Provinces of Vietnam

Provinces and municipalities of Vietnam
Tỉnh và thành phố trực thuộc trung ương Việt Nam (Vietnamese)
CategoryUnitary state
LocationVietnam
Created
  • 2 July 1976
Number28 provinces
6 municipalities (as of 2025)
Populations512,601 (Lai Châu) –14,002,598 (Ho Chi Minh City)
Areas2,514.81 km2 (970.97 sq mi) (Hưng Yên) – 24,233.07 km2 (9,356.44 sq mi) (Lâm Đồng)
Government
Subdivisions
  • Commune

Vietnam is divided into 34 first-level subdivisions, comprising 28 provinces (tỉnh) and six municipalities under the command of the central government (Vietnamese: thành phố trực thuộc trung ương). A proposal reported in April 2025 show the number of provinces and cities to be reduced to 34 through mergers.

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 and municipalities are divided into communes (), wards (phường) and special administrative regions (đặc khu) as the second-tier units.