With 461 out of 465 attending delegates in favor, the National Assembly on June 12, 2025, officially passed a historic resolution to merge provincial administrative units. As of today, Vietnam has 34 provinces and cities, down 29 from before.

According to the government’s administrative restructuring proposal submitted to the National Assembly, the 63 provinces and cities have been consolidated into 34 units, including 6 centrally governed cities - Hanoi, HCM City, Hai Phong, Hue, Da Nang, and Can Th - and 28 provinces.

Eleven provincial units were not restructured, including 10 that meet regulatory standards - Hanoi, Hue, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La, Lang Son, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, and Ha Tinh - and one unit, Cao Bang, which does not meet the standards but has special characteristics.

The 52 provinces and cities were reorganized into 23 new provincial administrative units: Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai, Thai Nguyen, Phu Tho, Bac Ninh, Hung Yen, Hai Phong, Ninh Binh, Quang Tri, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Gia Lai, Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Dak Lak, HCM City, Dong Nai, Tay Ninh, Can Tho, Vinh Long, Dong Thap, Ca Mau, and An Giang.

The resolution on mergers takes effect immediately upon approval. The National Assembly has tasked authorities to ensure local governments in the newly formed provinces and cities begin official operations from July 1, 2025.

After merging provinces and reorganizing commune-level units, while phasing out district-level administration, local government will operate on a two-tier model (province and commune). 

This is expected to reduce 250,000 personnel, including 130,000 cadres, civil servants, and public employees, and 120,000 non-specialized workers at the commune level, saving over VND190,000 billion from 2026 to 2030.

Cities with the largest and smallest population, area

HCM City, after merging with Ba Ria – Vung Tau and Binh Duong, is now the most populous city in Vietnam with about 14 million residents, surpassing some small nations regionally and globally.

However, if considering population density, Hanoi leads with over 2,600 people/sq kilometer, exceeding HCM City's roughly 2,000 people/sq km. Hai Phong ranks third with over 1,460 people/sq km.

Hue is the least populous major city, with over 1.4 million people and a density of 289 people/sq km.

Among the six centrally governed cities, Da Nang has the largest area at 11,860 sq km after merging with Quang Nam, which contributed over 10,574 sq km. Hai Phong, despite merging with Hai Duong, has the smallest area at 3,195 sq km.

Provinces with the largest and smallest area, population

Lam Dong, after merging with Dak Nong and Binh Thuan, becomes the largest province by area at 24,233 sq km. Notably, these three provinces originally belonged to different economic regions—Central Highlands and South Central Coast.

Hung Yen, with 2,515 sq km after merging with Thai Binh (1,600 sq km), is the smallest province by area. The old Hung Yen province covered a small area of 930 sq km only. Despite its size, it has a high population density of over 1,400 people/sq km, reflecting strong urbanization and population concentration in the Red River Delta.

An Giang province leads in population with 4.9 million people post-merger with Kien Giang, which had a similar population but nearly double the area. Its density is about 500 people/sq km.

Following An Giang in term of population are Dong Nai (4.5 million), Ninh Binh (4.4 million), and Dong Thap (4.37 million) provinces. Lai Chau has the smallest population at 512,000, with a low density of 56 people/sq km across its 9,000 sq km.

After the merger, Phu Tho now borders seven provinces and cities: Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Son La, Lao Cai, Tuyen Quang, and Thai Nguyen. No other province or city borders so many localities.

Hanoi residents have highest per capita income

Post-merger, HCM City leads in state budget revenue with over VND681,935 billion for 2024, accounting for nearly 31 percent of the national total. Hanoi followed with VND511,338 billion, and Hai Phong with VND148,383 billion. 

Before the merger, Hanoi held the top spot, but HCM City's revenue surged with contributions from Ba Ria – Vung Tau (nearly VND100,000 billion) and Binh Duong (over VND76,000 billion), both top revenue contributors.

Previously, Binh Duong was the locality with the highest average income per capita in the country with 107.6 million VND/year. In second place were Hanoi residents with 89 million, and in third place was Dong Nai with 84.5 million, followed by Hai Phong with 84.4 million, and HCMC with 81.5 million.

After the merger, this ranking changed, Hanoi ranking first with 89 million VND/year, HCM City second with 86.5 million, Hai Phong third with 78.6 million, and DongNai fourth with 72.75 million.

It is expected that on June 30, all provinces will announce the new administrative boundaries of the provinces, communes and new leadership.

Nguyen Le