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Provincial Merger – From Concept to Reality in Under a Year
Today, 1 July 2025, Vietnam’s new two-tier local governments started after consolidating from 63 to 34 provinces and cities, a sweeping administrative reform that would be unthinkable in many countries due to its complexity.
What’s most remarkable is not just the scale of this change, but the speed.
From the time General Secretary Tô Lâm took office in August 2024 and introduced the idea of streamlining Vietnam’s administrative system from three levels to two, to full implementation less than a year later, the country has completed one of the most ambitious overhauls of its administrative map in recent history.
Of course, fast reform brings its own risks: social cohesion, local identity, and political balance will require careful management. But the political will and execution capacity demonstrated here is remarkable.
- Ho Chi Minh City has now become a true mega city, accounting for 24% of national GDP and 15% of the population. With its expanded scale, upgraded infrastructure, and the new flexibility this reform enables, the city is well positioned to accelerate growth and evolve into a regional economic hub.
- Danang, following its own merger, now incorporates Vietnam’s first free trade zone, strengthening its case to become a regional financial center.
Vietnam continues to surprise — not just with its economic growth and increasing openness, but with bold, decisive structural reforms that many larger economies struggle to execute.
