Administrative Restructuring in Vietnam 2025 Through the Lens of Data Visualization

If you happened to compare two population charts side by side, you might notice something striking:
in 2024, Vietnam appears with its familiar 63 provinces and centrally governed cities, but in 2025, a similar chart shows only 34 administrative units.

This is neither a data error nor missing information. It is the direct outcome of a large-scale administrative restructuring implemented nationwide.

In this blog post, I aim to unpack the story behind that visualization:
why the mergers occurred, what policy motivations drove them, and what insights we can extract from the resulting data. This is not merely a story about numbers-it is a narrative about governance, demographic change, and national development strategy.

To illustrate this transformation, we use a specialized visualization technique: the Radial Tree Map-a circular, hierarchical diagram particularly well suited for administrative data.

Why Use a Radial Tree Map for Administrative Data?

Several visualization types can represent hierarchical structures-such as traditional tree diagrams, organizational charts, or geographic maps. However, the radial tree offers distinct advantages for this specific case.

A Unified View of the Entire System

All provinces and cities-before and after restructuring-are displayed within a single circular framework. This immediately conveys that:

The consolidation was a coordinated, nationwide reform, not a series of isolated provincial changes.

Biểu đồ thể hiện sự thay đổi tỉnh/thành Việt Nam trong năm 2025

Regional Identification Through Color Encoding

The chart uses three distinct color palettes corresponding to Vietnam’s major regions:

• Northern Vietnam → dark brown
• Central Vietnam → orange
• Southern Vietnam → yellow

With a single glance, viewers can identify which region experienced the most significant administrative changes.

Clear Hierarchical Structure

The visualization is organized into three levels:

• Inner nodes → Region (North, Central, South)
• Middle nodes → Implementation milestone (here, 01 July 2025, the effective date of mergers and renamings)
• Outer ring → Provinces and cities after restructuring

Conceptually, this structure resembles:

“Standing at the center and observing the entire country unfold in three directions.”

How to Read the Chart: Three Simple Steps

Step 1: Identify the Region by Color

• Yellow → South
• Orange → Central
• Brown → North

This is the fastest way to locate the province or city of interest.

Step 2: Follow the Connecting Paths Inward

Each link reveals:

• Which regional group the new province belongs to
• How many former provinces or cities were merged to form it

Step 3: Locate Converging Nodes

When multiple branches converge into a single outer node, it indicates a new administrative unit formed through consolidation.

Visual Examples and Key Observations

1. Regional Distribution

• Northern Vietnam displays the highest density of nodes, reflecting its historically larger number of provinces.
• Central Vietnam appears more compact, occupying a smaller arc of the circle-highlighting its comparatively lower administrative density.
• Southern Vietnam, marked in yellow, spans a wide arc, illustrating its broad geographic footprint and dynamic urban structure.

2. Administrative Changes: Mergers and Boundary Adjustments

A notable example is the new Can Tho City, established through the merger of:

• Hau Giang Province
• Soc Trang Province
• The former Can Tho City

Sự thay đổi tên/sát nhập của thành phố Cần Thơ (ảnh minh họa)

Interactive Features of the Radial Tree Map

  A key strength of the Radial Tree Map lies in its multi-level interactivity.

• Clicking on a province triggers a tooltip displaying essential information:
  province name, effective date, region, and number of child nodes.
• Clicking again expands the hierarchy, revealing:
  • Original provinces
  • Historical splits and mergers
  • Associated timeline milestones

This “layer-peeling” interaction allows users to explore complex administrative histories progressively, avoiding information overload while preserving logical continuity.

Key Insights from the Visualization

The post-merger administrative structure of Vietnam after 01 July 2025 highlights clear regional contrasts:

• Southern Vietnam, characterized by rapid urbanization, experienced the most significant consolidation-reflecting efforts to streamline local governance and improve administrative efficiency.
• Central Vietnam underwent more balanced adjustments, focusing on boundary rationalization and scale optimization.
• Northern Vietnam saw fewer mergers, preserving many traditional provinces and demonstrating a comparatively stable administrative structure.

These differences illustrate not only a region-specific policy approach, but also the distinct development priorities shaping Vietnam’s administrative reform.

Conclusion

The administrative restructuring effective 01 July 2025 represents a major milestone in Vietnam’s effort to streamline governance and enhance local administrative efficiency.

While the scale and nature of change vary across regions, the common objective remains clear: building a more responsive, efficient, and development-oriented administrative system. These reforms lay a critical foundation for future socio-economic policies and reflect a strategic alignment between governance structures and regional development dynamics.