Ho Chi Minh City is located in the centre of the well-off are of the North Vietnam. The north of the city borders on Binh Duong Province; its north-western meets Tay Ninh Province; the east and north-eastern are contiguous to Dong Nai Province; the south-eastern stays next to Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province; and the west and south-western are surrounded by two provinces Long An and Tien Giang.

Located on the southeastern part of Vietnam, on the right bank of River Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City has a tropical climate. Its location being very close to the sea, climate of the city steadily varies from warm to hot through out the year.

One of the earliest known records of the area now known as Ho Chi Minh City says that it was a small fishing village called Prey Nokor, inhabited by Khmer people. In the year 1623 Vietnamese refugees fled from the civil war in Vietnam and settled in Prey Nokor (which was a part of Cambodia then) with the permission of the king of Cambodia. Gradually more Vietnamese refugees migrated to this area and this place came to be known as Saigon.

Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon) is the economic capital of Vietnam. It is situated by the side of the Saigon River towards the northern part of the Mekong River delta.

Ho Chi Minh City is the commercial center and the largest metropolis of Vietnam. Situated in the southern region of Vietnam, this area is dominated by the estuary of the Mekong River system and is called the Vietnam's "Rice Basket". Ethnic Vietnamese account for about 90% of Ho Chi Minh City's population while various other ethnic groups make up the remaining 10%. This 10% is mostly accounted for by the Chinese population.