Cà Mau province

Etymology

The name "Cà Mau" (previously spelled Cà-mau) come from Khmer name of "Tưk Kha-mau" (Khmer: តឹកខ្មៅ) when they discovered the area, which literally means "dark water".

Geography

Overview

Cà Mau is located on the Cà Mau peninsula and is the southernmost province in Vietnam with three sides bordering sea with 310 kilometers of coastline (2nd longest in Vietnam).

Cà Mau is bordered to the northwest by An Giang and northeast by Cần Thơ Municipality, to the west by the Gulf of Thailand, and to the south and east by the South China Sea.

Cà Mau has its northernmost point located at Vĩnh Lộc commune, easternmost point at Hưng Hội commune, westernmost point at Hòn Chuối (part of Sông Đốc commune), and southernmost point at Đất Mũi commune (on land), at Hòn Khoai archipelago (on sea).

Terrain

The area of Cà Mau is in the lowlands with frequent flooding especially in the southern edge.

Cà Mau has five main soil groups: acid sulfate soil (đất phèn), peat soil (đất than bùn), alluvial soil (đất bãi bồi), saline soil (đất mặn), and canal soil (đất kênh rạch).

Cà Mau has unique ecosystem of forests in both coastline (which streches up to 310 kilometers) and inland where it covered 35.000 hectares of land. In addition, 77% of mangrove forests in Mekong region is also located in Cà Mau.

Climate

Cà Mau is featured for its near-equatorial Tropical monsoon climate (Khí hậu nhiệt đới gió mùa cận xích đạo).

Cà Mau is divided into two main seasons: Dry season (Mùa khô) and Wet season (Mùa mưa) which the dry season is from May to November and wet season is from December to April on the following year.

Cà Mau has 165 days in a year containing rain with 2.360 mm annually.

The average annual humidity is 85.6% and the average annual temperature is 26.5°C. The highest average temperature of the year occurs in April, around 27.6°C. In contrast, the lowest average temperature is in January, which is about 25°C. The average annual temperature range is 2.7°C.

Demographics

In 2025, Cà Mau has a population of 2.606.672.

Cà Mau has 28 different ethnic groups, 3 among of which are dominated by Kinh, Khơ me, and Hoa.

There are 2.464.074 Kinh people living in Cà Mau, accounting up to 94,53% of the total population. The remaining 27 ethnicities took up only 5,47% of the total figure or about 142.598 people (32.152 households) which 115.180 (25.590 households) is Khmer, 24.625 is Hoa (6.200 households) and the others are Mường, Thái, Tày, Nùng, Giao, Jarai, Ê đê, Chăm, Chu ru, Si la and foreign settlers.

History

|2011 |1.210.000 |2012 |1.212.100 |2013 |1.214.200 |2014 |1.216.400 |2015 |1.218.900 |2016 |1.222.600 |2017 |1.226.300 |2018 |1.229.600 |2019 |1.194.300 |2020 |1.193.890 |2021 |1.208.750 |2022 |1.207.630 |2023 |1.207.400 |2024 |1.210.843

Early History

During the feudal era, the land of Cà Mau was largely wild and uninhabited. According to Gia Định Thành Thông Chí by Trịnh Hoài Đức, under the reign of Emperor Gia Long, settlers had only begun to sparsely cultivate areas along rivers such as Ông Đốc, Gành Hào, and Bảy Háp. By the time of Emperor Tự Đức, the region was still primarily covered with mangrove forests, with few inhabitants due to the scarcity of fresh water and the acidic nature of the soil. In the late 17th century, General Mạc Cửu, along with a group of Chinese immigrants, settled in Hà Tiên and later submitted the territory to the Nguyễn Lords. His son, Mạc Thiên Tứ, established the Long Xuyên administrative unit. In 1808 (the 7th year of Gia Long's reign), this unit was renamed Long Xuyên District, under Hà Tiên Prefecture. By 1825 (the 6th year of Minh Mạng’s reign), the imperial court appointed a district governor to administer the area.

Along with the development of history, Southern Vietnam was divided into six provinces (Lục tỉnh Nam Kỳ): Gia Định, Biên Hòa, Định Tường, Vĩnh Long, An Giang, Hà Tiên.

Colonial Period

During the French colonial period, on June 15, 1867, the French established the Cà Mau administrative division (hạt) based on the former Long Xuyên District. However, on August 1, 1877, this division was dissolved and merged into the Rạch Giá division. On February 18, 1882, the French created Bạc Liêu Province by combining the Cà Mau area (previously part of Rạch Giá) with the Bạc Liêu area (formerly part of Sóc Trăng). In 1903, the Cà Mau administrative agency was established, consisting of three cantons: Quảng Long, Quảng Xuyên, and Long Thủy.

On May 16, 1911, Cà Mau was elevated to the status of a district under Bạc Liêu Province. By October 5, 1917, the district included two cantons: Quảng Xuyên and Quảng Long, along with villages from the Long Thủy canton. On April 6, 1923, part of Long Thủy canton was separated to establish a new canton called Long Thới, which took effect on January 1, 1924. On September 24, 1938, Quảng Xuyên canton was split off to form a new district. On September 14, 1942, the Tân An administrative base was established. On April 5, 1944, Thới Bình District was created, and subsequently on October 6, 1944, it was renamed North Cà Mau District, while Quảng Xuyên District was renamed South Cà Mau District. Later, these two districts were merged back into a single Cà Mau District under Bạc Liêu Province.

