Ho chi minh city map with districts

This is an updated version of the original article written by Jake Hornberger in 2017.

When this article was first published in 2017, Ho Chi Minh City only had 8 million residents, but as of the most recent data available (March 2023), Vietnam’s busiest city now has at least 9.3 million people. That makes it one of the fastest-growing cities in the world and one which, by 2025, is expected to hit as many as 13.9 million residents.

For many of us, however, the city seems small as we gravitate to areas like District 1 — the central district and home to many of the city's major tourist attractions and landmarks.

To its northwest, District 3 is a mix of residential