In 2024, the population density in Ho Chi Minh City reached ***** inhabitants per square kilometer, making the largest city of Vietnam also the most crowded. Ha Noi, the capital, was much less crowded, with ***** people per square kilometer. In both Da Nang and Can Tho, this figure stayed around *** inhabitants per square kilometer.

In 2024, the urban population in Vietnam stood at approximately 39 million people. The six largest urban agglomerations include Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Bien Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho. On the other hand, Ben Tre, Thai Binh, and Bac Giang had the lowest rates of urbanization in the country. Urbanization in Vietnam The rapid urbanization in Vietnam results in a disproportionate population density between its urban and rural areas. For instance, in 2022, Ho Chi Minh City recorded a population density of 4,481 inhabitants per square kilometer, nearly 15 times the country's average population density in the same year. The urban population is consistently increasing due to the country’s economic reforms and infrastructure development, as well as higher living standards. For example, the monthly income per capita in urban areas is nearly half as much as that in rural areas. Nevertheless, the poverty rate in Vietnam has been consistently diminishing each year, roughly at 4.2 percent as of 2022. Urban infrastructure in Vietnam Vietnam has made significant progress in developing its urban infrastructure, especially in major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The expansion of highways, seaports, and airports has enhanced domestic and international connectivity, as well as greatly contributed to the country’s logistic industry. For instance, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are developing a metro system which is expected to be put into operation in 2024. The country has also invested in modern healthcare facilities, schools, and commercial centers. However, challenges such as traffic jams, limited public transportation services, and environmental pollution still require significant efforts to meet the growing demands of the Vietnamese urban population.

In 2024, the population living in urban areas in Vietnam accounted for 38.5 percent of the total population. Since the past years, the share of the urban population in the country has been growing steadily year on year.

Vietnam VN: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 23.394 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 23.302 % for 2016. Vietnam VN: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 23.202 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 29.151 % in 1960 and a record low of 21.883 % in 1993. Vietnam VN: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Vietnam – Table VN.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; Weighted average;

This horizontal bar chart displays urban population (people) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Vietnam. The data is filtered where the date is 2021. The data is about countries per year.

Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in Vietnam was reported at 23.57 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Vietnam - Population in the largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

Vietnam VN: Urban Population: % of Total Population data was reported at 35.213 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 34.510 % for 2016. Vietnam VN: Urban Population: % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 19.822 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 35.213 % in 2017 and a record low of 14.700 % in 1960. Vietnam VN: Urban Population: % of Total Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Vietnam – Table VN.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division.; ; United Nations Population Division. World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.; Weighted average;

Vietnam VN: Urban Population data was reported at 33,642,782.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 32,635,787.000 Person for 2016. Vietnam VN: Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 13,089,739.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 33,642,782.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 4,802,582.000 Person in 1960. Vietnam VN: Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Vietnam – Table VN.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.; Sum;

While nearly two-thirds of Vietnam remains rural, urbanization has grown by seven percent from 2012 to 2022. Political reforms in the 1980s created greater economic stability in Vietnam in the decade that followed and led to higher urbanization. The growing population of Vietnam, as well as people migrating from rural areas, contributes to an escalating number of inhabitants in the country's already crowded cities. Agricultural sector becoming less prominent In 2008, nearly half the population of Vietnam worked in agriculture. Ten years later, as more people leave rural areas, the service sector is comparable in size, employing roughly a third of the population, while employment in the industry sector has grown to a quarter. Though agriculture has long had the most workers, the service and industry sectors accounted for larger shares of Vietnam’s GDP from 2007 to 2017. Costs in rural and urban areas In rural areas of Vietnam, investment in agriculture – such as the costs of farming – was the second-highest expense in 2019. In urban areas, around the same share was spent on aspirational living costs such as eating out and holidays, while investment was the category with the least amount of monthly spending. The expense associated with farming in rural areas is a possible cause for the increased migration to cities, with fewer people employed in the agricultural sector and more working in services such as health care, education, hospitality, and gastronomy.

During the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), building smart cities is a trend deployed by cities around the world to solve urban problems. Recently, a number of research projects on developing the model in Vietnam have obtained initial results. However, in fact, it is necessary to develop smart city development solutions suitable for each city as well as the whole nation.

This raster layer shows the areas of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam which were developed between 1990 and 2000. Categories of new development represented in these data include: infill, extension and leapfrog. Infill represents development within all the open spaces in the urban footprint of the earlier period excluding exterior open space. Extension represents development in contiguous clusters that contained exterior open space in the earlier period and that were not infUnited States Leapfrog represents development entirely outside the exterior open space of the earlier period. These data are part of the Atlas of Urban Expansion.

