Tây Ninh is a province in the Southeast region of Vietnam, with the provincial capital located at Long An ward (formerly as Tân An City, Long An province) (old provincial capital Tây Ninh City, Tây Ninh Province changed to Tân Ninh ward). It is located between Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh, in Southern Key Economic Zone. Tây Ninh City is 99 km away from Ho Chi Minh City following National Route 22 and 40 km away from the border with Cambodia to the northwest.
The province has a population of 1,169,165 (in 2019) and an area of . Followers of the Cao Dai, who dominate the area, have built a Holy See in Tây Ninh. The region also has concentrations of the Hòa Hảo, a rival Buddhist sect. The area is noted for its large rubber and sugar plantations; rice and coconuts are also harvested.
Because of the once-vaunted political and military power of the Cao Dai, this region was the scene of fighting during the First Indochina War. Tây Ninh province served as a terminus of the Ho Chi Minh trail during the Vietnam War, and in 1969 the Viet Cong captured Tây Ninh town and held it for days. During the period of conflict between Cambodia and Vietnam in the 1970s, the Khmer Rouge launched a number of cross-border raids into Tây Ninh province and committed atrocities against civilians. Cemeteries around Tây Ninh are reminders of these events.
On June 12, 2025, the National Assembly passed Resolution No. 202/2025/QH15, which took effect the same day, merging Long An Province into Tây Ninh Province.
Tây Ninh has a tropical monsoon climate with two seasons: a dry season from December to April and a rainy season from May to November. There are cooler and drier conditions in the dry season and warmer, more humid weather in the rainy season. Daytime temperatures range from 30âÂÂ34 ðC during the wet season and can exceed 38 ðC in the dry season, with nighttime temperatures between 23âÂÂ26 ðC. Annual rainfall averages 1800 to 2200 mm. The region is less affected by typhoons from June to August due to its inland location and elevation behind the Trðá»Âng Sán Range. This climate is favorable for agricultural activities, including fruit cultivation, industrial crops, medicinal plants, and livestock farming.
In 2016âÂÂ18, the province has reduced its rice and cassava growing areas and increased growing high-value fruits, according to the province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The fruits include longan, grapefruit, durian, mango and soursop. During the period, the province's fruit growing area had a growth rate of 9.1% a year, taking the province's total fruit area to 20,212ha by the end of 2018. The province has about 1,300ha of fruits, including soursop, grapefruit, pineapple, banana and dragon fruit, which are grown under VietGAP standards.
Chairwoman of the National Assembly NguyỠn ThỠKim Ngân lauded Tây Ninh for its efforts in socioeconomic development, with the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growing 8.5% in 2018 and the provincial competitiveness index ranked 14th out of the 63 cities and provinces, up 5 places from 2017. Alongside economic development, the province should pay attention to sustainable environmental protection, especially sewage and forest environment issues. Urging the locality to pay due attention to the fight against smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods through border gates, Prime Minister NguyỠn Xuân Phúc stressed the need to combining socioeconomic development with ensuring defense and security in border areas.
Tây Ninh province owns 9 industrial parks included the list of Vietnam industrial zone until 2015 and the vision of 2020, with a total natural land area of 4,485 ha. 5 IPs have been established including: Trang Bang IP (190ha), Linh Trung industrial and processing zone No. III (203ha); Bourbon An Hoa IP (760 ha), Phuoc ÃÂong IP (2,190 ha), Cha La IP â phase I (42 ha), with a total natural land area of 3,385 ha, the industrial land area for lease to construct workshop is 2,162 ha.
In 2019, the Ministry of Transport, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and the Tây Ninh provincial People's Committee held a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on October 26 to sign a coordination plan on the construction of the Ho Chi Minh City-Moc Bai highway. The highway, which is being implemented under a public-private partnership, will connect the city with Moc Bai International Border Gate in the southern province of Tay Ninh. The Moc Bai International Border Gate in Tây Ninh province has international exchanges with Cambodia and Thailand. National Road 22 is the only road linking HCM City with Má»Âc Bài. A survey conducted in 2017 showed that 39,700 vehicles traveled on the road each day, and that its designed loading capacity was 40,000 per day. Construction of the HCM City-Moc Bai Expressway is slated to be completed by 2025 with at least 4 lanes and expanded to 6 or 8 lanes by 2045.
Tây Ninh is divided into 96 ward and commune level units:
As of April 1, 2019, the total population of Tây Ninh province was 1,169,165 people, with a population density of 268 people per square kilometer. The urban population accounted for 207,569 people, representing 17.8% of the province's total population, while the rural population was 961,596 people, comprising 82.2% of the population. There were 584,180 males and 584,985 females. The natural population growth rate by locality was 0.92%.
As of April 1, 2019, Tây Ninh province had 9 different religious affiliations. The largest religious group was Caodaism with 415,920 followers, followed by Catholicism with 45,992 followers, and Buddhism with 38,336 followers. Other religions included Islam with 3,337 followers, Protestantism with 684 followers, Hoa Hao Buddhism with 236 followers, Minh Su Dao with 4 followers, Tinh do cu si Phat hoi Viet Nam with 2 followers, and Baháüàwith 1 follower.
According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, as of April 1, 2009, Tây Ninh province was home to 29 ethnic groups and foreign residents. Among them, the majority were the Kinh (Vietnamese) with 1,050,376 people, followed by the Khmer with 7,578 people, the Cham with 3,250 people, the Xtieng with 1,654 people, and the Hoa (ethnic Chinese) with 2,495 people. The remaining population consisted of other ethnic groups such as the Muong, Thai, Tay, and more.