Administratively, the Red River basin covers 26 provinces and cities in the north region of Vietnam, including the cities of Hanoi and Hai Phong, and provinces of Ha Tay, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Thai Binh, Bac Kan, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Lai Chau, Son La, Hoa Binh, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Quang Ninh, and Dien Bien, with a total population of 28 million people (as estimated in 2002).

The total population of the RRB was about 25 million in 2000 of which 10 million (40%) were poor compared with the national average of 37%. Furthermore poverty is essentially a rural affliction and, although the incidence of RRB poverty is higher in the highlands (55% vs 37%), there are 25% more poor people in the densely populated rural delta (5.5 vs 4.4 million).  Refer table below for details.