Northwest (Vietnam)

Tây Bắc (literally "Northwest") is one of the regions of Vietnam, located in the mountainous northwestern part of the country. It consists of six provinces: Điện Biên, Lai Châu, Sơn La, Hòa Bình, Lào Cai and Yên Bái are usually seen as part of the Northwest region. It has a population of 4.9 million (2022) and it is fully landlocked.

Northwest (Vietnam) Tây Bắc Bộ
Location of the Tây Bắc (Northwest) region in Vietnam
Country	Vietnam
Area [1][2]
• Total	50,565.71 km2 (19,523.53 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[1]
• Total	4,911,370
• Density	97/km2 (250/sq mi)
GDP
• Total	VND 190 trillion US$ 8.3 billion (2021)
Time zone	UTC+7 (UTC +7)
HDI (2022)	0.685[3] high · 4th

Geography

Further information on the mountain range: Sông Mã Range

History

A large area of the region was previously a part of the Sip Song Chau Tai, Tai-Meo Autonomous Region, which was dissolved in 1954. It was renamed the "Northwest Autonomous Region" (Khu Tự trị Tây Bắc) in 1961, in order to not highlight just two of the many ethnic groups in this zone. The autonomy was rescinded after the Fall of Saigon of 1975.^[4][5]

Provinces

Statistics of Northwest Vietnam (Tây Bắc)

Province- Level Division	Capital	Population (2023)[1]	Area (in km2)[1][2]
Điện Biên	Điện Biên Phủ	646,170	9,539.93
Hòa Bình	Hòa Bình City	880,470	4,590.30
Lai Châu	Lai Châu	489,270	9,068.73
Lào Cai	Lào Cai	779,910	6,364.25
Sơn La	Sơn La	1,313,330	14,109.83
Yên Bái	Yên Bái	855,550	6,892.67

See also

• Regions of Vietnam

References

1. "Area, population and population density by province". General Statistics Office of Vietnam. Retrieved 12 April 2024. – Interactive table which you can view by making your selection in three boxes: (1) Cities, provinces: Select all; (2) Year: Select 2023; (3) Items: Select all.
2. Phê duyệt và công bố kết quả thống kê diện tích đất đai năm 2022 [Approve and announce the results of land area statistics in 2022] (Decision 3048/QĐ-BTNMT) (in Vietnamese). Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Vietnam). 18 October 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
3. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org.
4. Bruce M. Lockhart; William J. Duiker (2006). "Tây Bắc". The A to Z of Vietnam. Scarecrow Press. pp. 355–356.
5. Jean Michaud (2006). "Tay Bac Autonomous Region". Historical Dictionary of the Peoples of the Southeast Asian Massif. Scarecrow Press. pp. 232–233.

21°33′N 104°30′E