Vietnam Merges Over 41,000 Village and Residential Groups Nationwide

The Ministry of Home Affairs announced that all 34 provinces and centrally-run cities across Vietnam have completed the restructuring of their village (thôn) and residential group (tổ dân phố) administrative units, in accordance with directives from the Politburo and the Government. This restructuring has led to a significant reduction in the total number of thôn and tổ dân phố nationwide, from 89,589 units to 48,078 units. This represents a decrease of 41,511 units, or 46.33%. The consolidation and reduction of these administrative units are aimed at enhancing the efficiency of the governance apparatus under Vietnam's one-party system and optimizing resources in local administration. Streamlining organizations at the local level is expected to contribute to faster decision-making and reduced administrative costs. Furthermore, the restructuring of these units is being accompanied by efforts to strengthen Party organizations, thereby maintaining and reinforcing the Party's leadership at the grassroots level. While Vietnam has undertaken administrative boundary reviews and organizational reforms in the past, the scale of the current initiative is considered exceptional. This is seen as part of structural reforms to address the complexities of local administration, driven by urbanization and economic growth. However, concerns have also been raised regarding the potential impact of integrating residential groups on the nature of local communities and access to resident services, making future developments noteworthy. Source: Nhan Dan