The Vietnam 2023 Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) published on Tuesday positioned Ho Chi Minh City as the prime residential choice in Vietnam.

PAPI was a research project jointly carried out by the United Nations Development Program, the Center for Community Support Development Studies, and Real Time Analytics from August to November 2023.

Its core purpose was to assess and compare public opinions regarding the effectiveness and capabilities of the 63 provincial governments of Vietnam in implementing policies and providing services in order to promote efficient and responsive governance.

Some 19,536 individuals aged 18 and older from different levels of administrative divisions were surveyed using the methods of stratification sampling and probability proportional to size sampling.

4 out of 5 municipalities considered 'ideal'

According to the findings, the most popular destination for internal migration among the participants was Ho Chi Minh City, with over 20 percent of them holding a favorable view of the southern city.

Following Ho Chi Minh City on the table were Hanoi, Da Nang, and Can Tho.

Hai Phong was the sole city among Vietnam's five municipalities that did not appear on the list.

The study found that the northern provinces of Lai Chau and Dien Bien ranked highest and second-highest, respectively, in terms of the percentage of people who wished to migrate. 

The average proportion of people wanting to migrate across the country is only 0.95 percent, which is 0.65 percent lower than in 2021 and 2022.

The provinces with the highest proportion of people preferring internal migration, like Lai Chau Province and Dien Bien Province, along with Quang Binh Province in north-central Vietnam, are particularly susceptible to flooding and natural disasters.

Individuals in Vietnam’s northern provinces who opted for relocation said they would prefer to move to Hanoi.

Meanwhile, Mekong Delta provinces like Dong Thap and Ca Mau, as well as south-central provinces such as Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan, recorded over two percent of the participants expressing a desire to relocate.

Of these, about 40 percent indicated that they would like to move to Ho Chi Minh City in the long term, while 20 percent said they would prefer to come to Can Tho.

Migration for the sake of family 

Family reunions emerged as the most prevalent reason for internal migration, with 40.68 percent of the participants selecting it, while seeking safety from natural disasters was the least cited reason, with only 1.39 percent.

Despite being the most popular reason, migration for family reunions decreased compared to 2020 and 2021 and increased only slightly against 2022. 

The second- and third-most popular reasons were better career prospects, which accounted for 21.8 percent, and a better natural environment, which represented about 17.4 percent.

Other reasons like better public services and no natural disasters saw a climb compared to 2022.

Different cities have different charms

For approximately 49 percent of the people who wanted to move to Hanoi and 35.4 percent of those who liked to relocate to Ho Chi Minh City, family reunions were the primary driving force.

That number was slightly lower – 30 percent – for those who wanted to migrate to Can Tho, though it remained the most popular answer.

About 35.1 of the respondents wished to migrate for better career prospects.

A large proportion of the participants, around 38.8 percent and 70 percent, respectively, indicated that they wanted to move to Da Nang and Lam Dong due to their better natural environments.

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