South Central Coast

Coordinates: 15°41′49.51″N 108°25′26.66″E / 15.6970861°N 108.4240722°E / 15.6970861; 108.4240722
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"South Central Region" redirects here. For other uses, see South Central.

15°41′49.51″N 108°25′26.66″E / 15.6970861°N 108.4240722°E / 15.6970861; 108.4240722

South Central Coast
Duyên hải Nam Trung Bộ
UTC+7 (UTC +7)
HDI (2022)0.711[3]
high · 3rd

In

region or two regions that do not correspond to each other. South Central Coast (sometimes called "South Central Region") consists of the independent municipality of Đà Nẵng and seven other provinces (picture 1), which means South Central Coast doesn't include Central Highlands
(picture 2). Nevertheless, the term "South Central Region" can also be used to include Central Highlands as it is part of southern part of Central Vietnam.

The region has traditionally been one of the main gateways to neighbouring Central Highlands. It has a complex geography with mountain ranges extending up to the coast, making transport and infrastructure development challenging but favouring tourism in some places, most notable around Phan Thiết, Nha Trang, and Da Nang. Tourism also benefits from Cham cultural heritage, including architecture, performances, and museums. It is generally much less industrialized and developed than the region around Ho Chi Minh City or the Red River Delta, but it has some regional industrial centers in Da Nang, around Nha Trang and Quy Nhon.

South Central Coast (Duyên hải Nam Trung Bộ) - 8 provinces:

Phú Yên, Khánh Hòa, Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận. The two southern provinces Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận are sometimes seen as part of the Southeast
region. In the Nguyễn dynasty, this area was known as Tả Trực Kỳ (the area located in the right of Thừa Thiên).

Provinces

Statistics of South Central Coastal Vietnam
Province Capital Area
(km²)[1][2] 		Population
(2024)[1] 		Population
density
(persons/km²) 		GDP per
capita
(million
VND, 2025)[4]
Bình Định Quy Nhon 6,066.40 1,526,500 252 1,957
Bình Thuận Phan Thiết 7,942.60 1,266,200 159 1,110
Khánh Hòa Nha Trang 5,199.62 1,272,000 245 2,610
Ninh Thuận Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm 3,355.70 607,700 181 666
Phú Yên Tuy Hòa 5,025.96 878,900 175 843
Quảng Nam Tam Kỳ 10,574.86 1,542,500 146 1,876
Quảng Ngãi Quảng Ngãi 5,155.25 1,261,700 245 2,782
Đà Nẵng
Hải Châu
Urban District 		1,284.73 1,276,000 1,000 3,898
Tổng cộng 44,605.12 9.470.840 212 10,76

History

The region was inhabited by people of the

Sa Huỳnh, Quảng Ngãi province. It was succeeded by a kingdom called Lin-yi (林邑) by the Chinese or Lâm Ấp in Vietnamese that was in existence from 192 AD. Its political center was just north of the South Central Coast near Huế. Lin-yi was culturally influenced by India. According to Chinese sources, it repeatedly raided Jiaozhi (Vietnamese: Giao Chỉ), which was one factor that contributed to several wars between Jiaozhi and their Chinese colonizers against Lin-yi in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries.[5]

Main article: Champa
Banh It Towers, Bình Định province

The historic territory of

Phan Rang in Ninh Thuận province), while much of occupied Champa continued to exist as a sort of protectorate within Vietnam for some time.[6]
: 119  Relations with the
Thi Nai.[6]
: 110–111, 114 

