc sắp xếp đơn vị hành chính cấp tỉnh". Cổng thông tin điện tử Quốc hội Việt Nam. Archived from the original on 12 June 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

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