Ministry of Home Affairs drafts decree on classification of administrative units after merger
WVR - After the 2025 round of mergers and restructuring of administrative units (AU), the territorial scale and population size of many localities have changed fundamentally, far surpassing the old classification standards. The Ministry of Home Affairs announced that it has developed and finalized a draft Government Decree regulating the classification of administrative units.
Following the 2025 merger and reorganization of administrative units, the scale and population of many localities have fundamentally changed, far exceeding the old classification standards. The Ministry of Home Affairs has announced the development and completion of a draft Government Decree on the classification of administrative units.
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| Officials from Cua Nam Ward, Hanoi address residents' inquiries. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
This is a necessary step to implement the 2013 Constitution (amended), the Law on Organization of Local Government No. 72/2025/QH15, while also addressing shortcomings in existing regulations to suit realities after the 2025 restructuring of administrative units.
Major changes after the restructuring
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, after the merger and restructuring, the country now has 34 provincial-level AUs (6 cities and 28 provinces) and 3,321 commune-level AUs (2,621 communes, 687 wards, 13 special zones). The number and scale of both provincial- and commune-level units have changed dramatically compared to before June 2025.
At the provincial level, the number of AUs has been reduced by 29. The average natural area of each province or city is now 9,743 km², an increase of 85.3%. Lam Dong is currently the largest province, with an area of 24,243.13 km², far surpassing Nghe An—the previous largest.
The average provincial population has also risen by 85.3%, reaching over 3.3 million. Ho Chi Minh City has the largest population, with more than 14.6 million people—an increase of nearly 4.7 million compared to before the restructuring.
In addition, the creation of “special zones” has introduced an entirely new type of AU, outside the scope of Resolution No. 1211/2016/UBTVQH13.
These changes make the system of criteria, scoring, and classification thresholds under Resolution 1211 obsolete. Continued application would distort assessments of the position, role, and development level of each locality, directly affecting policymaking, resource allocation, and the organization of local government.
The Ministry of Home Affairs noted that the implementation of classification under Resolution No. 1211/2016/UBTVQH13 (as amended by Resolution No. 27/2022/UBTVQH15) has revealed several shortcomings.
First, the system of criteria is skewed—focused mainly on land area, population, and the number of subordinate units, which account for over half the total score. Meanwhile, indicators of governance capacity, digital transformation, administrative reform, or labor productivity have been insufficiently considered. This results in populous, large provinces being ranked higher, while smaller but dynamic and reform-driven localities struggle to improve their classification.
Second, the process is overly complex. Under Resolution 1211, the Prime Minister approves provincial classification, the Minister of Home Affairs approves district-level, and provincial People’s Committee chairs approve commune-level. Local People’s Committees must prepare dossiers, have them approved by their People’s Councils, submit them to competent authorities, and then undergo central-level appraisal. This multi-layered process is time-consuming, costly, and inconsistent with the principle of decentralization.
Third, Resolution 1211 only required classification in cases of establishment, merger, division, or boundary adjustment. There was no mechanism for periodic review, leading to many localities being classified once and then left unchanged for decades, despite major demographic, socio-economic, and governance shifts. This means classifications no longer reflect reality, reducing their value for policymaking, resource allocation, and incentives for reform.
Stressing the urgency, the Ministry of Home Affairs emphasized that the new Decree will provide an important legal framework for localities to conduct classification, from which they can plan socio-economic development, attract investment, improve living standards, and organize local government structures and policies for officials and civil servants according to the type of AU.
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as special-class units
The Ministry of Home Affairs stated that the draft decree largely inherits the classification system long in use. Accordingly, aside from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City—which are defined as “special-class” units in the Law on Organization of Local Government—all other AUs are divided into three categories (Class I, Class II, Class III) based on a points system: below 60 points (Class III), 60–75 points (Class II), over 75 points (Class I).
However, the classification of urban AUs has been adjusted to align with current principles and realities.
Specifically, for centrally governed cities: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City remain special-class units, while other centrally governed cities are Class I.
According to the Ministry, cities such as Hue, Hai Phong, Da Nang, and Can Tho already meet the highest criteria for population, area, socio-economic development, infrastructure, finance, and governance. Automatically recognizing them as Class I ensures stability, transparency, reduced bureaucracy, and a legal basis for special policies befitting their roles.
Adding “dynamic” criteria
For provinces, the draft decree divides them into three classes based on five groups of standards: Population size: 10–20 points; Natural area: 10–20 points; Number of subordinate units: 6–10 points; Socio-economic conditions (11 sub-indicators): 18–40 points; and special factors: 0–10 points.
The socio-economic sub-indicators include: budget revenue–expenditure balance; share of industry, construction, and services; economic growth rate; proportion of non-agricultural labor; labor productivity growth; per capita income; social insurance participation rate; multidimensional poverty rate; rural clean water access; household internet connectivity; and proportion of administrative dossiers processed fully online.
The Ministry emphasized that adding these “dynamic” indicators ensures classification goes beyond population and area, assessing governance, digital transformation, and administrative reform—factors increasingly decisive for local development quality.
For communes, classification will also be divided into three classes, based on four groups of standards: Population size: 15–25 points; Natural area: 15–25 points; Socio-economic conditions (7 sub-indicators): 21–40 points; and special factors: 0–10 points.
For wards, classification follows the same four groups of standards but with adjusted thresholds to reflect urban population density, land area, and socio-economic development.
For special zones, classification depends on whether they are designated as urban: if so, ward criteria apply; otherwise, commune criteria apply. In all cases, special zones receive the maximum 10 points under “special factors”.
The draft decree also stipulates priority points for units with extraordinary scale (provinces/communes with natural area 300% above standards; wards with population 300% above standards) or those in extremely difficult areas, or those designated as central to provincial or inter-commune/ward socio-economic development. A maximum of 10 priority points will ensure these key units receive adequate resources for investment, development, and governance.
