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BackStories » Vietnam » Final Merging Plan Brings Vietnam's Locality Number From 63 to 34

After extended working sessions to gather insights from experts and locals, Vietnam’s state government has announced the final version of the country’s administrative map.

Details of the most recent national administrative consolidation were listed in Resolution No. 60, which was officially approved by the central government on April 12, reports Thanh Niên. According to the plan, the number of localities in Vietnam will go from 63 to just 34 after the merger, including 6 municipalities and 28 provinces.

The eventual consolidation was decided based on five main pillars of criteria: area and population; history, tradition, culture, religion, and ethnicity; geo-economics; geopolitical considerations; and national security.

Eleven of the 63 old localities will remain the same, including Hanoi, Huế, Lai Châu, Điện Biên, Sơn La, Lạng Sơn, Quảng Ninh, Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh, and Cao Bằng. Every locality south of Huế will be merged with their neighbor(s). Some standout examples include Hồ Chí Minh City, which absorbs nearby Bình Dương and Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu provinces, growing to a new population of over 13 million residents.

Similarly, Quảng Nam Province becomes part of Đà Nẵng City, Hải Dương Province becomes part of Hải Phòng City, and Sóc Trăng and Hậu Giang provinces will become part of Cần Thơ City. A complete list of administrative changes is available for viewing below.

Apart from changes on the national level, each locality will also undergo mergers on the ward/commune level as the district level and province-level cities will be dissolved.

Vietnam’s administrative map has gone through numerous rounds of adjustments depending on the economic, demographic, and national security needs of the time. Most recently, in 2008, the entirety of Hà Tây Province and Vĩnh Phúc’s Mê Linh District were merged into Hanoi. In previous consolidation rounds, some old geographic designations have come and go, now only existing in old media and works of literature, such as Sông Bé Province (now Bình Dương and Bình Phước) and Minh Hải Province (now Bạc Liêu and Cà Mau).