Geography

The coast of South China Sea near Hải Vân Pass
Hải Vân Pass

Topography

In contrast to most other coastal regions in Vietnam, the South Central Coast's terrain is not mainly flat. It has a diverse topography with mountain ranges and hills extending not only along the entire border with Central Highlands but also to the coast,[7] forming several passes, bays, peninsulas, and beautiful sceneries with beaches and mountain backdrops. Many of the highest mountains are at or near the border with the Central Highlands, the highest of which is Ngọc Linh mountain at 2598 meters.[8] There are several high peaks near the coast of Da Nang city (696m on Son Tra Peninsula), Bình Định province (up to 874m), Phú Yên province (up to 814m), Khánh Hòa province (up to 978m), and Ninh Thuận province (up to 1040m).[8] Several mountain passes function as geographic borders between the provinces of the region, with one or two provinces between two major passes. Major passes include the Hải Vân Pass on the northern border of the region (Da Nang), Binh De pass (đèo Bình Đê) between Quảng Ngãi province and Bình Định province, Cù Mông pass (đèo Cù Mông) between Bình Định province and Phú Yên province and Cả pass (đèo Cả) between Phú Yên province and Khánh Hòa province.[8]

The region includes several islands. Some of the larger ones are the

Cham Islands, and Phú Quý island. The Paracel Islands and the Spratly Islands are officially administered by Da Nang City and Khánh Hòa Province. However, sovereignty over them is disputed
and Vietnam actually controls only some of the Spratly Islands.

Hydrography

There are several rivers along the South Central Coast, the most significant being

Đà Rằng River in Phú Yên province (most of the latter's river system is in the Central Highlands.[7] Other major rivers include Trà Khúc River in Quảng Ngãi province, Côn River in Bình Định province, Ki Lo River in Phú Yên province, Cái River in Khánh Hòa province, and Dinh River in Ninh Thuận province.[8]

Climate

Summer temperatures average above 28 °C (82 °F) along most of the coast with slightly lower temperatures further inland. Winters are significantly cooler with average temperatures ranging from around 20 to 25 °C (68 to 77 °F).[7] The region includes some of the most arid (Ninh Thuận province and Bình Thuận province) as well as some of wettest climates in Vietnam (Da Nang, parts of Quảng Nam province, Quảng Ngãi province), with the rest being somewhere in between. While average precipitation per year exceeds 2,800 millimetres (110.2 in) in many parts of the three provinces in the north of the region, it is less than 800 millimetres (31.5 in) in much of Ninh Thuận province.[7]

Economy

Agriculture, forestry, fishing

Farmer in Bình Định province
Farmers in Quảng Ngãi province
in bn VND (2007)[9] % of national
Sector 1 GDP 22,557 9.7
Agriculture gross output 23,949.1 10.1
Forestry gross output 1325.1 12.35
Fishery gross output 12,410.8 14.21

The South Central Coast's sector 1 (agriculture, forestry, fishing) performance can be seen as average in the national context, with its GDP contribution similar to its population share (9.7% and 9.5%). Rice output is below average, but output of some other crops (see table below) as well as forestry and fishing are above average.

The province with the largest sector 1 economy is Bình Định (contributing 22.9% to the regions sector 1 GDP), due to its relatively large output in agriculture, forestry, and fishing. It is followed by Quảng Nam province with 15%, Bình Thuận province with 14.6%, Quảng Ngãi province and Khánh Hòa province with around 13% each.[4] Forestry output is concentrated in Quảng Nam province and Bình Định province with around 25% each, with Quảng Ngãi province and Bình Thuận province contribute another 15% each, while Da Nang and especially Ninh Thuận province have very small forestry sectors.[4] Fishing output is highest in Khánh Hòa province (22.3%) and Bình Định province (19.6%), followed by Phú Yên province and Quảng Ngãi province with around 12% each and Quảng Nam province, Bình Thuận province and Phú Yên province with 9 to 10% each.[4]

2.52 million tons of rice were harvested in the South Central Coast in 2007, 7% of Vietnam's total rice harvest.[4] The main producers are Bình Định (580kt in 2007), Bình Thuận (434kt), Quảng Nam (395kt), Quảng Ngãi (381kt), and Phú Yên (321kt).[9] The region's maize harvest made up 7.5% of the nation's total.[4]

