Provinces of Thailand

Provinces of Thailand จังหวัดในประเทศไทย Cạngh̄wạd nı pratheṣ̄thịy
Category	Unitary state
Location	Kingdom of Thailand
Number	76 Provinces 1 Special Administrative Division
Populations	177,089 Ranong – 2,620,517 Nakhon Ratchasima
Areas	417 km2 (161 sq mi) Samut Songkhram – 20,494 km2 (7,913 sq mi) Nakhon Ratchasima
Government	Provincal/Special Administrative Divisional government
Subdivisions	Amphoes

Thailand is a unitary state that is subdivided into 76 provinces (Thai: จังหวัด; rtgs: changwat) and one special administrative area representing the capital Bangkok. The provinces are part of the provincial government, while Bangkok is part of the local government.

The provinces

A clickable map of Thailand exhibiting its provinces.

Name	Capital	Population	Area (km²)	Population Density	Largest Metropolitan Area	Abbr.	ISO	FIPS
Bangkok (special administrative area)	Bangkok	5,692,284	1,565	3,637.0	Bangkok Metropolitan Area	BKK	TH-10	TH40
Amnat Charoen	Amnat Charoen	375,380	3,161	119.0	Amnat Charoen	ACR	TH-37	TH77
Ang Thong	Ang Thong	283,568	968	293.0	Ang Thong	ATG	TH-15	TH35
Bueng Kan	Bueng Kan	418,566	4,306	97.0	Bueng Kan	BKN	TH-38	TH81
Buriram	Buriram	1,579,248	10,322	153.0	Buriram	BRM	TH-31	TH28
Chachoengsao	Chachoengsao	695,478	5,351	129.9	Chachoengsao	CCO	TH-24	TH44
Chainat	Chainat	332,283	2,470	135.0	Chainat	CNT	TH-18	TH32
Chaiyaphum	Chaiyaphum	1,137,049	12,778	89.0	Chaiyaphum	CPM	TH-36	TH26
Chanthaburi	Chanthaburi	527,350	6,338	83.2	Chanthaburi	CTI	TH-22	TH48
Chiang Mai	Chiang Mai	1,678,284	20,107	83.5	Chiang Mai	CMI	TH-50	TH02
Chiang Rai	Chiang Rai	1,207,699	11,678	103.0	Chiang Rai	CRI	TH-57	TH03
Chonburi	Chonburi	1,421,425	4,363	326.0	Pattaya	CBI	TH-20	TH46
Chumphon	Chumphon	500,575	6,009	83.3	Chumphon	CPN	TH-86	TH58
Kalasin	Kalasin	984,907	6,947	142.0	Kalasin	KSN	TH-46	TH23
Kamphaeng Phet	Kamphaeng Phet	729,522	8,607	85.0	Kamphaeng Phet	KPT	TH-62	TH11
Kanchanaburi	Kanchanaburi	848,198	19,483	44.0	Kanchanaburi	KRI	TH-71	TH50
Khon Kaen	Khon Kaen	1,790,049	10,886	164.0	Khon Kaen	KKN	TH-40	TH22
Krabi	Krabi	456,811	4,709	97.0	Krabi	KBI	TH-81	TH63
Lampang	Lampang	753,013	12,534	60.0	Lampang	LPG	TH-52	TH06
Lamphun	Lamphun	405,468	4,506	90.0	Lamphun	LPN	TH-51	TH05
Loei Province	Loei	634,513	11,425	56.0	Loei	LEI	TH-42	TH18
Lopburi Province	Lopburi	754,406	6,200	122.0	Lopburi	LRI	TH-16	TH34
Mae Hong Son	Mae Hong Son	248,178	12,681	20.0	Mae Hong Son	MSN	TH-58	TH01
Maha Sarakham	Maha Sarakham	960,588	5,292	182.0	Maha Sarakham	MKM	TH-44	TH24
Mukdahan	Mukdahan	346,016	4,340	80.0	Mukdahan	MDH	TH-49	TH78
Nakhon Nayok	Nakhon Nayok	257,300	2,122	121.3	Nakhon Nayok	NYK	TH-26	TH43
Nakhon Pathom	Nakhon Pathom	891,071	2,168	411.0	Nakhon Pathom	NPT	TH-73	TH53
Nakhon Phanom	Nakhon Phanom	713,351	5,513	129.0	Nakhon Phanom	NPM	TH-48	TH73
Nakhon Ratchasima	Nakhon Ratchasima	2,620,517	20,494	128.0	Nakhon Ratchasima	NMA	TH-30	TH27
Nakhon Sawan	Nakhon Sawan	1,072,756	9,598	112.0	Nakhon Sawan	NSN	TH-60	TH16
Nakhon Si Thammarat	Nakhon Si Thammarat	1,544,028	9,943	155.0	Nakhon Si Thammarat	NRT	TH-80	TH64
Nan	Nan	478,264	11,472	42.0	Nan	NAN	TH-55	TH04
