I. Population:
According to the general census taken on April 1 2009, Daklak’s population was 1.728.380. Among those, the number of the urban population accounts for 22.5% and that of the rural population was 77.5%.
There are 44 ethnic minorities living in Daklak. The Kinh is the largest group, making up 70% of Daklak’s population. The rest of 30% comprise other ethnic minorities such as Ede, M’nong, Thai, Tay, Nung…
The province has an average population density of 132 persons per square kilometer; however the population distribution across the province is not even. The places such as Buon Ma Thuot city, towns, and districts with Highway No. 14, 26, 27 running through including Krong Buk, Krong Pak, Eakar and Krong Ana are more densely populated than disadvantaged places such as Easup, York Don, Lak, Krong Bong, M’drak, Ea Hleo…
The ethnic minorities settle in 125 / 170 communes in the province area, but mainly in mountainous and remote communes. Apart from the local ethnic minorities, there are a great number of the ethnic groups migrating from Northern and Central provinces to Daklak.
The annual population growth rate decreased from 24.4% in 2000 to 14.2% in 2008. In recent years, the province’s population has fluctuated significantly, mainly due to uncontrollable emigration. This leads to an acute shortage of building land, production land and poses other problems relating to social life, security and ecological environment for the province.
In Daklak, there are many ethnic minorities co-existing, each having their own beautiful cultural characters but they altogether create a rich and diversified culture for the province. The famous traditional cultures include those of the Ede, M’nong, Gia rai groups. Their gong festival, buffalo-stabbing festival, elephant race together with the architecture of their stilt houses, communal houses, and their traditional musical instruments like gong sets, lithopone, T’rung… and the Central Highland epics are valuable tangible and intangible cultural heritages. Especially, the Space of Gong culture in the Central Highlands was recognized by the UNESCO as a unwritten masterpiece and World Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The Ede ethnic group, whose language belongs to the Malay- Polynesian linguistic family, mainly reside in Northern and Southern districts: from Ea Hleo, Buon Ho to M’drak and Buon Ma Thuot city.
The M’nong ethnic group who reside mainly in Southern districts and those along the South – West border uses a language which belongs to Mon-Khmer linguistic family.
II. Administration:
Daklak Province consists of the Buon Ma Thuot City, Buon Ho town and 13 districts. Among those are 180 communes, wards and towns.
1. Buon Ma Thuot city: 13 wards and 8 communes
2. Buon Ho town
3. Ea Hleo district: 1 town and 11 communes
4. Ea Sup district: 1 town and 9 communes
5. Buôn Đôn district: 7 communes
6. Cư M’gar district: 2 towns and 15 communes
7. Krông Búk district: 1 town and 14 communes
8. Ea Kar district: 2 towns and 14 communes
9. M’Đrắk district: 1 town and 12 communes
10. Krông Bông district: 1 town and 13 communes
11. Krông Pắc district: 1 town and 15 communes
12. Krông A Na district: 1 town and 7 communes
13. Lăk district: 1 town and 10 communes
14. Krông Năng district: 1 town and 11 communes
15. Cư Kuin district: 8 communes
* Administrative organizations:
1. People’s Committee
- Provincial People’s Committee: 9 Le Duan street- Tel no: (050) 3851206, 3856128
- Municipal People’s Committee: 1 Ly Nam Đe street – Tel no: (0500) 3953522
2. Departments, divisions and branches
- Department of Information and Communications: 15 Nơ Trang Lơng street; Tel no: (0500) 3860010
- Department of Planning and Investment : 17 Lê Duan street; Tel no: (0500) 3851462
- Department of Industry and Trade: 09 Nguyen Tat Thanh street; Tel no: (0500) 3950993
- Department of Natural Resources and Environment: 46 Phan Boi Chau street; Tel no: (0500) 3852477
- Department of Transportation: 7 Đinh Tien Hoang street; Tel no: (0500) 3854356
- Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism: 17 Phan Boi Chau street; Tel no: (0500) 3852404
- Department of Justice: Trường Chinh street; Tel no: (0500) 3955726
- Department of Construction: 15 Hung Vuong street; Tel no: (0500) 3856168 - 3851295
- Department of Internal Affairs: 180 Nguyen Du street; Tel no: (0500) 3855542 - 3852353
- Department of Finance: 07 Nguyen Tat Thanh street; Tel no: (0500) 3852446 - 3852377
- Department of Agriculture and Rural Development: 47 Nguyen Tat Thanh street; Tel no: (0500) 3956752
- Department of Public Security: 58 Nguyen Tat Thanh street; Tel no: (0500) 3852537
+ Investigation Office: Tel no: (0500) 3853600
+ Protection Office: Tel no: (0500) 3812216
+ Immigration Office: Tel no: (0500) 3853421
III. Education and Training:
Being paid proper attention, the department of Education and Training in Daklak has obtained considerable achievements and especially played the key role in upgrading the intellectual standards of people in the province. In 2000, Daklak was acknowledged by the MOET to have successfully carried out the illiteracy eradication program and achieved universal primary education.
