market activity as well as percolating their economic primacy into cornering Vietnam's light industry, import-export trade, shopping malls, and private banking sector. In 1996, Hoa entrepreneurs continued to dominate Vietnam's private industry and were responsible for generating an estimated $4 billion in business output, making up one-fifth of Vietnam's aggregate domestic business output. That said though, in 1989, the number of ethnic Chinese in Vietnam had decreased from 1.8 million in 1975 to 900,000. People of Chinese origin are no longer the controlling force of the Vietnamese economy as before, and their customs and languages of Chinese origin are no longer as popular as before. This is a rare exception compared to other Southeast Asian countries: the Chinese people in terms of residence, language, education... have been almost assimilated by the Vietnamese. And it is difficult to distinguish between a Chinese and a Vietnamese in terms of formality even though they still keep some of the customs and habits of their ancestors. Although the Vietnamese may oppose China's actions in the South China Sea or the policies of the Chinese government, no one thinks of taking revenge on the local Chinese families in which they live. Modern population The official census from 2019 accounted the Hoa population at 749,466 individuals and ranked 9th in terms of its population size. 70% of the Hoa live in cities and towns in which they make up the largest minority group, mostly in Ho Chi Minh city while the remainder live in the countryside in the southern provinces. The Hoa had constituted the largest ethnic minority group in the mid 20th century and its population had previously peaked at 1.2 million, or about 2.6% of Vietnam's population in 1976 a year following the end of the Vietnam War. Just 3 years later, the Hoa population dropped to 935,000 as large swathes of Hoa left Vietnam. The 1989 census indicated the Hoa population had appreciated to 960,000 individuals, but their proportion had dropped to 1.5% by then. In 1999, the Hoa population at some 860,000 individuals, or approximately 1.1% of the country's population and by then, were ranked Vietnam's 4th largest ethnic group. The Hoa population are mainly concentrated in Cochinchina, and a 1943 census indicated that they made up the bulk (89%) of the Hoa population of Vietnam, or about 7% of Cochinchina's population. Ancestral affiliations The Hoa trace their ancestral origins to different