Bắc Kạn (),ắcKạ sometimes misspelled Bắc Cạn, is a province of Vietnam. It is located in the Northeast region, due north of the capital Hanoi.
Bắc Kạn is the only town of the province which is the capital of the province and is a municipality. The province covers an area of 4,859.4 square kilometres and as of 2019 it had a population of 313,905 people. It is a mountainous terrain with rich natural resources of minerals and forests. It has numerous mountains, rivers and lakes which are very scenic. Ba Bể National Park and Ba Bể Lake lie within its borders.
Etymology
The name Bắc Kạn is derived from the Sino-Vietnamese Bắc, meaning north, and the native Vietnamese Kạn, meaning arid; Bắc Kạn is rendered in chữ Hán-Nôm as (氵+件).
Geography
The province is in the northeast midland mountainous area of Vietnam. Its terrain has the highest altitude among the 11 provinces of the region. Forest area dominates more than 95% of the province. The remainder is available for agricultural and other uses. Due to this rugged and forested topography, development of water resources has been limited resulting in exploitation of its forest resources; this has caused degradation of the forests.
The topography is highly variable, varying from (highest point in the Khie Thiouing mountains in the province) to the lowest point of in the Chợ Mới District. There are numerous rivers and streams flowing through the province, each with small catchment areas. However, most of them have steep slopes and short lengths.
Out of the total population, 83% are dependent on agriculture.
Climate
The climatic condition of the province is typically tropical monsoonal, which exhibits two distinct seasons — the rainy season from May to October accounting for about 88-90% of the annual rainfall and dry climatic conditions between November and April. This results in water shortage conditions during the dry months.
Demographics
According to the General Statistics Office of the Government of Vietnam, the population of Bắc Kạn Province, as of 2019, was 313,905 with a density of 65 persons per km2 over a total land area of . It is the least populated province in Vietnam. The male population during this period was 160,036 while the female population was 153,869. The rural population was 248,773 against an urban population of 65,132 (about 26% of the rural population). The main ethnic groups in the province in decreasing number, are ethnic Kinh, Tày, Nùng and Dao.
Administrative divisions
Bắc Kạn is subdivided into 8 district-level sub-divisions:
7 districts:
Ba Bể
Bạch Thông
Chợ Đồn
Chợ Mới
Na Rì
Ngân Sơn
Pác Nặm
1 district-level town: Bắc Kạn (capital)
They are further subdivided into 6 commune-level towns (or townlets), 112 communes, and 4 wards.
Table of local government divisions
Economy
Bắc Kạn's economy is centred on mining, forest products, agriculture and some degree of tourism offered by its mountains, lakes and the national park. Some statistics related to the economy of the province are the following.
In 2008, there were only 10 farms as against the national number of 120,699 farms.
The province's agricultural output produce in 2008, at constant 1994 prices, was worth 406.3 billion đồngs against the national value of 156,681.9 billion đồngs.
The province produced 151,800 tonnes of cereals as against the national production of 43.68 million tonnes, in 2008.
The per capita production of cereals in the district was 491.4 kg as against the national figure of 501.8 kg, in 2007.
In 2007, the industrial output of the province was a meagre 376.5 billion đồngs against the national output of 1.47 million billion đồngs.
Water resources development
The limited water resources development in the province is managed by the communes through better water management practices (government supported initiatives) such as water users associations both for domestic water use and agricultural operations. The irrigation systems developed, though often of temporary nature, in many communes. The participatory management practices adopted since the 1990s has resulted in a greater realization by the farmers that they can play a positive role in the development of irrigation systems in their region for their own benefit. This system has ensured more efficient water delivery to the fields and is reported to have increased the cropping area by 15% and yield levels by 20%. This has resulted in improved economic and living conditions for the farmers.