In the school year 2008-2009, there were 656 high schools with 12856 classes, 20 261 teachers and 420 751 students in Daklak.
Besides, in the province, there are 1 university - Tay Nguyen University (the largest university in the Central Highland), 1 college of Teacher Training, 3 professional secondary schools, 2 technical training schools, centers for continuing education, and series of centers of foreign languages and informatics. These training units have trained, fostered and basically provided teachers and staff for the cause of socio-economic development of Daklak province.
Central university and institutes:
* Tay Nguyen university:
In Tay Nguyen university, there are 5 departments: Pedagogical, Preparatory, Agricultural and forestry, Economics and Medicine departments; 3 centers: Center for Biotechnology, Center of Western Highlands social sciences and humanities; Center for Clinical and Healthy community research and 2 serving units: Testing center and Information Center – Library. Tay nguyen university has a staff of 390, 277 of which are lecturers (including 30 PhDs, 91 MAs and 48 senior lectures). At present, there are roughly 5000 students studying in Tay nguyen university.
* Western Highlands Agriculture & Forestry Science Institute:
The Institute was founded according to Decision no. 930/1997/QĐ-TTg with the main functions of doing scientific research, carrying out technological transfer on the fields of agro-forestry and irrigation of the Western highlands area, participating in training and stimulating international cooperation on the related fields. The total number of the staff are 268 including 6 PhDs and 10 MAs.
* Tay nguyen Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology:
The institute was founded in 1977. Its operations mainly focus on medicine and pharmacy science. The Institute has a staff of 89; among those, 54 have done college and higher degrees.
Some achievements of the Institute in researching and applying scientific advances:
- With regard to Science and Technology, the Institute has focused on doing research, applying scientific advances in agro-forestry, applying the post harvest technology and processing technologies for some agricultural products to ensure export qualities.
- With regard to Social Sciences and Humanities, the Institute has done research into conserving and developing traditional cultural values. There have been several research projects into the culture identities of the local ethic minorities to understand more about their customs, handwriting, rites, festivals, traditional designs. These projects are also to revive and bring into play the cultural values of their groups and improve the community’s enjoyment level of cultural beauty.
- With regard to basic surveys:
Daklak has conducted hundreds of basic surveys on various fields, such as: Western Highlands Program I, Western Highlands Program II together with many other programs, projects, surveys on the mineral resources, ecology and society of the province. Besides, there have been many international cooperation projects on the proper usage of land and water resources, ecological diversification…
IV. Health and medicine:
In Daklak, the healthcare network from the provincial to communal levels has been paid considerable attention by the provincial authorities. The healthcare units in communes have been gradually complemented with staff.
The province has 203 healthcare units with 3911 beds and 4230 staff. The ratio of beds and healthcare staff per 1000 population is, therefore, 22 and 23.8 respectively. These units are gradually fulfilling their duties of protecting and caring the health of the community.
At the provincial level, there are a general hospital, a specialty hospital, a center for leprosy treatment and 7 healthcare units (dermatology and venerology,
malaria, psychiatry…)
At the district level, there are 14 general hospitals, 14 teams for malaria epidemic prevention and 14 committees for family planning.