Vietnam VN: Urban Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 meters: % of Total Population data was reported at 7.330 % in 2010. This records an increase from the previous number of 7.002 % for 2000. Vietnam VN: Urban Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 meters: % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 7.002 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2010, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7.330 % in 2010 and a record low of 7.002 % in 2000. Vietnam VN: Urban Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 meters: % of Total Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Vietnam – Table VN.World Bank: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. Urban population below 5m is the percentage of the total population, living in areas where the elevation is 5 meters or less.; ; Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)/Columbia University. 2013. Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates Version 2. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/lecz-urban-rural-population-land-area-estimates-v2.; Weighted Average;

Vietnam VN: Urban Population Growth data was reported at 3.039 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3.113 % for 2016. Vietnam VN: Urban Population Growth data is updated yearly, averaging 3.174 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5.319 % in 1960 and a record low of 2.542 % in 1988. Vietnam VN: Urban Population Growth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Vietnam – Table VN.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.; Weighted average;

This raster layer contains the total area occupied by the built-up area of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and its urbanized open space in 1990. Categories of urban land use represented in these data include: urban, suburban, rural and urbanized open land. The built-up area of the city is the area occupied by built-up pixels within the set of administrative boundaries defining the city. The urbanized open space consists of all fringe open spaces (including exterior open spaces) and all captured open spaces. These data are part of the Atlas of Urban Expansion.

In 2024, Ho Chi Minh City was the largest municipality in Vietnam, with a population of over *** million people. Home to over eight million people, Ha Noi ranking second, followed by Hai Phong. There are five municipalities in Vietnam, which are also the leading urban cities in the country.

Vietnam VN: Population in Largest City data was reported at 7,870,501.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 7,604,915.000 Person for 2016. Vietnam VN: Population in Largest City data is updated yearly, averaging 2,905,317.000 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7,870,501.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 1,400,000.000 Person in 1960. Vietnam VN: Population in Largest City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Vietnam – Table VN.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the urban population living in the country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; ;

Vietnam Population: HCMC: Urban data was reported at 6,988.320 Person th in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 6,858.923 Person th for 2016. Vietnam Population: HCMC: Urban data is updated yearly, averaging 5,314.898 Person th from Dec 1993 (Median) to 2017, with 25 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6,988.320 Person th in 2017 and a record low of 3,330.064 Person th in 1993. Vietnam Population: HCMC: Urban data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ho Chi Minh City Statistics Office. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Vietnam – Table VN.G007: Population: Ho Chi Minh City.

Abstract

The STEP (Skills Toward Employment and Productivity) Measurement program is the first ever initiative to generate internationally comparable data on skills available in developing countries. The program implements standardized surveys to gather information on the supply and distribution of skills and the demand for skills in labor market of low-income countries.

The uniquely-designed Household Survey includes modules that measure the cognitive skills (reading, writing and numeracy), socio-emotional skills (personality, behavior and preferences) and job-specific skills (subset of transversal skills with direct job relevance) of a representative sample of adults aged 15 to 64 living in urban areas, whether they work or not. The cognitive skills module also incorporates a direct assessment of reading literacy based on the Survey of Adults Skills instruments. Modules also gather information about family, health and language.

Geographic coverage

The survey covers the urban area of two largest cities of Vietnam, Ha Noi and HCMCT.

Analysis unit

The units of analysis are the individual respondents and households. A household roster is undertaken at the start of the survey and the individual respondent is randomly selected among all household members aged 15 to 64 included. The random selection process was designed by the STEP team and compliance with the procedure is carefully monitored during fieldwork.

Universe

The STEP target population is the population aged 15 to 64 included, living in urban areas, as defined by each country's statistical office. In Vietnam, the target population comprised all people from 15-64 years old living in urban areas in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCM).

The reasons for selection of these two cities include :

(i) They are two biggest cities of Vietnam, so they would have all urban characteristics needed for STEP study, and (ii) It is less costly to conduct STEP survey in these to cities, compared to all urban areas of Vietnam, given limitation of survey budget.

• The target population is not representative for the national urban population.

