On the afternoon of March 4, at the regular Government press conference in February 2026, the press asked the Ministry of Home Affairs about information about the continued merger of communes and wards, provincial and city levels.
Answering this question, Mr. Phan Trung Tuan - Director of the Local Government Department (Ministry of Home Affairs) said that recently there has been public opinion and information circulating on social networks about the possibility of continuing to arrange provinces, cities, and communes and wards in the future. In which there are images of the Ministry of Home Affairs' Official Dispatch, accompanied by appendices arranging 34 provinces and cities down to 16 provinces and cities.
According to a representative of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the revolution in arranging and reorganizing the apparatus of the political system from the Central to the grassroots level implemented in 2025 is a strategic step, of great historical significance in the context of the country's development in the coming period.
In which, our country has arranged and merged from 63 provinces and cities to 34 provinces and cities. At the same time, it has also arranged and reorganized commune-level administrative units, completely terminating the operation of district-level administrative units.
The arrangement of this organizational structure has been carefully considered by the Central Party Committee, the National Assembly, and the Government to aim for the long-term stability of administrative units.
Before submitting to the Politburo and then to the Central Executive Committee on the project to arrange administrative units at all levels and organize a 2-level local government model, the Government Party Committee held 5 meetings.
After that, it has been submitted to the Politburo and the Secretariat for consideration up to 3 times to consider very carefully before submitting to the Central Executive Committee for promulgation Resolution 60 to implement the 2-level local government model and arrange administrative units throughout the country," a representative of the Ministry of Home Affairs informed and said that after arrangement, our country still has 34 provinces and cities and 3,321 communes, wards, and special zones operating from July 1, 2025.
Also according to a representative of the Ministry of Home Affairs, to date, after more than 8 months of implementation, the entire political system from the Central to the grassroots levels is focusing maximally on effectively operating this model under the close direction of the Politburo and General Secretary To Lam.
In the coming time, our country will focus on perfecting institutions and removing difficulties and obstacles when operating 2-level local governments to ensure smooth efficiency, close-to-people governance, and better serve the people.
We would like to reaffirm that currently, the Party, State, National Assembly, and Government do not have a policy on continuing to arrange and merge provinces, cities, and commune-level administrative units nationwide," the representative of the Ministry of Home Affairs informed.
Regarding the completion of institutions, at the meeting on December 24, 2025, the National Assembly Standing Committee approved 2 new Resolutions on: Classification of administrative unit standards and Resolution on urban classification.
The issuance of these documents aims to remove obstacles and difficulties in actual operation, meet the requirements of completing planning, and create socio-economic development goals.
Also at the meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee, National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Khac Dinh clearly affirmed: The Party and State have no policy to continue arranging, merging or separating provincial and commune-level administrative units in the coming years.
All information about continuing to change administrative boundaries at this time is inaccurate. This official information is released to orient public opinion and create peace of mind for officials and people in localities.
The top priority today is to complete the legal framework to be consistent with the two-level local government model (district level has been removed).
