Provinces of Vietnam

The country of Vietnam is divided into fifty-nine provinces (known in Vietnamese as tỉnh, from Chinese 省 shěng). There are also five municipalities (thành phố) existing at the same level as provinces.

Government

Vietnamese provinces are, at least in theory, controlled by a People's Council, elected by the inhabitants. The People's Council appoints a People's Committee, which acts as the executive arm of the provincial government. This arrangement is a somewhat simplified version of the situation in Vietnam's national government. Provincial governments are expected to be subordinate to the central government.

People's Council

Each People's Council has a Standing Committee made up of the Chairperson and his/her deputies, who are elected from among the representatives in the People's Council. The Standing Committee has a number of functions, including representing the People's Council when it is not in session. There are also a number of other committees established to deal with specific issues. All provinces have an Economic and Budgetary Committee, a Social and Cultural Committee, and a Legal Committee. If a province has many inhabitants who are not ethnically Vietnamese, there will probably be a Committee for Ethnic Affairs as well.

Citizens are eligible to vote in People's Council elections from when they are aged eighteen, but cannot stand for election until they are aged twenty-one. To become a candidate, one can either nominate oneself or be selected by the Fatherland Front. Nominated candidates are then voted on at "voters' conferences", which are organized by the Fatherland Front. Attendees determine, sometimes by secret balot and sometimes by a show of hands, whether candidates meet the criteria set down by the People's Council. Candidates who the conference does not "express trust" in cannot stand for election.

The number of candidates elected per voting district is between one and three. There must be more candidates standing in each district than there are seats to be filled.

People's Committee

The People's Committee is, as mentioned previously, the executive arm of a provincial government, and is responsible for formulating and implementing policy. It may be thought of as the equivalent of a cabinet. The People's Committee will have a President and a Vice-President, and between nine or eleven ordinary members.

List and statistics

The most populous top-level administrative unit in Vietnam is Ho Chi Minh City, one of the five municipalities. It has over five million people living within its official boundaries. The second most populous administrative unit, and the most populous province, is Thanh Hoa, with over three and a half million people. The least populous is Lai Chau, a mountainous province in the remote north-west.

In terms of land area, the largest province is Nghe An, which runs from the city of Vinh up the wide Song Ca valley. The smallest is Bac Ninh, located in the populous Red River delta.

External links

• News report from shortly before the latest provincial rearrangement (VietNamNet)
• Decentralised Government in Vietnam (Cardozo Electronic Law Bulletin)
• Provinces of Vietnam (Vietnam Tourism)