Political and administrative system

Ho Chi Minh City Hall at night

Saigon is a municipality at the same level as Vietnam's provinces. The city has been divided into twenty-four administrative divisions since December 2003. Five of these {Area: 1,601 km2} are designated as rural (huyện). The rural districts are Nhà Bè, Cần Giờ, Hóc Môn, Củ Chi, and Bình Chánh. A rural district consists of communes (Xã) and townships (Thị trấn). The remaining districts {Area: 494 km2} are designated urban or suburban (quận). This includes districts one to twelve, as well as Tân Bình, Bình Thạnh, Phú Nhuận, Thủ Đức, Bình Tân, Tân Phú and Gò Vấp. Each district is sub-divided into wards ("Phường"). Since December 2006, the city has had 259 wards, 58 communes and 5 townships (see List of HCMC administrative units below).

People's Committee

The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee is a 13-member executive council for the city. The current chairman is Lê Hoàng Quân. There are several vice chairmen and chairwomen on the committee with responsibility for various city departments. The legislative branch of the city government is called the People's Council and consists of 95 deputies. Both the committee and the council are subordinate to the city's Communist Party, currently led by Party Secretary Lê Thanh Hải. The chairman of the People's Committee is the No. 2 position in the city government while chairman of the People's Council is No. 3.

List of HCMC Administrative Units v t e Name of district (Dec. 2003) Sub-division units (Dec. 2003) Area (km2) (Dec. 2006) Population as of Census October 1, 2004 Population as of Census April 1, 2009 Population 2010 Population 2011 Inner Districts: District 1 10 wards 7.73 198,032 180,225 187,435 185,715 District 2 11 wards 49.74 125,136 147,490 140,621 136,497 District 3 14 wards 4.92 201,122 190,553 188,945 188,898 District 4 15 wards 4.18 180,548 180,980 183,261 183,043 District 5 15 wards 4.27 170,367 171,452 174,154 175,217 District 6 14 wards 7.19 241,379 249,329 253,474 251,902 District 7 10 wards 35.69 159,490 244,276 274,828 265,997 District 8 16 wards 19.18 360,722 408,772 418,961 421,547 District 9 13 wards 114 202,948 256,257 263,486 269,068 District 10 15 wards 5.72 235,231 230,345 232,450 234,188 District 11 16 wards 5.14 224,785 226,854 232,536 234,293 District 12 11 wards 52.78 290.129 405,360 427,083 451,737 Go Vap District 16 wards 19.74 452,083 522,690 548,145 561,068 Tan Binh District 15 wards 22.38 397,569 421,724 430,436 430,350 Tan Phu District 11 wards 16.06 366,399 398,102 407,924 419,227 Binh Thanh District 20 wards 20.76 423,896 457,362 470,054 479,733 Phu Nhuan District 15 wards 4.88 175,293 174,535 175,175 175,631 Thu Duc District 12 wards 47.76 336,571 442,177 455,899 474,547 Binh Tan District 10 wards 51.89 398,712 572,132 595,335 611,170 Total Inner Districts 259 wards 494.01 5,140,412 5,880,615 6,060,202 6,149,817 Suburban Districts: Cu Chi District 20 communes, 1 township 434.5 288,279 343,155 355,822 362,454 Hoc Mon District 11 communes, 1 township 109.18 245,381 349,065 358,640 363,171 Binh Chanh District 15 communes, 1 township 252.69 304,168 420,109 447,291 465,248 Nha Be District 6 communes, 1 township 100.41 72,740 101,074 103,793 109,949 Can Gio District 6 communes, 1 township 704.22 66,272 68,846 70,697 70,499 Total Suburban Districts 58 communes, 5 townships 1,601 976,839 1,282,249 1,336,244 1,371,321 Whole City 259 wards, 58 communes, 5 townships 2,095.01 6,117,251 7,162,864 7,396,446 7,521,138