Output (2007)[9] % of national Major producers
Cotton 3000 tons 18.63 Bình Thuận (2kt, 12.4%), Phú Yên (800t, 5%), Ninh Thuận (200t, 1.2%)
Tobacco 5000 tons 15.67 Ninh Thuận (3.3kt, 10.3%), Quảng Nam (900t, 2.8%), Phú Yên (700t, 2.2%)
Sugar-cane 2,643,600 tons 15.21 Phú Yên (1mt, 6%), Khánh Hòa (738kt, 4.25%), Quảng Ngãi (390kt, 2.25)
Coconuts 126,696 tons 12.1 Bình Định (95kt, 9%), Quảng Ngãi (13.7kt, 1.3%)
Cashew nuts 33,391 tons 11.06 Bình Thuận (17.5kt, 5,8%), Khánh Hòa (5.2kt, 1.74%), Bình Định (4.2kt, 1.4%)
Peanuts 51,900 tons 10.28 Quảng Nam (16.9kt, 3.35%), Bình Định (13.7kt, 2,71%), Quảng Ngãi (11.1kt, 2.2%), Bình Thuận (6.8kt, 1.35%)
Pepper 3445 tons 3.82 Bình Thuận (2.3kt, 2.6%)
Rubber 12,996 tons 2.16 Bình Thuận (12.3kt, 2%)

Some tea and coffee are also planted in the region, but their output is insignificant in the national context.

Industry

The South Central Coast is

VND in 2007, accounting for 37.35% of the region's total GDP and 7.54% of Vietnam's industrial GDP.[4] More than 40% of that is produced in Khánh Hòa province and Da Nang (21.8% and 20%) and another 13 to 14% each by Quảng Nam province and Bình Định province. Bình Thuận province has been able to increase its share to 12% with growth rates in industry averaging 21.6% from 2000 to 2007. Most other provinces have achieved growth between 15 and 20%, with slower growth only in the established industrial centers of Da Nang (14.8%) and Khánh Hòa province (13%).[4] The region's average industrial growth rate was 16.3% per year from 2000 to 2007, making the main driving force of the economy.[4]

Rural brick factory in Quảng Ngãi province

Da Nang has a relatively diversified industrial sector including textiles, fabric, fertilizer, cement, soap, paper, pharmaceuticals etc.[9] Khánh Hòa's industrial sector is still more reliant on basic industries such as food and seafood processing and beverages, shipbuilding, etc. The province also benefited significantly from investment related to the former Russian naval base at Cam Ranh, to which around 30 factories were attached.[10] Quy Nhon is the region's third largest industrial center.[7] It has been able to capitalize on its advantage as a gateway to the Central Highlands to develop resource-based industries (wood processing and stone processing) and a major furniture manufacturing cluster. Other industries are more dispersed, such as construction materials and basic food processing.

New industrial centers are currently being developed in the economic zones:

Quảng Nam, nearby Dung Quat Economic Zone (with Dung Quất Refinery) in northern Quảng Ngãi province, Nhơn Hội Economic Zone in Quy Nhon, and Van Phong Economic Zone
in northern Khánh Hòa province. All four zones have large areas of land, major infrastructure and industrial projects. However, in contrast to the smaller industrial parks, they aren't limited to industrial sectors.

Infrastructure

Transport

National Route 1 in Bình Định

Vietnam's main north-south transport corridors run through the whole South Central Coast region. The

Mương Mán Railway Station
, as well as several local railway stations. The two-lane National Route 1 connects all major cities of the region to the rest of the country (Quy Nhon and Nha Trang by extension 1D and 1C). The Ministry of Transport is planning the construction of a 139.5 km four-lane highway from Da Nang to Quảng Ngãi province in cooperation with foreign donors.[11]

The region is connected to the

Phan Rang (National Road 27 to Da Lat), Ninh Hòa, Khánh Hòa province (26 to Buôn Ma Thuột), Tuy Hòa (25 to Pleiku via Ayun Pa) Quy Nhon (19 to Pleiku), and western Quảng Nam province (14/ Ho Chi Minh Road to Kon Tum).[12]

The largest airport in the region is

Chu Lai
in southern Quảng Nam province has an international airport, but only domestic flights.

Da Nang Port and Quy Nhơn Port are the region's major ports. Another major port is under construction at Vân Phong in Khánh Hòa province.