The following are excluded from the sample:

• Residents of institutions (prisons, hospitals, etc)
• Residents of senior homes and hospices
• Residents of other group dwellings such as college dormitories, halfway homes, workers' quarters, etc
• Persons living outside the country at the time of data collection

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

• The sample of 3405 households was selected from 227 urban Enumeration Areas (EAs) in Ha Noi (107 EAs) and Ho Chi Minh City (120 EAs). From each EA 15 households were selected, so the number of households selected in Ha Noi was 1245 HHs, and in HCM, 2160 HHs.
• The 2009 Population and Housing Census was used as a sample frame.
• Regarding PSUs (EAs), the sampling frame is the list of 15% of total EAs of the 2009 Population Census. Data items on the frame for PSU include provincecode, districtcode, commune code, and EA code; address of EA, number of households.
• Regarding ultimate sampling units (households), sampling frame is a list of (100) households in each EA. Data items on the frame for ultimate sampling units (households) include names of heads of households.

The sample frame includes the list of urban EAs and the count of households for each EA. Changes of the EAs list and household list would impact on coverage of sample frame. In a recent review of Ha Noi, there were only 3 EAs either new or destroyed from 140 randomly selected Eas (2%). GSO would increase the coverage of sample frame (>95% as standard) by updating the household list of the selected Eas before selecting households for STEP.

A detailed description of the sample design is available in section 4 of the NSDPR provided with the metadata. On completion of the household listing operation, GSO will deliver to the World Bank a copy of the lists, and an Excel spreadsheet with the total number of households listed in each of the 227 visited PSUs.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The STEP survey instruments include: (i) a Background Questionnaire developed by the WB STEP team (ii) a Reading Literacy Assessment developed by Educational Testing Services (ETS).

All countries adapted and translated both instruments following the STEP Technical Standards: 2 independent translators adapted and translated the Background Questionnaire and Reading Literacy Assessment, while reconciliation was carried out by a third translator. The WB STEP team and ETS collaborated closely with the survey firms during the process and reviewed the adaptation and translation to Vietnamese (using a back translation). - The survey instruments were both piloted as part of the survey pretest. - The adapted Background Questionnaires are provided in English as external resources. The Reading Literacy Assessment is protected by copyright and will not be published.

Cleaning operations

STEP Data Management Process 1. Raw data is sent by the survey firm 2. The WB STEP team runs data checks on the Background Questionnaire data. - ETS runs data checks on the Reading Literacy Assessment data. - Comments and questions are sent back to the survey firm. 3. The survey firm reviews comments and questions. When a data entry error is identified, the survey firm corrects the data. 4. The WB STEP team and ETS check the data files are clean. This might require additional iterations with the survey firm. 5. Once the data has been checked and cleaned, the WB STEP team computes the weights. Weights are computed by the STEP team to ensure consistency across sampling methodologies. 6. ETS scales the Reading Literacy Assessment data. 7. The WB STEP team merges the Background Questionnaire data with the Reading Literacy Assessment data and computes derived variables.

Detailed information data processing in STEP surveys is provided in the 'Guidelines for STEP Data Entry Programs' document provided as an external resource. The template do-file used by the STEP team to check the raw background questionnaire data is provided as an external resource.

Response rate

The response rate for Vietnam (urban) was 62%. (See STEP Methodology Note Table 4).

Sampling error estimates

A weighting documentation was prepared for each participating country and provides some information on sampling errors. All country weighting documentations are provided as an external resource.

Vietnam VN: Urban Land Area data was reported at 7,589.042 sq km in 2010. This stayed constant from the previous number of 7,589.042 sq km for 2000. Vietnam VN: Urban Land Area data is updated yearly, averaging 7,589.042 sq km from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2010, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7,589.042 sq km in 2010 and a record low of 7,589.042 sq km in 2010. Vietnam VN: Urban Land Area data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Vietnam – Table VN.World Bank: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. Urban land area in square kilometers, based on a combination of population counts (persons), settlement points, and the presence of Nighttime Lights. Areas are defined as urban where contiguous lighted cells from the Nighttime Lights or approximated urban extents based on buffered settlement points for which the total population is greater than 5,000 persons.; ; Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)/Columbia University. 2013. Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates Version 2. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/lecz-urban-rural-population-land-area-estimates-v2.; Sum;

In 2023, citizens of Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Noi had the highest monthly average monthly income per capita among Vietnam's four major cities, amounting to more than *** million Vietnamese dong. People living in Da Nang had a slightly lower monthly income per capita that year, reaching an average of **** million Vietnamese dong. In that year, the monthly average income per capita of the whole country was at **** million Vietnamese dong.