20px Narathiwat	Narathiwat	775,799	4,475	173.0	Su-ngai Kolok	NWT	TH-96	TH31
Nong Bua Lamphu	Nong Bua Lamphu	508,864	3,859	132.0	Nong Bua Lamphu	NBP	TH-39	TH79
Nong Khai	Nong Khai City	517,260	3,027	171.0	Nong Khai City	NKI	TH-43	TH17
Nonthaburi	Nonthaburi	1,173,870	622	1,887.0	Bangkok Metropolitan Area	NBI	TH-12	TH38
Pathum Thani	Pathum Thani	1,075,058	1,526	704.0	Bangkok Metropolitan Area	PTE	TH-13	TH39
Pattani	Pattani	686,186	1,940	354.0	Pattani	PTN	TH-94	TH69
Phang Nga	Phang Nga	261,370	4,171	63.0	Thai Mueang	PNA	TH-82	TH61
Phatthalung	Phatthalung	520,419	3,424	152.0	Phatthalung	PLG	TH-93	TH66
Phayao	Phayao	484,454	6,335	76.0	Phayao	PYO	TH-56	TH41
Phetchabun	Phetchabun	995,807	12,668	79.0	Phetchabun	PNB	TH-67	TH14
Phetchaburi	Phetchaburi	474,192	6,225	76.0	Phetchaburi	PBI	TH-76	TH56
Phichit	Phichit	547,543	4,531	120.8	Phichit	PCT	TH-66	TH13
Phitsanulok	Phitsanulok	858,988	10,816	79.0	Phitsanulok	PLK	TH-65	TH12
Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya	Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya	803,599	2,557	314.0	Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya	AYA	TH-14	TH36
Phrae	Phrae	454,083	6,539	69.0	Phrae	PRE	TH-54	TH07
Phuket	Phuket	378,364	543	697.0	Phuket	PKT	TH-83	TH62
Prachinburi	Prachinburi	479,314	4,762	101.0	Prachinburi	PRI	TH-25	TH74
Prachuap Khiri Khan	Prachuap Khiri Khan	525,107	6,368	82.0	Hua Hin	PKN	TH-77	TH57
Ranong	Ranong	177,089	3,298	54.0	Ranong	RNG	TH-85	TH59
Ratchaburi	Ratchaburi	853,217	5,196	164.0	Ratchaburi	RBR	TH-70	TH52
Rayong	Rayong	674,393	3,552	190.0	Rayong	RYG	TH-21	TH47
20px Roi Et	Roi Et	1,308,318	8,299	158.0	Roi Et	RET	TH-45	TH25
Sa Kaeo	Sa Kaeo	552,187	7,195	77.0	Sa Kaeo	SKW	TH-27	TH80
Sakon Nakhon	Sakon Nakhon	1,138,609	9,606	119.0	Sakon Nakhon	SNK	TH-47	TH20
Samut Prakan	Samut Prakan	1,261,530	1,004	1,257.0	Bangkok Metropolitan Area	SPK	TH-11	TH42
Samut Sakhon	Samut Sakhon	531,887	872	610.0	Samut Sakhon	SKN	TH-74	TH55
Samut Songkhram	Samut Songkhram	194,189	417	466.0	Samut Songkhram	SKM	TH-75	TH54
Saraburi	Saraburi	633,460	3,576	177.0	Saraburi	SRI	TH-19	TH37
Satun	Satun	312,673	2,479	126.0	Satun	STN	TH-91	TH67
Sing Buri	Sing Buri	212,158	822	258.0	Sing Buri	SBR	TH-17	TH33
Sisaket	Sisaket	1,465,213	8,840	166.0	Sisaket	SSK	TH-33	TH30
Songkhla	Songkhla	1,401,303	7,394	190.0	Hat Yai	SKA	TH-90	TH68
Sukhothai	Sukhothai	602,460	6,596	91.0	Sukhothai	STI	TH-64	TH09
Suphan Buri	Suphan Buri	849,053	5,358	158.0	Suphan Buri	SPB	TH-72	TH51
Surat Thani	Surat Thani	1,040,230	12,891	81.0	Surat Thani	SNI	TH-84	TH60
Surin	Surin	1,391,636	8,124	171.0	Surin	SRN	TH-32	TH29
Tak	Tak	539,553	16,407	33.0	Mae Sot	TAK	TH-63	TH08
Trang	Trang	638,746	4,918	129.8	Trang	TRG	TH-92	TH65
Trat	Trat	224,730	2,819	80.0	Trat	TRT	TH-23	TH49
Ubon Ratchathani	Ubon Ratchathani	1,844,669	15,745	117.0	Ubon Ratchathani	UBN	TH-34	TH75
Udon Thani	Udon Thani	1,570,300	11,730	134.0	Udon Thani	UDN	TH-41	TH76
Uthai Thani	Uthai Thani	330,179	6,730	49.0	Uthai Thani	UTI	TH-61	TH15
Uttaradit	Uttaradit	460,400	7,839	59.0	Uttaradit	UTD	TH-53	TH10
Yala	Yala	511,911	4,521	113.0	Yala	YLA	TH-95	TH70
Yasothon	Yasothon	540,211	4,162	130.0	Yasothon	YST	TH-35	TH72

