Provinces of Vietnam

Vietnam is divided into 58 provinces (known in Vietnamese as tỉnh). There are also 5 centrally-controlled municipalities existing at the same level as provinces (thành phố trực thuộc trung ương).

The provinces are divided into districts (huyện), provincial cities (thành phố trực thuộc tỉnh), and towns (thị xã), which are subdivided into towns (thị trấn) or communes (xã).

The centrally-controlled municipalities are divided into rural districts (huyện) and urban districts (quận), which are subdivided into wards (phường).


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 ballot 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

Name..........Capital
Hà Nội Kinh-Dong Bang Song Hong
Bắc Ninh..........Bắc Ninh
Hà Nam..........Phủ Lý
Hải Dương..........Hải Dương
Hưng Yên..........Hưng Yên
Nam Định..........Nam Định
Ninh Bình..........Ninh Bình
Thái Bình..........Thái Bình
Vĩnh Phúc..........Vĩnh Yên

Bắc Trung Bộ
Hà Tĩnh..........Hà Tĩnh
Nghệ An..........Vinh
Quảng Bình..........Đồng Hới
Quảng Trị..........Đông Hà
Thanh Hoá..........Thanh Hoá
Thừa Thiên-Huế..........Huế

Đồng Bắc
Bắc Giang..........Bắc Giang
Bắc Kạn..........Bắc Kạn
Cao Bằng..........Cao Bằng
Hà Giang..........Hà Giang
Lạng Sơn..........Lạng Sơn
Lào Cai..........Lào Cai
Phú Thọ..........Việt Trì
Quảng Ninh..........Hạ Long
Thái Nguyên..........Thái Nguyên
Tuyên Quang..........Tuyên Quang
Yên Bái..........Yên Bái

Tây Bắc
Điện Biên..........Điện Biên Phủ
Hoà Bình..........Hoà Bình
Lai Châu..........Lai Châu
Sơn La..........Sơn La

Tây Nguyên
Daklak..........Buôn Ma Thuột
Dak Nông..........Gia Nghĩa
Gia Lai..........Pleiku
Kontum..........Kontum
Lâm Đồng..........Đà Lạt

Nam Trung Bộ
Bình Định..........Quy Nhơn
Khánh Hòa..........Nha Trang
Phú Yên..........Tuy Hòa
Quảng Nam..........Tam Kỳ
Quảng Ngãi..........Quảng Ngãi

Đồng Nam Bộ
Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu..........Vũng Tàu
Bình Dương..........Thủ Dầu Một
Bình Phước..........Đồng Xoài
Bình Thuận..........Phan Thiết
Đồng Nai..........Biên Hòa
Ninh Thuận..........Phan Rang-Tháp Chàm
Tây Ninh..........Tây Ninh

Tây Nam Bo – Đồng Bằng Sông Cửu Long
An Giang..........Long Xuyên
Bạc Liêu..........Bạc Liêu
Bến Tre..........Bến Tre
Cà Mau..........Cà Mau
Đồng Tháp..........Cao Lãnh
Hậu Giang..........Vị Thanh
Kiên Giang..........Rạch Giá
Long An..........Tân An
Sóc Trăng..........Sóc Trăng
Tiền Giang..........Mỹ Tho
Trà Vinh..........Trà Vinh
Vĩnh Long..........Vĩnh Long

Municipalities
Hà Nội..........Hà Nội Kinh-Dong Bang Song Hong
Hải Phòng..........Hà Nội Kinh-Dong Bang Song Hong
Đà Nẵng ..........Nam Trung Bộ
Hồ Chí Minh City..........Đồng Nam Bộ
Cần Thơ..........Tây Nam Bo – Đồng Bằng Sông Cửu Long


Regions

The Vietnamese government often groups the various provinces into eight regions.

Northwestern (Tây Bắc) contains four inland provinces in the west of Vietnam's northern part. Two of them border Laos, and one borders China.

Northeastern (Dong Bac) contains eleven mountainous provinces north of the highly populated Red River lowlands.

Greater Ha Noi – Red River Delta (Hà Nội Kinh-Dong Bang Song Hong) contains nine small, populous provinces around the Red River, including the national capital Hanoi, and the municipality of Haiphong.

North Central Coast (Bắc Trung Bộ) contains six provinces in the northern half of Vietnam's central part. All provinces in this region stretch from the coast in the east to Laos in the west.

South Central Coast (Nam Trung Bộ) contains five coastal provinces in the southern half of Vietnam's central part. The region also includes the independent municipality of Danang.

Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên) contains the five inland mountainous provinces of south-central Vietnam.

Southeastern (Dong Nam Bo) contains those parts of southern Vietnam which are north of the Mekong delta. There are seven provinces, plus the independent municipality of Ho Chi Minh City.

Southwestern – Mekong River Delta (Tây Nam Bo Việt Nam-Đồng Bằng Sông Cửu Long) is Vietnam's southernmost region, and contains twelve mostly small but populous provinces in the Mekong delta and the independent municipality of Can Tho.