Republic Era

Under the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), on March 9, 1956, the government established Cà Mau Province based on Cà Mau District and four communes from Giá Rai District. On October 22, 1956, according to Decree No. 143/VN, Cà Mau Province was renamed An Xuyên Province, with its capital at Quản Long. At the same time, An Xuyên Commune was renamed Tân Xuyên, which became the location of the provincial capital, Quản Long. At that point, An Xuyên Province consisted of six districts: Quản Long, Thới Bình, Sông Ông Đốc, Cái Nước , Đầm Dơi, and Năm Căn. However, the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, and later the Provisional Revolutionary Government, continued to use the name Cà Mau.

Modern Era

After April 30, 1975, Cà Mau Province was maintained with six districts: Thới Bình, Trần Văn Thời, Cái Nước, Ngọc Hiển, Châu Thành, Duyên Hải, and Cà Mau town. On September 20, 1975, the Politburo issued Resolution 245-NQ/TW regarding the merger of provinces. According to this resolution, Cà Mau, Bạc Liêu, and two districts—Vĩnh Thuận and An Biên (excluding two communes)—from Rạch Giá were to be merged. However, on December 20, 1975, Resolution 19/NQ revised the merger plan, and on January 1, 1976, Cà Mau Province and Bạc Liêu Province were officially merged under the initial name of Cà Mau - Bạc Liêu Province.

On March 10, 1976, the province of Cà Mau - Bạc Liêu was renamed Minh Hải Province. The provincial capital was Minh Hải town (formerly Bạc Liêu). In 1984, the provincial capital was moved to Cà Mau town, and the name Minh Hải town was reverted to Bạc Liêu town.

On November 6, 1996, the National Assembly passed a resolution to divide Minh Hải Province into two separate provinces: Cà Mau and Bạc Liêu, effective from January 1, 1997. On April 14, 1999, Cà Mau town was upgraded to Cà Mau City. On November 17, 2003, Năm Căn District was re-established from Ngọc Hiển District, and Phú Tân District was re-established from Cái Nước District. Since then, Cà Mau Province has consisted of one city and eight districts. On August 6, 2010, Cà Mau City was officially recognized as a grade-II urban center under the province.

In November 1997, the Cà Mau Peninsula was struck by Typhoon Linda (Openg). Thousands of people were killed, and an estimated 200,000 homes were destroyed, along with much of the Cà Mau fishing fleet.

Cà Mau Gas-Power-Fertilizer Complex (Vietnamese: Dự án Khí – Điện – Đạm Cà Mau) is one of the three economic projects carried out in the Vietnam 2000-2005 period and along with the Cần Thơ Bridge it is one of the largest projects in the Mekong Delta.

On June 12, 2025, the National Assembly passed Resolution No. 202/2025/QH15, which took effect the same day, merging Bạc Liêu Province into Cà Mau Province and abolishing all district-level (huyện) of Cà Mau Province.

Following the merger, Cà Mau covers 7,942.39 km2 and has a population of 2,606,672.

Economy

Cà Mau province is part of the .

Being a peninsula surrounded by fertile waters, fishing is an important industry in Cà Mau province. The province is named "capital of shrimp and crabs (thủ phủ tôm cua) An extensive network of canals also supports a strong agricultural sector, as well as providing a popular means of transport. Additionally, Cà Mau is home to the Cà Mau Gas-Power-Fertilizer Complex which is one of the largest industrial complexes in Southern Vietnam and the Năm Căn economic zone. The U Minh biosphere reserve and Mũi Cà Mau, the southernmost point of Vietnam, which also serves as important tourist destinations. The Mũi Cà Mau National Park is located at Mũi Cà Mau. Cà Mau is also on the National Route 1 and National Route 63.

Administrative divisions

Pre-Merger Administrative divisions

Before the abolition all district-level (huyện) in Vietnam which took place on June 12 2025, Cà Mau was subdivided into nine district-level sub-divisions:

8 districts:

• Cái Nước
• Đầm Dơi
• Năm Căn
• Ngọc Hiển
• Phú Tân
• Thới Bình
• Trần Văn Thời
• U Minh 1 provincial city:
• Cà Mau (capital)

They are further subdivided into nine commune-level towns (or townlets), 82 communes, and 10 wards.

Post-Merger Administrative divisions

Cà Mau is subdivided into nine ward-level subdivisions and fifty-five communes:

9 wards:

• An Xuyên
• Lý Văn Lâm
• Tân Thành
• Hòa Thành
• Bạc Liêu
• Vĩnh Trạch
• Hiệp Thành
• Giá Rai
• Láng Tròn

55 communes:

• Tân Tiến

• Tạ An Khương

• Trần Phán

• Tân Thuận

• Thanh Tùng

• Đầm Dơi

• Quách Phẩm

• U Minh

• Nguyễn Phích

• Khánh Lâm

• Khánh An

•

• Đất Mũi

• Tân An

• Khánh Bình

• Đá Bạc

• Khánh Hưng

• Sông Đốc

• Trần Văn Thời

• Thới Bình

• Trí Phải

• Tân Lộc

• Biển Bạch

• Đất Mới

• Năm Căn

• Tam Giang

• Cái Đôi Vàm

• Nguyễn Việt Khái

• Phú Tân

• Phú Mỹ

...

(Total: 64)

References

References

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26. "Khí-điện-đạm: Nguồn lợi lớn cho nền kinh tế".
27. Ngo The Vinh ''Mekong-The Occluding River: The Tale of a River'' "this is one of the two largest projects in the Mekong Delta the other being the Cà Mau Gas-Power-Fertilizer Complex"
28. "Nghị quyết số 202/2025/QH15 về việc sắp xếp đơn vị hành chính cấp tỉnh".
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