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Provinces of Vietnam

From Wacklepedia - The Free Encyclopedia


The country of Vietnam is divided into sixty provinces (known in Vietnamese as tỉnh). There are also five municipalities (thủ đ?/em>) 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 km? Khanh Hoa Nha Trang 1,066,300 5,197 km?

Bac Giang Bac Giang 1,522,000 3,822 km? Kien Giang Rach Gia 1,542,800 6,269 km?

Bac Kan Bac Kan 283,000 4,795 km? Kon Tum Kon Tum 330,700 9,615 km?

Bac Lieu Bac Lieu 756,800 2,521 km? Lai Chau Phong Tho 227,600 7,365 km?

Bac Ninh Bac Ninh 957,700 804 km? Lam Dong Da Lat 1,049,900 9,765 km?

Ba Ria-Vung Tau Vung Tau 839,000 1,975 km? Lang Son Lang Son 715,300 8,305 km?

Ben Tre Ben Tre 1,308,200 2,287 km? Lao Cai Lao Cai 616,500 8,057 km?

Binh Dinh Qui Nhon 1,481,000 6,076 km? Long An Tan An 1,384,000 4,492 km?

Binh Duong Thu Dao Mot 768,100 2,696 km? Nam Dinh Nam Dinh 1,916,400 1,637 km?

Binh Phuoc Dong Xoai 708,100 6,856 km? Nghe An Vinh 2,913,600 16,487 km?

Binh Thuan Phan Thiet 1,079,700 7,828 km? Ninh Binh Ninh Binh 891,800 1,382 km?

Ca Mau Ca Mau 1,158,000 5,192 km? Ninh Thuan Phan Rang-Thap Cham 531,700 3,360 km?

Can Tho (municipality) 1,112,000 1,390 km? Phu Tho Viet Tri 1,288,400 3,519 km?

Cao Bang Cao Bang 501,800 6,691 km? Phu Yen Tuy Hoa 811,400 5,045 km?

Dak Lak Buon Ma Thuot 1,667,000 13,062 km? Quang Binh Dong Hoi 812,600 8,025 km?

Dak Nong Gia Nghia 363,000 6,514 km? Quang Nam Tham Ky 1,402,700 10,408 km?

Da Nang (municipality) 715,000 1,256 km? Quang Ngai Quang Ngai 1,206,400 5,135 km?

Dien Bien Dien Bien Phu 440,300 8,544 km? Quang Ninh Ha Long 1,029,900 5,899 km?

Dong Nai Bien Hoa 2,067,200 5,895 km? Quang Tri Dong Ha 588,600 4,746 km?

Dong Thap Cao Lanh 1,592,600 3,238 km? Soc Trang Soc Trang 1,213,400 3,223 km?

Gia Lai PleiKu 1,048,000 15,496 km? Son La Son La 922,200 14,055 km?

Ha Giang Ha Giang 625,700 7,884 km? Tay Ninh Tay Ninh 989,800 4,028 km?

Hai Duong Hai Duong 1,670,800 1,648 km? Thai Binh Thai Binh 1,814,700 1,542 km?

Hai Phong (municipality) 1,711,100 1,503 km? Thanh Hoa Thanh Hoa 3,509,600 11,106 km?

Ha Nam Phu Ly 800,400 849 km? Thua Thien-Hue Hue 1,078,900 5,009 km?

Ha Noi (municipality) 2,154,900 921 km? Tien Giang My Tho 1,635,700 2,367 km?

Ha Tay Ha Dong 2,432,000 2,192 km? Tra Vinh Tra Vinh 989,000 2,226 km?

Ha Tinh Ha Tinh 1,284,900 6,056 km? Tuyen Quang Tuyen Quang 692,500 5,868 km?

Hoa Binh Hoa Binh 774,100 4,663 km? Vinh Long Vinh Long 1,023,400 1,475 km?

Ho Chi Minh (municipality) 5,378,100 2,095 km? Vinh Phuc Vinh Yen 1,115,700 1,371 km?

Hau Giang Vi Thanh 766,000 1,608 km? Yen Bai Yen Bai 699,900 6,883 km?

Hung Yen Hung Yen 1,091,000 928 km?

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).

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