Commune-level town (thị trấn), a type of third tier subdivision of Vietnam is divided into 11,162 units along with
ward and
commune have equal status. By virtue of Decree No. 42/2009/ND-CP, township are officially classified into Class-2, Class-3, Class-4 or Class-5.
The townships can only subordinate to
district as the Third Tier unit.
Fact
The difference between a township and a commune is mainly related to their industrialization rate. Communes are dominated by the practice of
agriculture (including
farming,
forestry,
fishery
Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...
, and so on), whereas townships generally have a more diversified economic base. Population density in townships is also higher than in communes. Other criteria, such as population (as opposed to density), revenue received from taxes, and land area are generally not taken into account. Townships often have higher budgets than communes, but many counter-examples exist.
The
seat of government
The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority".
In most countries, the nation’s capital is also seat of its government, thus that ...
of a district is generally located in a township designated as a district capital ( vi, huyện lỵ)—as opposed to a commune—except when the town's geographical location is not favorable.
As of December 31, 2008, Vietnam had 617 commune-level towns.
The data of local administrative subdivisions till 31 December 2008 by Vietnam Statistics General Office.
Thanh Hóa Province with 30 commune-level towns is the most of all province-level administrative units, followed by Hanoi with 22 commune-level towns. Ninh Thuận Province has only three commune-level towns and Đà Nẵng has none.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Commune-Level Town (Vietnam)
Vietnam 3
Subdivisions of Vietnam
Communes, Vietnam