“The economic and commercial center of Vietnam”
Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh; [tʰàjŋ̟ fǒ hò cǐ mīŋ̟] ( listen) or [tʰàn fǒ hò cǐ mɨ̄n]; formerly French: Hô-Chi-Minh-Ville), also known by its former name of Saigon (Vietnamese: Sài Gòn; [sàj ɣɔ̀n] or [ʂàj ɣɔ̀ŋ]), is the largest city in Vietnam by population. It was known as Prey Nokor (Khmer: ព្រៃនគរ) prior to annexation by the Vietnamese in the 17th century. Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochinchina and later of the independent republic of South Vietnam 1955–75. On 2 July 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding Gia Định Province and was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City after revolutionary leader Hồ Chí Minh (although the name Sài Gòn is still widely used).The metropolitan area, which consists of the Ho Chi Minh City metropolis, Thủ Dầu Một, Biên Hòa, Vũng Tàu, Dĩ An, Thuận An and surrounding towns, is populated by about 12 million people, making it the most populous metropolitan area in Vietnam. The city's population is expected to grow to 13.9 million by 2025. The population of the city is expanding faster than earlier predictions, and it wasn't until August 2017 that the city's Mayor, Nguyen Thanh Phong, admitted that previous estimates of 8-10 million were drastic underestimations.
And the actual population (including those who have not officially registered) was estimated 13 million in 2017.
The Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area, a metropolitan area covering most parts of the southeast region plus Tiền Giang Province and Long An Province under planning, will have an area of 30,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi) with a population of 20 million inhabitants by 2020.