Political Divisions

Vietnam is divided into sixty-four small provinces. The biggest is Thanh Hóa. The provinces are generally grouped into eight regions: Northwest, Northeast, Red River Delta, North Central Coast, South Central Coast, Central Highlands, Southeast, and Mekong River Delta.

Cities

This map shows the cities of Vietnam. The capital city is Hanoi, but the biggest city is Ho Chi Minh City.

Hanoi
Located at 21°N and 106°E, the capital city of Vietnam has an estimated population of 3,083, 800; the total population of the country is 84,238,000.

This city has been renamed many times by different kings. Past names include Dong Quan, Dong Kinh, and Thang Long. King Minh Mang gave the city its present name - Hanoi, meaning “within the river” - in 1831.


Ho Chi Minh City
The largest city in Vietnam, located at 11°N and 107°E, is Ho Chi Minh City with a population of 6,239,938.

Originally part of Cambodia, the city was conquered by Vietnam in the 1500s. It was called Saigon until the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, then named after Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese statesman, Prime Minister, and finally President.

Physical Features

This is a map showing the elevation of Vietnam and surrounding countries, Cambodia and Laos. It shows that Vietnam has more hills than Cambodia, but is flatter than Laos. The river to the south, the Mekong, flows from Cambodia, across Vietnam and into the South China Sea. The place where it flows into the sea is called the Mouths of Mekong.



Some parts of the country are hilly and mountainous, with dense forests. In contrast, 20% of Vietnam is lower land, fertile and separated by tributaries of the major rivers Song Hong (or Red River) and Mekong. The best example of Vietnamese lowlands is the narrow strip of land running along the coast from the Red River Delta and, the place shown in the picture, the Mekong River Delta.



To the northwest are high mountains; thick jungles and mangrove swamps lie in the far south and central Vietnam is covered by the Truong Son (Annam Highlands). Overall, Vietnam presents a diverse and unique landscape, dominated by the Mekong river (shown in picture), a waterway that is considered one of the greatest in the world.