Provinces of Thailand
Thailand is divided into 76 provinces (changwat, singular and plural), which are grouped into 5 groups of provinces - sometimes the East and Central are grouped together. The name of the province is the same as the capital city.
Bangkok is both the province with the highest population and the highest population density. The biggest province by area is Nakhon Ratchasima, the smallest Samut Songkhram. Mae Hong Son has the lowest population density, Ranong the lowest population (numbers according to 2000 census).
Many provinces date back to semi-independent local chiefdoms or kingdoms, which made up the Ayutthaya kingdom. In the end of the 19th century King Chulalongkorn started to create monthon (circles) as an adminstrative level containing several provinces. The monthon were dissolved again when Thailand became a democracy in 1932. Some provinces were created rather recently by splitting them off from bigger provinces. The youngest province are Srakaeo, Nong Bua Lam Phu and Amnat Charoen, which were created in 1993.
The provinces are administrated by a governor, who is appointed by the Ministry of the Interior. The only exception is Bangkok, in which the governor is elected.