The least populous is Bắc Kạn, a mountainous province in the remote northeast with 313,905 people. In land area, the largest province is Nghệ An, which runs from the city of Vinh up the wide Sông Cả valley. The smallest is Bắc Ninh, located in the populous Red River Delta region. The following is a table of Vietnam's provinces broken down by population and area, 1 April 2019, based on 2019 Census and 2018 area data from Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. See also List of postal codes in Vietnam  The Vietnamese government often groups the various provinces into eight regions, which are often grouped into three macro-regions: Northern, Central and Southern. These regions are not always used, and alternative classifications are possible. The regions include: