Where Is the Mekong Delta?

The Mekong Delta, known in Vietnamese as "Dong bang song Cuu Long" (Nine Dragon River Delta), covers about 40,000 square kilometres in southern Vietnam. The Mekong River — the 12th longest in the world at 4,350 km — originates on the Tibetan Plateau, flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia before splitting into nine main distributaries across the Vietnamese delta. The region produces about 50% of Vietnam rice crop and 60% of its seafood, making it critical to the nation food security and to global rice exports (Vietnam is the world third-largest rice exporter). The delta is densely populated, with about 18 million people living in a landscape of rice paddies, floating markets, mangrove forests, and aquaculture ponds. It faces severe threats: the delta is sinking at 1-3 cm per year due to groundwater extraction and sediment starvation (caused by upstream dams), while sea levels rise — scientists estimate 40-50% of the delta could be underwater by 2100.