Thailand which are gathered into five groups of provinces by location. There are also two specially-governed districts: the capital Bangkok (Krung Thep Maha Nakhon) and Pattaya. Bangkok is at provincial level and thus often counted as a province. Each province is divided into districts and the districts are further divided into sub-districts (tambons). there were 878 districts (อำเภอ, amphoe) and the 50 districts of Bangkok (, khet), which is further divided into 7,255 subdistricts (, tambon) in the 76 provinces or Bangkok's subdistricts (แขวง, khwaeng). Some parts of the provinces bordering Bangkok are also referred to as Greater Bangkok (, pari
Provinces of Thailand 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 local taxes himself. 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 by splitting them from other provinces. Fourth-class were provinces near the capital.