Vietnamese people want to migrate to HCMC, Hanoi the most

By Gia Chinh April 4, 2024 | 02:00 am PT

People in HCMC during the Lunar New Year holiday in February 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Dinh Van

Twenty two percent of the population want to migrate to HCMC, while 15% want to migrate to Hanoi, according to the 2023 Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) report.

The report, announced Tuesday, surveyed over 19,500 respondents in Vietnam's 63 cities and provinces, with the top localities where people most want to migrate to, besides Hanoi and HCMC, being Da Nang, Can Tho, Lam Dong, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Thai Binh, Thanh Hoa and Nam Dinh.

Three of the localities in southeastern Vietnam: HCMC, Binh Duong and Dong Nai, contribute two-thirds of the national budget every year, as well as 32% of the GDP.

The biggest reasons for people wanting to migrate to the aforementioned localities are reunion with their families (41% of respondents), better job opportunities (22%) and better environmental conditions (17%).

Can Tho, Da Nang and Lam Dong, home to resort town Da Lat, are chosen as destinations with more exciting lifestyles.

On the other side of the coin, mountainous province Lai Chau has the highest percentage of people wanting to leave. It is followed by Dien Bien, Quang Binh and Dong Thap.

These are all localities with precarious socio-economic situations. Lai Chau, for example, had a per capita income in 2023 at over VND47 million ($1,883), while Quang Ninh and Dong Thap had per capita incomes at VND60 million, a far cry from the national average at VND101 million.

Port city and industrial center Hai Phong only saw 0.68% of respondents wanting to move there, while no respondents wanted to move to Yen Bai, Bac Giang, Phu Tho, Ninh Binh, and Phu Yen.

Paul Schuler, from the university of Arizona, part of the research team, said the desire to move to major cities to look for jobs was positively correlated with the increase in the number of people reporting poor family financial situations from surveys in 2017-2022.

The 2023 PAPI report also pointed out that poverty, employment and economic growth have received more attention than issues regarding governance and other socio-economic issues.

The number of people being optimistic about family financial situations is decreasing, especially among ethnic minorities and people on low incomes.