Da Lat moves up urban ranking

      The Prime Minister has upgraded the resort city of Da Lat to Grade 1 among the nation’s cities, recognising its role as a political and socio-economic centre of Central Highlands Lam Dong Province.
A Grade-1 city should meet such criteria as having a population of at least 500,000 and a population density of 12,000/km2, and 85 percent of the workforce involving in non-agriculture sector, as well as being a political and socio-economic centre of the country or a region.
Covering more than 400 sq.km on Lang Biang highlands, Da Lat is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.
The city is also a major producer of vegetable and flower annually turning out around 170,000 tonnes of vegetables, of which 35,000 tonnes are exported to northeastern Asian countries and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
In addition, Da Lat produces around 540 million flower stems, including 33.3 million flower stems for export, each year.
In 2007, the city registered an economic growth of over 17 percent while locals earned a per-capita income at around 890 USD.