Vietnam is divided into 63 first-level subdivisions, comprising fifty-eight provinces (tỉnh) and five municipalities under the command of the central government. Municipalities are the highest-ranked cities in Vietnam. Municipalities are centrally-controlled cities and have special status equal to that of the provinces. The provinces are divided into provincial cities (thành phố thuộc tỉnh), municipal cities (thành phố trực thuộc thành phố trung ương), towns/borough (thị xã), urban district (quận), and rural districts (huyện) as the second-tier units. At the third tier, a provincial city or town is divided into wards (phường), communes (xã), and townships (thị trấn).

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) 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 HDND 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 (Uỷ 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

According to the census results of April 1, 2023, the population of Vietnam was 103,403,000. The most populous top-level administrative unit is Hồ Chí Minh City, one of the five centrally governed cities, having 9,125,000 people living within its official boundary. The second most populous administrative unit is the recently expanded Hà Nội with 8,146,000 people. Prior to the expansion of the capital city, this rank belonged to Thanh Hóa with 3,689,000 people. The least populous is Bắc Kạn, a mountainous province in the remote northeast with 338,000 people. In land area, the largest province is Nghệ An, which runs from the city of Vinh up the wide Sông Cả valley. The smallest is Bắc Ninh, located in the populous Red River Delta region. The following is a table of Vietnam's provinces broken down by population and area, according to the 2023 Census and the 2018 area data from Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

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: Municipality (thành phố trực thuộc trung ương)

Historical provinces of Vietnam