Population

Here is again the map of the region with its six provinces

This is the results of the 2009 Viet Nam Population and Housing Census (PDF, in Vietnamese and English). The information on minor ethnicity distribution in these six provinces are on page 154 (10. Lao Cai), page 155 (11. Dien Bien), page 156 (12. Lai Chau), page 158 (13. Son La), page 159 (14. Yen Bai), and page 160 (15. Hoa Binh). And here is the wiki page of List of Vietnamese administrative units by GRDP per capita (in Vietnamese), with statistic taken from the 2018 Statistical Yearbook of Vietnam, Chapter 2 (PDF, in Vietnamese and English).

From these two sources, here is a summary about population of the Northwestern Region (I will try to make some spatial visualizations when I have time):

1. Lao Cai:
– Population (2018): 705,600
– Population density (2018, person/km2): 111 – Rank 52/63 nationwide
– Four major ethnic groups (2009, person): Kinh – 212,528; Mong – 146,147; Tay – 94,243; Dao – 88,379
– Population growth rate (predicted 2018, percent): 1.61
– Net-migration rate (predicted 2018, percent): -1.4
– GRDP per capita (2018, USD/year/capita): 2,686 – Rank 16/63 nationwide.

2. Dien Bien
– Population (2018): 576,700
– Population density (2018, person/km2): 60 – Rank 61/63 nationwide
– Four major ethnic groups (2009, person): Thai – 186,270; Mong – 170,648; Kinh – 90,323; Kho Mu – 16,200
– Population growth rate (predicted 2018, percent): 1.71
– Net-migration rate (predicted 2018, percent): -0.5
– GRDP per capita (2018, USD/year/capita): 1,186 – Rank 61/63 nationwide.

3. Lai Chau
– Population (2018): 456,300
– Population density (2018, person/km2): 50 – Rank 63/63 nationwide
– Four major ethnic groups (2009, person): Thai – 119,805; Mong – 83,324; Kinh – 56,630; Dao – 48,745
– Population growth rate (predicted 2018, percent): 2.29
– Net-migration rate (predicted 2018, percent): -0.1
– GRDP per capita (2018, USD/year/capita): 1,433 – Rank 58/63 nationwide.

4. Son La
– Population (2018): 1,242,700
– Population density (2018, person/km2): 88 – Rank 58/63 nationwide
– Four major ethnic groups (2009, person): Thai – 542,441; Kinh – 189,461; Mong – 157,253; Muong – 81,502
– Population growth rate (predicted 2018, percent): 1.37
– Net-migration rate (predicted 2018, percent): -5.5
– GRDP per capita (2018, USD/year/capita): 1,650 – Rank 49/63 nationwide.

5. Yen Bai
– Population (2018): 815,600
– Population density (2018, person/km2): 118 – Rank 50/63 nationwide
– – Four major ethnic groups (2009, person): Kinh – 342,892; Tay – 135,314; Dao – 83,888; Mong – 81,921
– Population growth rate (predicted 2018, percent): 1.03
– Net-migration rate (predicted 2018, percent): -1.5
– GRDP per capita (2018, USD/year/capita): 1,459 – Rank 57/63 nationwide.

6. Hoa Binh
– Population (2018): 846,100
– Population density (2018, person/km2): 184 – Rank 41/63 nationwide
– Four major ethnic groups (2009, person): Muong – 501,956; Kinh – 207,569; Thai – 31,386; Tay – 23,089
– Population growth rate (predicted 2018, percent): 0.87
– Net-migration rate (predicted 2018, percent): -3.7
– GRDP per capita (2018, USD/year/capita): 2,098 – Rank 30/63 nationwide.

In order to have a better comparison with other parts of the country, here are some visualizations:

G1. Different population measures of Northwestern provinces in comparison to the nationwide value (2018)

G2. Population distribution of some prominent ethnic groups in the Northwestern provinces (2009)

Remark:

• The first graph is some basic parameters, from here, we can see:
  – These six provinces are generally below the national average income (with the exception of Lao Cai that is slightly above the average), and especially Dien Bien is one of the poorest province in the whole country;
  – The net migration rate is all negative, especially Son La has a rate of -5.5%, lowest in the whole Northern and Central Vietnam, mostly due to the lack of opportunities and low income (with exception of Lai Chau with almost flat rate, however, this might due to the remote location and without a good transportation system);
  – The population density is very sparse, all rank among the lowest in the country because of the mountainous terrain and the abundant forest;
  – Population growth rate is generally high, especially Lai Chau with 2.29%, more than twice of the national rate; this might due to the persistent problem of child marriage and the lack of birth control prevention.
  – However, from this graph, there is also a clear variation between provinces, for example, Lai Chau might be the least developed province of all, while Lao Cai is slightly better (might be explained by the developed tourism economy).
• Looking at the second graph, we can see clearly that the majority of population in the Northwestern provinces is of minor ethnicity (Kinh is the majority group nationwide, with more than 83% of population, yet they are not as dominant in these provinces). There is also a very diverse mix of people – each province has an unique distribution that is very distinctive from the nationwide and from one another.