Researcher: Fanny Quertamp
This study was based on the statistical treatment of the 1999 national census in order to quantify the urban population and fit it into that of the overall country at the commune and administrative district levels. This resulted in a clarification of the notion of urban population, which had become blurred because of the multiplication of categories of urban centers and the inclusion of rural communities when reckoning the number of people living in cities.
Thirteen maps can now be used to analyze the urban distribution of population based on the size of towns / cities at both the national level and in each province. The 1979 and 1989 census results were treated in the same way as the 1999 census to obtain a coherent comparison of the urban population over 30 years. This highlighted that strong trends are becoming manifest: accelerated concentration of people in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as the building of a network of large cities that are driving local dynamics, which is expected to promote a better distribution of wealth in the country in the long run.