Energy

The South Central Coast has limited potential for hydro-power plants and has therefore not been a major part of EVN's mostly hydro-focused strategy. However, it is at the forefront of many of Vietnam's efforts to diversify electricity sources away from hydro-power. The country's first nuclear power plant is under construction in Ninh Thuận province.[13] A second nuclear power project is being prepared with Japanese partners and will also be in Ninh Thuận.[14]

A 200 MW wind power plant is under construction in Ninh Thuận province and is planned to be completed in 2012.[15] Other wind power plants are being constructed in Bình Thuận province. Bình Thuận is also the location of a 1200 MW electro-thermal plant currently under construction.[16]

Demography

The South Central Coast region has a population of 8.93 million. The three northern provinces of Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định have the largest populations and together make up almost half of the region's population (47.7%).[4]

2.82 million or 31.6% of them live in cities and towns. More than half of the region's urban population is in Da Nang, Khánh Hòa province and Bình Thuận province, while more than half of the rural population is in the provinces of Quảng Nam, Bình Định and Quảng Ngãi.[4]

Annual population growth has averaged 1.22% from 2000 to 2007, with Da Nang recording the fastest population growth at 1.95%. Growth in the three northern provinces of Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định has been slowest at around 1%. The four other provinces had average growth rates between 1.26% (Khánh Hòa province) and 1.59% (Ninh Thuận province).[4]

The region's population is ethnically clearly dominated by the

Phan Rang and northern Bình Thuận province, with smaller communities in other provinces such as southern Bình Định. Other minorities live mostly in the mountainous western parts of the region. Areas inhabited by minority people make up more than half of Quảng Nam province and Quảng Ngãi province.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Area, population and population density by province". General Statistics Office of Vietnam. Retrieved 12 April 2024. – Interactive table which you can view by making your selection in three boxes: (1) Cities, provinces: Select all; (2) Year: Select 2024; (3) Items: Select all.
  2. ^ a b Phê duyệt và công bố kết quả thống kê diện tích đất đai năm 2022 [Approve and announce the results of land area statistics in 2022] (Decision 3048/QĐ-BTNMT) (in Vietnamese). Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Vietnam). 18 October 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l calculations based on General Statistics Office (2009): Socio-economical Statistical Data of 63 Provinces and Cities. Statistical Publishing House, Hanoi
  5. ^ Taylor, Keith Weller (1983): The Birth of Vietnam. University of California Press. pp. 89, 107, 111, 117
  6. ^ a b Hardy, Andrew (2009): "Eaglewood and the Economic History of Champa and Central Vietnam". in Hardy, Andrew et al. (ed): Champa and the Archaeology of Mỹ Sơn (Vietnam). NUS Press, Singapore.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Atlat Dia li Viet Nam (Geographical Atlas of Vietnam). NXB Giao Duc, Hanoi: 2010
  8. ^ a b c d Viet Nam Administrative Atlas. Cartographic Publishing House, Hanoi 2010
  9. ^ a b c d General Statistics Office (2009): Socio-economical Statistical Data of 63 Provinces and Cities. Statistical Publishing House, Hanoi
  10. ^ "Nga xây lại quân cảng Cam Ranh?". BBC Vietnamese. 2010-10-07. Retrieved 2011-07-08.
  11. ^ Thoi Bao Kinh Te Vietnam (12 October 2010). "Construction of Da Nang-Dung Quat high-speed road". intellasia. Intellasia East Asia News. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  12. ^ Vietnam Road Atlas (Tập Bản đồ Giao thông Đường bộ Việt Nam). Cartographic Publishing House (Vietnam), 2004
  13. ^ M Goonan (13 May 2011). "Vietnam stays the nuclear course". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  14. ^ Thuy Trieu (30 March 2011). "Gov't: Nuclear power project to move ahead". The Saigon Times. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  15. ^ "Construction on wind power plant begins". Thoi Bao Kinh Te. 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2011-07-08.
  16. ^ "TQ cho VN vay 300 triệu USD xây nhiệt điện". BBC Vietnamese. 2010-12-18. Retrieved 2011-07-08.
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