Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra recently submitted a draft decree on the classification of administrative units to the government.

According to the Ministry, the proposed decree retains the established classification framework that has been in place for many years. Under this framework, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are designated as special-tier administrative units, as defined in the Law on Local Government Organization.

The remaining provincial administrative units are divided into three tiers. These are determined by a points-based system: under 60 points corresponds to tier III, 60-75 points to tier II, and over 75 points to tier I.

Following the recent consolidation of administrative divisions, Vietnam now comprises 34 provinces and cities instead of 63. The average land area of a provincial-level administrative unit has increased to 9,743 square kilometers, up by 4,484 square kilometers or 85.3%. The largest province by area is Lam Dong, now covering 24,243.13 square kilometers - an increase of 7,756.63 square kilometers or 47.05% compared to the previous largest, Nghe An.

The average population of each provincial unit has risen to 3,362,519 people - up by 1,547,826 or 85.3%. Ho Chi Minh City is now the most populous unit with 14,668,098 residents, an increase of 4,701,932 (47.17%) compared to its population before June 2025.

The decree adjusts how urban areas are classified under each type of administrative unit to better align with the new context and guiding principles behind the proposed regulation.

Specifically, under the draft, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are designated as special-tier units, while other centrally governed cities such as Hue, Hai Phong, Da Nang, and Can Tho are classified as tier I. These cities have already met the highest criteria in terms of population, area, socio-economic conditions, infrastructure, finance, and governance. This classification provides legal clarity and facilitates the implementation of tailored policies to reflect their strategic roles.

For provinces, the draft decree outlines three tiers based on five groups of criteria, with point allocations as follows: population size (10–20 points), land area (10–20 points), number of subordinate administrative units (6–10 points), socio-economic conditions (18–40 points, based on 11 sub-criteria), and special factors (0–10 points).

The 11 sub-criteria for socio-economic conditions include: state budget balance, industrial/construction/services ratio, economic growth rate, non-agricultural labor rate, labor productivity growth, per capita income, social insurance participation rate, multi-dimensional poverty rate, access to clean water, household internet access, and the percentage of administrative procedures processed fully online.

For communes, the classification is also divided into three tiers based on four groups of criteria: population size (15–25 points), land area (15–25 points), socio-economic conditions (21–40 points, across 7 sub-criteria), and special factors (0–10 points).

Wards follow a similar point structure, but scoring thresholds are adjusted to reflect the typically higher population density, smaller land area, and more advanced socio-economic development of urban neighborhoods.

For special administrative zones, the decree proposes that those classified as urban areas follow the ward criteria, while others follow the commune criteria. In all cases, special zones receive a full 10 points under the “special factors” category.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has requested the government to approve this draft decree under a streamlined legislative process.

Thu Hang