Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon but this name is still commonly used by both locals and foreigners) is the largest and most populated city in Vietnam and is located near the Mekong River delta, about 60 km from the South China Sea and 1,760 km (1,094 mi) south of Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi. The city together with the surrounding towns make up a population of about 9 million people.

Of the total population in Ho Chi Minh City about 90% are ethnic Vietnamese (Kinh). The Chinese (Hoa) are the largest minority group making up about 8% and other minorities (Khmer, Cham, Nung, Rhade) making up the remaining 2%.

The religious break up of the population is as follows. Buddhism 50%, Roman Catholic 12%, Protestant 2%, others (Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, Islam, Hinduism) 2% with 34% following no religion at all.

Ho Chi Minh City is divided into 24 administrative divisions known as districts but only 19 of these districts are actually located within the city itself. The other 5 districts are urbanised farmland areas but are within the Ho Chi Minh City’s official boundaries.

Of the 19 districts only 7 have names. These are Tan Binh, Binh Thanh, Phu Nhuan, Thu Duc, Binh Tan, Tan Phu and Go Vap. The remaining are numbered 1 to 12. Each district is further divided into wards with each district having between 10 and 20 wards. These wards are simply numbered.