Total land area of Thailand is 513,114 km². Total population of Thailand is 65,118,726.

Governance

See also: Administrative divisions of Thailand and List of capitals in Thailand

Thailand's national government organisation is divided into three types: central government (ministries, bureaus and departments), provincial government (provinces and districts) and local government (Bangkok, Phatthaya City, provincial administrative organisations, etc.).

A province, as part of the provincial government, is administered by a governor (ผู้ว่าราชการจังหวัด) who is appointed by the Minister of Interior. Bangkok, as part of the local government, is administered by a corporation called Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. The corporation is led by the Governor of Bangkok (ผู้ว่าราชการกรุงเทพมหานคร) who is directly elected by the citizens of Bangkok.

The provinces are named by their original main city, which is not necessarily still the most populous city within the province today. Also, in several provinces the administration was moved into a new building outside the city.

History

Before 1892

Many provinces date back to semi-independent local chiefdoms or kingdoms, which made up the Ayutthaya kingdom. As today, the provinces were created around a capital city (mueang), and included surrounding villages or satellite towns. The provinces were administered either by a governor, who was appointed by the king; or by a local ruling family, who were descendants of the old local kings and princes of that area and had been given this privilege by the central king. De facto the king did not have much choice but to choose someone from the local nobility or an economically strong man, as against these local power groups the administration would have become impossible. The governor was not paid by the king, but instead financed himself and his administration by imposing taxes by himself, thus effectively a kleptocracy. Every province was required to send an annual tribute to Bangkok.

The provinces were divided into four different classes. The first class were the border provinces. The second class were those that once had their own princely house. Third class were provinces that were created recently by splitting them from other provinces. Fourth class were provinces near the capital. Additionally tributary states like the principalities of Lannathai, the Laotian kingdoms of Vientiane and Luang Prabang, Cambodia, or the Malay sultanate Kedah were also part of the country, but with an even higher autonomy than the provinces. In this Mandala system the semi-independent countries sometimes were tributary to more than one country.

