Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

is divided into 63

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

and

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, with 5 cities and 58 provinces. It is a

unitary state A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only ...

, so there is no such thing as a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

or self-governing provinces.

Administrative units

Administrative subdivisions of Vietnam as of 2016

Officially, Vietnam is divided into 3 administrative tiers, with different types of administrative unit on each tier: * First Tier:

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

(''thành phố trực thuộc trung ương'') and

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

(''tỉnh'') * Second Tier: Municipal city (''thành phố thuộc thành phố trực thuộc trung ương''), Urban district / Borough (''quận''), Provincial city / City (''thành phố thuộc tỉnh''),

Town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

(''thị xã'') and District / County (''huyện'') * Third Tier:

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

(''phường''),

Township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

(''thị trấn'') and

Commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

(''xã'') A Fourth Tier also exists as Hamlet (''xóm'', ''ấp'') and Village (''làng'', ''thôn'', ''bản''). However this is not an official tier.

First Tier

On the First Tier, there are 5 municipalities and 58 provinces

Second Tier

Municipalities are subdivided into: District-level city (Municipal city), Urban District (Borough), District-level town (Town) and District (County). There is no official capital of the municipality but usually the seat of the local authority is located at the central urban district. Provinces are subdivided into: District-level city (City), District-level town (Town) and District (County). Normally, the Provincial City or Town is the capital of that province. Based on latest sources of General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO), there are 707 Second Tier units.http://www.gso.gov.vn/dmhc2015/TongHop.aspx The Rural District can be upgraded to Town, which can be upgraded to Provincial City.

Third Tier

Urban Districts are subdivided into: Ward, while Towns are subdivided into: Ward and Commune. Rural Districts are subdivided into: Township and Commune. There is no designated capital for Urban District and Rural District, but usually the seat of the local authority is located at the central ward or township. Similarly, there is no designated capital for Provincial City or Town, but usually the seat of the local authority is located at the central ward. As of 2020, GSO indicated that there are 10,614 Third Tier units with 1,712 wards, 605 townships and 8,297 communes. Townships are known as thị trấn in Vietnamese, but less common type of townships are farm townships (thị trấn nông trường). The Commune can be upgraded to Township or Ward.

Other Subdivisions

Vietnam is also divided into electoral divisions and military regions.

Administrative Regions

Geographically,

Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

is divided into 3 regions but, the Vietnamese government often divides it into 8 administrative regions: Within each administrative region, they comprises the various First Tier administrative units.

Electoral divisions

For electoral purpose, each province or municipality is divided into electoral units (''đơn vị bầu cử'') which are further divided into voting zones (''khu vực bỏ phiếu''). The number of electoral divisions varies from election to election and depends on the population of that province or municipality. Since the parliamentary election in 2011, there are 183 electoral units and 89,960 voting zones.

Military regions

Vietnam People's Army Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

is organised into 8 military regions: * High Command of Capital Hanoi (''Bộ Tư lệnh Thủ đô Hà Nội'') in Ha Noi * 1st Military Region (Vietnam People's Army) (''Quân khu 1'') in Northeast * 2nd Military Region (Vietnam People's Army) (''Quân khu 2'') in Northwest * 3rd Military Region (Vietnam People's Army) (''Quân khu 3'') in Red River Delta * 4th Military Region (Vietnam People's Army) (''Quân khu 4'') in North Central Coast * 5th Military Region (Vietnam People's Army) (''Quân khu 5'') in South Central Coast and Central Highland * 7th Military Region (Vietnam People's Army) (''Quân khu 7'') in Southeast * 9th Military Region (Vietnam People's Army) (''Quân khu 9'') in Mekong Delta

References

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