Vietnam’s Major Administrative Overhaul: From 63 Provinces to 34 Units

On June 13, 2025, the National Assembly of Vietnam officially approved a landmark resolution to reorganize the country’s provincial-level administrative units. As a result, Vietnam will restructure its 63 provinces and centrally governed cities down to 34 administrative units, including 6 centrally administered cities and 28 provinces.

This major restructuring aims to improve governance, optimize resource distribution, and address challenges related to urban sprawl and population imbalance. Several smaller provinces will be merged to form larger, more integrated administrative units. For example:

• A new Lào Cai Province, formed by merging Lào Cai and Yên Bái, will cover over 13,000 km² and house about 1.7 million people.

• The expanded Hai Phong City, now including Hải Dương Province, will grow to 4.6 million people.

• The new Ho Chi Minh City will encompass Bình Dương and Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu, becoming Vietnam’s largest urban area with 14 million residents.

While 11 provinces remain unchanged (such as Hanoi, Hue, Quang Ninh, and Cao Bang), most others have been consolidated to enhance regional development, infrastructure investment, and administrative efficiency.

This unprecedented reform marks Vietnam’s commitment to modernizing its governance structure and positioning itself for future economic growth and urban development.