New provinces were created when the population of an area outgrew the administration, but also for political reasons if a governor became too dominant in a region former satellite cities were elevated to provincial status, as in the founding of the Maha Sarakham Province.

Reforms of the provincial administration started in the 1870s under increased pressure from the colonial states of the United Kingdom and France. Especially to the areas near the borders commissionaries were sent to have a stronger control on the provinces or tributary states.

Administrative reform of 1892

At the end of the 19th century King Chulalongkorn reformed the central government drastically. In 1892 the ministry, which previously had many overlapping responsibilities, was reorganized with clear areas as in western administrations. Prince Damrong Rajanubhab became minister of the Ministry of the North (Mahatthai), originally responsible for the northern administration. When the Ministry of the South (Kalahom) was dissolved in 1894, Prince Damrong became Minister of the Interior, responsible for the provincial administration of the whole country.

Starting in 1893 the already existing commissionarships in some parts of the country were renamed to superintendent commissioner (khaluang thesaphiban), and their area of responsibility was called monthon. In strategically important areas the monthon were created first, while in other areas the provinces kept their independence a bit longer. Several smaller provinces were reduced in status to a amphoe (district) or even lower to a tambon (subdistrict) and included in a neighboring province, sometimes for administrative reasons, but sometimes also to remove an uncooperative governor.

In some regions rebellions broke out against the new administrative system, usually induced by the local nobility fearing their loss of power. The most notable was the Holy Man rebellion in 1902 in Isan, which even though it was at first a messianic doomsday sect, it also attacked government representative in the North-East. The provincial town Khemarat was even burned by the rebels. After a few months the rebellion fought back.

After 1916 the word changwat became common to use for the provinces, partly to distinguish them from the provincial capital city (Mueang or Amphoe Mueang), but also to stress the new administrative structure of the provinces.

When Prince Damrong resigned in 1915, the whole country was subdivided into 19 monthon (including the area around Bangkok, which was however under the responsibility of another ministry until 1922), with 72 provinces.

In December 1915 King Vajiravudh announced the creation of regions (phak), each administered by a viceroy (upparat), to cover several monthon. Until 1922 four regions were established, however in 1925 they were dissolved again. At the same time several monthon were merged, in an attempt to streamline the administration and reduce the costs.

Since 1932

The monthon were finally dissolved when Thailand transformed from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy in 1932, making the provinces the top level administrative division again. Several smaller provinces were also abolished at that time. During World War II, several provinces around Bangkok were merged, which was however undone after the war. Also the occupied area from French Indochina was organized into four provinces - Phra Tabong, Phibunsongkhram, Nakhon Champasak and Lan Chang. The current province of Sukhothai was at first known as Sawankhalok; it was renamed to Sukhothai in 1939 (which is why the railway system goes to Sawankhalok city and not Sukhothai city). Also the province Kalasin was reestablished in 1947, after being dissolved in 1932.

In 1972 the two provinces Phra Nakhon and Thonburi were merged to form the special administrative area of Bangkok, which combines the tasks of the provinces with that of a municipality, including having an elected governor.

Starting in the second half of the 20th century some provinces were newly created by splitting them off from bigger provinces. In 1975, Yasothon province was split off from Ubon Ratchathani. In 1977, Phayao province was created from districts formerly part of Chiang Rai. In 1982, Mukdahan was split off from Nakhon Phanom. In 1993 three provinces were created: Sa Kaeo (split from Prachinburi), Nongbua Lamphu (split from Udon Thani), and Amnat Charoen (split from Ubon Ratchathani). The newest province is Bueng Kan, which was split off from Nong Khai effective March 23, 2011.

See also

• List of Thai provinces by GPP
• Seals of the provinces of Thailand
• List of districts of Thailand

External links

• Department of Provincial Administration
• Pronunciation of provinces in Thailand at www.forvo.com