Hanoi, April 14, 2025 — The Europe Today: The 11th Plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee has officially approved a landmark resolution to comprehensively restructure Vietnam’s political-administrative apparatus. The new framework, outlined in Resolution No. 60-NQ/TW dated April 12, 2025, will reduce the number of provincial-level administrative units from 63 to 34, streamlining the country’s governance model.
The restructuring involves the merger of multiple provinces and centrally-run cities and is part of broader efforts to reform and modernize the political system, improve governance efficiency, and optimize the allocation of resources at the local level.
The Party Central Committee agreed to proceed with rearranging administrative units at the provincial and communal levels, and re-organizing local administrations in alignment with national development goals.
Breakdown of Administrative Units
Under the new model, Vietnam will comprise 28 provinces and six centrally-governed cities. The administrative reconfiguration is divided into two categories: units that will remain unchanged and newly formed units following mergers.
I. Unchanged Provincial-Level Units
- Hà Nội City
- Huế City
- Lai Châu Province
- Điện Biên Province
- Sơn La Province
- Lạng Sơn Province
- Quảng Ninh Province
- Thanh Hóa Province
- Nghệ An Province
- Hà Tĩnh Province
- Cao Bằng Province
II. Newly Formed Provincial-Level Units after Mergers
- Tuyên Quang Province: Merger of Tuyên Quang and Hà Giang.
Administrative center: Tuyên Quang. - Lào Cai Province: Merger of Lào Cai and Yên Bái.
Center: Yên Bái. - Thái Nguyên Province: Merger of Bắc Kạn and Thái Nguyên.
Center: Thái Nguyên. - Phú Thọ Province: Merger of Vĩnh Phúc, Phú Thọ, and Hòa Bình.
Center: Phú Thọ. - Bắc Ninh Province: Merger of Bắc Ninh and Bắc Giang.
Center: Bắc Giang. - Hưng Yên Province: Merger of Hưng Yên and Thái Bình.
Center: Hưng Yên. - Hải Phòng City: Merger of Hải Dương Province and Hải Phòng City.
Center: Hải Phòng. - Ninh Bình Province: Merger of Hà Nam, Ninh Bình, and Nam Định.
Center: Ninh Bình. - Quảng Trị Province: Merger of Quảng Bình and Quảng Trị.
Center: Quảng Bình. - Đà Nẵng City: Merger of Quảng Nam Province and Đà Nẵng City.
Center: Đà Nẵng. - Quảng Ngãi Province: Merger of Kon Tum and Quảng Ngãi.
Center: Quảng Ngãi. - Gia Lai Province: Merger of Gia Lai and Bình Định.
Center: Bình Định. - Khánh Hòa Province: Merger of Ninh Thuận and Khánh Hòa.
Center: Khánh Hòa. - Lâm Đồng Province: Merger of Lâm Đồng, Đắk Nông, and Bình Thuận.
Center: Lâm Đồng. - Đắk Lắk Province: Merger of Đắk Lắk and Phú Yên.
Center: Đắk Lắk. - Hồ Chí Minh City: Merger of Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, Bình Dương, and Hồ Chí Minh City.
Center: Hồ Chí Minh City. - Đồng Nai Province: Merger of Đồng Nai and Bình Phước.
Center: Đồng Nai. - Tây Ninh Province: Merger of Tây Ninh and Long An.
Center: Long An. - Cần Thơ City: Merger of Cần Thơ City, Sóc Trăng, and Hậu Giang.
Center: Cần Thơ. - Vĩnh Long Province: Merger of Bến Tre, Vĩnh Long, and Trà Vinh.
Center: Vĩnh Long. - Đồng Tháp Province: Merger of Tiền Giang and Đồng Tháp.
Center: Tiền Giang. - Cà Mau Province: Merger of Bạc Liêu and Cà Mau.
Center: Cà Mau. - An Giang Province: Merger of An Giang and Kiên Giang.
Center: Kiên Giang.
Forward Outlook
The central government views this administrative overhaul as a vital step in enhancing state management, cutting redundant bureaucracy, and improving the delivery of public services. The implementation process will be closely monitored to ensure stability and effectiveness across the newly formed units.
Further legislative and executive guidance is expected in the coming months as the government begins the transition toward the new provincial framework.
