What is the capital of Vietnam?
Vietnam's capital is Hanoi, located in the country's north. This thousand-year-old city of over 8 million inhabitants has been Vietnam's political and cultural center since 1010.
Hanoi, millennial capital
Hanoi has officially been the capital of Vietnam since the country's reunification in 1976. This metropolis of more than 8 million inhabitants concentrates the political institutions, ministries and the Vietnamese National Assembly.
Geographical location
Located in the Red River delta, in northern Vietnam, Hanoi is approximately 1,750 km from Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), the economic capital of the south. The city spans 3,359 km² and enjoys a humid subtropical climate.
History and status
Founded in 1010 under the name Thang Long by the Ly dynasty, Hanoi was the capital of various Vietnamese kingdoms for nearly a thousand years. After the French colonial period and the Indochina wars, it became the definitive capital of reunified Vietnam in 1976.