This article is about the geographical region in Vietnam. For the former country during the Vietnam War, see North Vietnam.
Regions of Vietnam
Northern Vietnam (Vietnamese: Bắc Bộ) is one of three geographical regions within Vietnam. It consists of three administrative regions: the Northwest (Vùng Tây Bắc), the Northeast (Vùng Đông Bắc), and the Red River Delta (Đồng Bằng Sông Hồng). It has a total area of about 109,942.9 km2. Tonkin or "Bắc Kỳ" is a historical exonym for this region, originating during the French colonial period.
Among the three geographical regions, the oldest is Northern Vietnam, where the Vietnamese culture originated in the Red River Delta, though Vietnamese people eventually spread south into the Mekong Delta.
Administration
Northern Vietnam includes three administrative regions, which in turn comprises 25 First Tier units.
contains most of the mountainous provinces that lie to north of the highly populated Red River lowlands. Four of them are along Vietnam's border with China.
contains inland provinces in the west of Vietnam's northern part. Three of them are along Vietnam's border with Laos, and two border China (Dien Bien borders both China and Laos).
contains the small but populous provinces along the mouth of the Red River. The Red River Delta has the smallest area but highest population and population density of all regions. It is also the only region without any land borders with neighboring countries.
