Provinces of Vietnam
The country of Vietnam is divided into sixty provinces (known in Vietnamese as tỉnh, from Chinese 省 shěng). There are also five municipalities (thủ đô, Chinese 首都 shǒudū) existing at the same level as provinces.
Government
Vietnamese provinces are, at least in theory, controlled by a People?s Council, elected by the inhabitants. The People's Council appoints a People's Committee, which acts as the executive arm of the provincial government. This arrangement is a somewhat simplified version of the situation in Vietnam's national government. Provincial governments are expected to be subordinate to the central government.
People's Council
Each People's Council has a Standing Committee made up of the Chairperson and his/her deputies, who are elected from among the representatives in the People's Council. The Standing Committee has a number of functions, including representing the People's Council when it is not in session. There are also a number of other committees established to deal with specific issues. All provinces have an Economic and Budgetary Committee, a Social and Cultural Committee, and a Legal Committee. If a province has many inhabitants who are not ethnically Vietnamese, there will probably be a Committee for Ethnic Affairs as well.
Citizens are eligible to vote in People's Council elections from when they are aged eighteen, but cannot stand for election until they are aged twenty-one. To become a candidate, one can either nominate oneself or be selected by the Fatherland Front. Nominated candidates are then voted on at "voters' conferences", which are organized by the Fatherland Front. Attendees determine, sometimes by secret balot and sometimes by a show of hands, whether candidates meet the criteria set down by the People's Council. Candidates who the conference does not "express trust" in cannot stand for election.
The number of candidates elected per voting district is between one and three. There must be more candidates standing in each district than there are seats to be filled.
People's Committee
The People's Committee is, as mentioned previously, the executive arm of a provincial government, and is responsible for formulating and implementing policy. It may be thought of as the equivalent of a cabinet. The People's Committee will have a President and a Vice-President, and between nine or eleven ordinary members.
List and statistics
The most populous top-level administrative unit in Vietnam is Ho Chi Minh City, one of the five municipalities. It has over five million people living within its official boundaries. The second most populous administrative unit, and the most populous province, is Thanh Hoa, with over three and a half million people. The least populous is Lai Chau, a mountainous province in the remote north-west.
In terms of land area, the largest province is Nghe An, which runs from the city of Vinh up the wide Song Ca valley. The smallest is Bac Ninh, located in the populous Red River delta.
| Name
| Capital
| Population
| Area
|
| Name
| Capital
| Population
| Area
|
| An Giang
| Long Xuyen
| 2,099,400
| 3,406 km²
|
| Khanh Hoa
| Nha Trang
| 1,066,300
| 5,197 km²
|
| Bac Giang
| Bac Giang
