Content with Safeguard C C1 .
Due to the historical conditions of the country, the term “indigenous peoples” is not used in Viet Nam. In the context of Safeguard C, Viet Nam refers to “ethnic minorities” in place of “indigenous peoples.” Viet Nam is a unified nation of different ethnic groups[1]. An ethnic majority group in Viet Nam is defined as “an ethnic group with a population accounting for over 50% of the country's total population according to national population survey,” while an ethnic minority group is defined as “an ethnic group with a population smaller than that of the ethnic majority group within the territory of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam” [2]. These include “very low population” ethnic minority groups, defined as “ethnic minority groups with a population below 10,000 people”[3]. The ethnic majority group, the Kinh people, account for 86%of the population, while 53 ethnic minority groups account for 14%of the population. Ethnic minority groups are distributed throughout the country, mostly living in the mountainous regions. There are no ‘ethnic-specific’ areas in Viet Nam, or areas that may be referred to as “indigenous peoples’ territories” in other parts of the world[4].
Viet Nam defines members of local communities as households and individuals living in the same village, hamlet or similar population quarters, typically having shared traditions and customs, and/or shared descent[5]. Local communities in Viet Nam may comprise households and individuals from either the ethnic majority group or from ethnic minority groups.
[1] The Constitution of Viet Nam (2013), Article 5.
[2] Government Decree No. 05/2011/ND-CP, Article 4(2,3). Vietnamese; English
[3] Government Decree No. 05/2011/ND-CP, Article 4(6). Vietnamese; English
[5] The Law on Forest Protection and Development (2004), Article 3(13); the Land Law (2013), Article 5(3); the Law on Forestry (2017, effective 1 January 2019), Article 2 (24). Vietnamese; English
The following section provides contextual information, showing the distribution of ethnic minority people across Viet Nam’s provinces and metropolitan areas. This includes the total number of ethnic minority people as well as the proportion living in identifed ‘ethnic minority areas’. Son La province had the highest number of ethnic minority people in 2015, at 1,006,312.
Number of ethnic minority people living in each province of Viet Nam, 2015[1]
Province / metropolitan area | Total number of ethnic minority persons | Ethnic minority people living in ethnic minority areas (persons) | Proportion of ethnic minority people living in ethnic minority areas (%) |
Nationwide (63 provinces) | 13,386,330 | 11,959,384 | 89.34 |
Forested provinces / metropolitan areas | |||
Hà Giang | 709663 | 691336 | 97.42 |
Cao Bằng | 486318 | 486318 | 100 |
Bắc Kạn | 2764 | 2764 | 100 |
Tuyên Quang | 433832 | 401843 | 92.63 |
Lào Cai | 447473 | 425561 | 95.1 |
Điện Biên | 461359 | 449202 | 97.36 |
Lai Châu | 358879 | 358879 | 100 |
Sơn La | 1006312 | 979295 | 97.32 |
Yên Bái | 445858 | 420273 | 94.26 |
Hoà Bình | 625496 | 60004 | 95.93 |
Thái Nguyên | 339036 | 268013 | 79.05 |
Lạng Sơn | 641224 | 626472 | 97.7 |
Bắc Giang | 22299 | 19101 | 85.66 |
Phú Thọ | 234014 | 214803 | 91.79 |
Hà Nội | 92223 | 44708 | 48.48 |
Quảng Ninh | 148127 | 119434 | 80.63 |
Vĩnh Phúc | 4973 | 41094 | 82.63 |
Ninh Bình | 26015 | 21151 | 81.3 |
Thanh Hoá | 653309 | 618359 | 94.65 |
Nghệ An | 465709 | 443949 | 95.33 |
Hà Tỉnh | 2586 | 1119 | 43.27 |
Quảng Bình | 23534 | 21739 | 92.37 |
Quảng Trị | 82497 | 79462 | 96.32 |
Thừa Thiên Huế | 52599 | 48307 | 91.84 |
Quảng Nam | 133472 | 125317 | 93.89 |
Quảng Ngãi | 178876 | 174223 | 97.4 |
Bình Định | 40707 | 35892 | 88.17 |
Phú Yên | 57063 | 54229 | 95.03 |
Khánh Hoà | 68779 | 60426 | 87.86 |
Ninh Thuận | 137629 | 133556 | 97.04 |
Bình Thuận | 89906 | 75927 | 84.45 |
Kon Tum | 272152 | 257104 | 94.47 |
Gia Lai | 650816 | 625981 | 96.18 |
Đắk Lắk | 636491 | 588046 | 92.39 |
Đắk Nông | 170363 | 153584 | 90.15 |
Lâm Đồng | 318085 | 280147 | 88.07 |
Bình Phước | 178551 | 149712 | 83.85 |
Tây Ninh | 16382 | 1006 | 61.41 |
Bình Dương | 61492 | 6436 | 10.47 |
Đồng Nai | 179045 | 103366 | 57.73 |
Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu | 24712 | 9036 | 36.57 |
Hồ Chí Minh | 450124 | 188084 | 41.78 |
Trà Vinh | 334924 | 301743 | 90.09 |
An Giang | 112575 | 90919 | 80.76 |
Kiên Giang | 240011 | 163507 | 68.12 |
Hậu Giang | 28948 | 15063 | 52.03 |
Sóc Trãng | 472428 | 432002 | 91.44 |
Bạc Liêu | 91634 | 58078 | 63.38 |
Cà Mau | 40425 | 10061 | 24.89 |
Non-forest provinces / metropolitan areas | |||
Vĩnh Long | 27108 | 15753 | 58.11 |
Cần Thơ | 37062 | 12365 | 33.36 |
[1] Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs. 2016. Results of the survey on socio-economic situation of 53 ethnic minorities in 2015. http://cema.gov.vn/ket-qua-dieu-tra-thuc-trang-kt-xh-53-dan-toc-thieu-so-nam-2015.htm
- EMLCs identified in REDD+ emission reduction program areas
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- EMLC participation in REDD+ consultation processes