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.
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.
Government
Vietnamese provinces are, at least in theory, controlled by a Peoples 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.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.
Name | Capital | Population | Area | Name | Capital | Population | Area
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An Giang | Long Xuyen | 2,099,400 | 3,406 kmē | Khanh Hoa | Nha Trang | 1,066,300 | 5,197 kmē
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Bac Giang | Bac Giang | 1,522,000 | 3,822 kmē | Kien Giang | Rach Gia | 1,542,800 | 6,269 kmē
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Bac Kan | Bac Kan | 283,000 | 4,795 kmē | Kon Tum | Kon Tum | 330,700 | 9,615 kmē
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Bac Lieu | Bac Lieu | 756,800 | 2,521 kmē | Lai Chau | Phong Tho | 227,600 | 7,365 kmē
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Bac Ninh | Bac Ninh | 957,700 | 804 kmē | Lam Dong | Da Lat | 1,049,900 | 9,765 kmē
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Ba Ria-Vung Tau | Vung Tau | 839,000 | 1,975 kmē | Lang Son | Lang Son | 715,300 | 8,305 kmē
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Ben Tre | Ben Tre | 1,308,200 | 2,287 kmē | Lao Cai | Lao Cai | 616,500 | 8,057 kmē
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Binh Dinh | Qui Nhon | 1,481,000 | 6,076 kmē | Long An | Tan An | 1,384,000 | 4,492 kmē
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Binh Duong | Thu Dao Mot | 768,100 | 2,696 kmē | Nam Dinh | Nam Dinh | 1,916,400 | 1,637 kmē
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Binh Phuoc | Dong Xoai | 708,100 | 6,856 kmē | Nghe An | Vinh | 2,913,600 | 16,487 kmē
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Binh Thuan | Phan Thiet | 1,079,700 | 7,828 kmē | Ninh Binh | Ninh Binh | 891,800 | 1,382 kmē
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Ca Mau | Ca Mau | 1,158,000 | 5,192 kmē | Ninh Thuan | Phan Rang-Thap Cham | 531,700 | 3,360 kmē
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Can Tho (municipality) | 1,112,000 | 1,390 kmē | Phu Tho | Viet Tri | 1,288,400 | 3,519 kmē
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Cao Bang | Cao Bang | 501,800 | 6,691 kmē | Phu Yen | Tuy Hoa | 811,400 | 5,045 kmē
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Dak Lak | Buon Ma Thuot | 1,667,000 | 13,062 kmē | Quang Binh | Dong Hoi | 812,600 | 8,025 kmē
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Dak Nong | Gia Nghia | 363,000 | 6,514 kmē | Quang Nam | Tham Ky | 1,402,700 | 10,408 kmē
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Da Nang (municipality) | 715,000 | 1,256 kmē | Quang Ngai | Quang Ngai | 1,206,400 | 5,135 kmē
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Dien Bien | Dien Bien Phu | 440,300 | 8,544 kmē | Quang Ninh | Ha Long | 1,029,900 | 5,899 kmē |
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Dong Nai | Bien Hoa | 2,067,200 | 5,895 kmē | Quang Tri | Dong Ha | 588,600 | 4,746 kmē
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Dong Thap | Cao Lanh | 1,592,600 | 3,238 kmē | Soc Trang | Soc Trang | 1,213,400 | 3,223 kmē
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Gia Lai | PleiKu | 1,048,000 | 15,496 kmē | Son La | Son La | 922,200 | 14,055 kmē
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Ha Giang | Ha Giang | 625,700 | 7,884 kmē | Tay Ninh | Tay Ninh | 989,800 | 4,028 kmē
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Hai Duong | Hai Duong | 1,670,800 | 1,648 kmē | Thai Binh | Thai Binh | 1,814,700 | 1,542 kmē
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Hai Phong (municipality) | 1,711,100 | 1,503 kmē | Thanh Hoa | Thanh Hoa | 3,509,600 | 11,106 kmē
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Ha Nam | Phu Ly | 800,400 | 849 kmē | Thua Thien-Hue | Hue | 1,078,900 | 5,009 kmē
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Ha Noi (municipality) | 2,154,900 | 921 kmē | Tien Giang | My Tho | 1,635,700 | 2,367 kmē
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Ha Tay | Ha Dong | 2,432,000 | 2,192 kmē | Tra Vinh | Tra Vinh | 989,000 | 2,226 kmē
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Ha Tinh | Ha Tinh | 1,284,900 | 6,056 kmē | Tuyen Quang | Tuyen Quang | 692,500 | 5,868 kmē
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Hoa Binh | Hoa Binh | 774,100 | 4,663 kmē | Vinh Long | Vinh Long | 1,023,400 | 1,475 kmē
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Ho Chi Minh (municipality) | 5,378,100 | 2,095 kmē | Vinh Phuc | Vinh Yen | 1,115,700 | 1,371 kmē
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Hau Giang | Vi Thanh | 766,000 | 1,608 kmē | Yen Bai | Yen Bai | 699,900 | 6,883 kmē
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Hung Yen | Hung Yen | 1,091,000 | 928 kmē |
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Map
Below is a map of Vietnamese provinces and municipalities as of December 2003. It includes the changes agreed to in November 2003 (namely, the creation of Dien Bien province, the creation of Dak Nong province, and the split of Can Tho province into Can Tho municipality and Hau Giang province).External links