| 1,522,000
| 3,822 km²
|
| Kien Giang
| Rach Gia
| 1,542,800
| 6,269 km²
|
| Bac Kan
| Bac Kan
| 283,000
| 4,795 km²
|
| Kon Tum
| Kon Tum
| 330,700
| 9,615 km²
|
| Bac Lieu
| Bac Lieu
| 756,800
| 2,521 km²
|
| Lai Chau
| Phong Tho
| 227,600
| 7,365 km²
|
| Bac Ninh
| Bac Ninh
| 957,700
| 804 km²
|
| Lam Dong
| Da Lat
| 1,049,900
| 9,765 km²
|
| Ba Ria-Vung Tau
| Vung Tau
| 839,000
| 1,975 km²
|
| Lang Son
| Lang Son
| 715,300
| 8,305 km²
|
| Ben Tre
| Ben Tre
| 1,308,200
| 2,287 km²
|
| Lao Cai
| Lao Cai
| 616,500
| 8,057 km²
|
| Binh Dinh
| Qui Nhon
| 1,481,000
| 6,076 km²
|
| Long An
| Tan An
| 1,384,000
| 4,492 km²
|
| Binh Duong
| Thu Dao Mot
| 768,100
| 2,696 km²
|
| Nam Dinh
| Nam Dinh
| 1,916,400
| 1,637 km²
|
| Binh Phuoc
| Dong Xoai
| 708,100
| 6,856 km²
|
| Nghe An
| Vinh
| 2,913,600
| 16,487 km²
|
| Binh Thuan
| Phan Thiet
| 1,079,700
| 7,828 km²
|
| Ninh Binh
| Ninh Binh
| 891,800
| 1,382 km²
|
| Ca Mau
| Ca Mau
| 1,158,000
| 5,192 km²
|
| Ninh Thuan
| Phan Rang-Thap Cham
| 531,700
| 3,360 km²
|
| Can Tho (municipality)
| 1,112,000
| 1,390 km²
|
| Phu Tho
| Viet Tri
| 1,288,400
| 3,519 km²
|
| Cao Bang
| Cao Bang
| 501,800
| 6,691 km²
|
| Phu Yen
| Tuy Hoa
| 811,400
| 5,045 km²
|
| Dak Lak
| Buon Ma Thuot
| 1,667,000
| 13,062 km²
|
| Quang Binh
| Dong Hoi
| 812,600
| 8,025 km²
|
| Dak Nong
| Gia Nghia
| 363,000
| 6,514 km²
|
| Quang Nam
| Tham Ky
| 1,402,700
| 10,408 km²
|
| Da Nang (municipality)
| 715,000
| 1,256 km²
|
| Quang Ngai
| Quang Ngai
| 1,206,400
| 5,135 km²
|
| Dien Bien
| Dien Bien Phu
| 440,300
| 8,544 km²
|
| Quang Ninh
| Ha Long
| 1,029,900
| 5,899 km²
|
|
| Dong Nai
| Bien Hoa
| 2,067,200
| 5,895 km²
|
| Quang Tri
| Dong Ha
| 588,600
| 4,746 km²
|
| Dong Thap
| Cao Lanh
| 1,592,600
| 3,238 km²
|
| Soc Trang
| Soc Trang
| 1,213,400
| 3,223 km²
|
| Gia Lai
| PleiKu
| 1,048,000
| 15,496 km²
|
| Son La
| Son La
| 922,200
| 14,055 km²
|
| Ha Giang
| Ha Giang
| 625,700
| 7,884 km²
|
| Tay Ninh
| Tay Ninh
| 989,800
| 4,028 km²
|
| Hai Duong
| Hai Duong
| 1,670,800
| 1,648 km²
|
| Thai Binh
| Thai Binh
| 1,814,700
| 1,542 km²
|
| Hai Phong (municipality)
| 1,711,100
| 1,503 km²
|
| Thanh Hoa
| Thanh Hoa
| 3,509,600
| 11,106 km²
|
| Ha Nam
| Phu Ly
| 800,400
| 849 km²
|
| Thua Thien-Hue
| Hue
| 1,078,900
| 5,009 km²
|
| Ha Noi (municipality)
| 2,154,900
| 921 km²
|
| Tien Giang
| My Tho
| 1,635,700
| 2,367 km²
|
| Ha Tay
| Ha Dong
| 2,432,000
| 2,192 km²
|
| Tra Vinh
| Tra Vinh
| 989,000
| 2,226 km²
|
| Ha Tinh
| Ha Tinh
| 1,284,900
| 6,056 km²
|
| Tuyen Quang
| Tuyen Quang
| 692,500
| 5,868 km²
|
| Hoa Binh
| Hoa Binh
| 774,100
| 4,663 km²
|
| Vinh Long
| Vinh Long
| 1,023,400
| 1,475 km²
|
| Ho Chi Minh (municipality)
| 5,378,100
| 2,095 km²
|
| Vinh Phuc
| Vinh Yen
| 1,115,700
| 1,371 km²
|
| Hau Giang
| Vi Thanh
| 766,000
| 1,608 km²
|
| Yen Bai
| Yen Bai
| 699,900
| 6,883 km²
|
| Hung Yen
| Hung Yen
| 1,091,000
| 928 km²
|
|
Map
Below is a map of Vietnamese provinces and municipalities as of December 2003. It includes the changes agreed to in November 2003 (namely, the creation of Dien Bien province, the creation of Dak Nong province, and the split of Can Tho province into Can Tho municipality and Hau Giang province).
