Lai Châu province
Lai Châu | |
|---|---|
Lai Châu City Lake • Lai Châu Mountain • Town square in Lai Châu • Hoàng Liên Sơn Mountain • Ô Quy Hồ Mountain pass • Suspension bridge Lai Châu • Than Uyên Mountain | |
Location of Lai Châu within Vietnam | |
| Coordinates: 22°0′N 103°0′E / 22.000°N 103.000°E | |
| Country | Vietnam |
| Region | Northwest |
| Capital | Lai Châu |
| Subdivision | 1 city, 7 rural districts |
| Government | |
| • Type | Province |
| • Body | Lai Châu Provincial People's Council |
| • Chairman of People's Council | Giàng Páo Mỷ |
| • Chairman of People's Committee | Lê Văn Lương |
| Area | |
| 9,068.73 km2 (3,501.46 sq mi) | |
| Population (2024) | |
| 500,000 | |
| • Density | 55/km2 (140/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 90,000 |
| Ethnic groups | |
| • Thái | 31.05% |
| • Mông | 23.97% |
| • Vietnamese | 15.91% |
| • Dao | 12.79% |
| • Hà Nhì | 3.47% |
| • Others | 12.81% |
| GDP | |
| • Province | VND 14.998 trillion US$ 0.654 billion |
| Time zone | UTC+7 (ICT) |
| Area codes | 213 |
| ISO 3166 code | VN-01 |
| HDI (2020) | 0.600 (63rd) |
| Website | www |
Lai Châu is a mountainous province in the Northwest region of Vietnam. Lai Châu province is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Vietnam, and it shares a border with China. It was once a semi-independent White Tai confederation known as Sip Song Chau Tai, but was absorbed by France into French Indochina in the 1880s and subsequently became part of Vietnam following Vietnamese independence in 1954. It became part of the Northwest Autonomous Area of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 1955 to 1975, when Lai Châu province was formed. Điện Biên province was carved out of Lai Châu in 2004. The province covers an area of about 9,069 km2 (3,501 sq mi) and as of 2022 it had a population of 482,100 people.