Regional Disparities and Ethnic–Spatial Differentiation: Multidimensional Socio-Economic Deprivation Among Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam

Spatial inequality in multi-ethnic societies may reflect differentiation across both territorial and ethnic contexts. This study examines multidimensional socio-economic deprivation among Vietnam’s ethnic minorities using the 2024 national survey and 189 ethnic–regional combinations representing 14.55 million people. A four-pillar Multidimensional Socio-Economic Deprivation Index (MDI), population-weighted Theil decomposition, and K-means clustering were applied. Population-weighted regional MDI ranged from 0.229 to 0.309, while substantial variation was also observed among ethnic–regional combinations. The total Theil index was 0.0198. In the regional decomposition, between-region differences accounted for 14.0% of total inequality, whereas 86.0% occurred within regions. In an alternative decomposition by ethnicity, the between-ethnicity component accounted for 94.7% of the same total inequality. Housing and Labor–Livelihoods were prominent components of deprivation, while the cluster analysis identified distinct pillar profiles that were not fully represented by aggregate MDI values. These findings show that broad regional averages can conceal substantial ethnic differentiation and within-region heterogeneity. The study supports a diagnostic approach that combines ethnicity-sensitive and place-sensitive information with deprivation profiles, while recognizing that specific interventions require additional assessment of local conditions and implementation capacity.