New ccaatt geocodes

Somehow I haven't noticed that on November 2 the geocode lists from the Department of Provincial Administration were updated. There were no changes in the codes for the central administrative units - not even preliminary codes for the two districts planned in Yala - and only very few new codes for the local administrative units. Thus still most of the municipalities have no code assigned, which would anyway be impossible in the current numbering schema. The new codes are as follows:

• Chonburi: Klet Kaeo subdistrict municipality (เทศบาลตำบลเกล็ดแก้ว) received the code 2060.
• Khon Kaen: Sa-at subdistrict municipality (เทศบาลตำบลสะอาด) received the code 4056.
• Udon Thani: Na Di subdistrict municipality (เทศบาลตำบลนาดี) received the code 4157.
• Krabi: Krabi Noi subdistrict municipality (เทศบาลตำบลกระบี่น้อย) received the code 8189.
• Songkhla: Thung Tam Sao town (เทศบาลเมืองทุ่งตำเสา) received the code 9066.

And finally, the name change of Phrom Buri subdistrict municipality (เทศบาลตำบลพรหมบุรี) - till September 2015 named Pak Bang (เทศบาลตำบลปากบาง) - is the only remaining difference in these lists.

Subdistrict boundary definition in Nakhon Phanom

Yesterday, the Royal Gazette carried the first announcement related to the administrative subdivision for quite same time - the re-definition of the boundaries of Na Ngua subdistrict in Ban Phaeng, Nakhon Phanom (Gazette). This announcement modifies or clarifies the boundaries defined in 1997, when the boundaries for all subdistricts in Ban Phaeng were defined (Gazette).

One thing which makes the two boundary definitions more difficult to compare is the fact that the coordinates in the MGRS notation are not in the same geographical datum - while the 1997 announcement used the Indian 1975 datum, the new announcement uses the now most common WGS84 datum. In the map below I added all the boundary points defined in the two announcements, but skipped to try to read and interpret the full boundary description to draw the boundary line itself. Apart from two additional points in the southern boundary to Phon Thong, the main difference is the boundary in the north with Phai Lom subdistrict. Interestingly, the new announcement does not redefine the boundary of that subdistrict, either because it is self-evident that the change affects both, or a second redefinition is still pending its publication.

District named after members of the Royal family

With the sad passing of HM King Bhumibol - my condolences to all Thai mourning him -, I noticed again that while there are several districts named after members of the Royal family, there so far is none directly named after the late king. There are five districts named Chaloem Phra Kiat (อำเภอเฉลิมพระเกียรติ) which are namedin his honor, as they were created as part of the 50th anniversary of his ascension to the throne, yet their name is not a direct reference to him. While I have no idea why he was not asked to grant his name, or not allowed to grant his name to any district about to be created, I would not be surprised if there will be either a new district created or an existing one renamed as part of the mourning ceremonies.

Using the power of the query engine of Wikidata, its easy to get a list of all the Thai administrative units named after persons, which of course however depends on whether all the Wikidata items have the "named after" property set accordingly. Shortening the list to the districts and those of direct relatives of the late king gives the following list, sorted by the date the districts were created. Interestingly some but not all were directly created as full districts, while other were minor districts at first. Also interesting that his mother and his sister have already two districts in their honor.

• 2009: Galyani Vadhana, Chiang Mai, named after the sister of the late king
• 1998: Wachirabarami, Phichit, named after the crown prince and probably next king
• 1998: Watthana, Bangkok, named after the sister
• 1996: Srinagarinda, Phatthalung, named after his mother. Royal name was bestowed some month after the minor district was created
• 1994: Chulabhorn, Nakhon Si Thammarat, named after the youngest daughter
• 1992: Mae Fa Luang, Chiang Rai, named after his mother
• 1992: Vibhavadi, Surat Thani, named after the more distantly related Princess Vibhavadi Rangsit
• 1991: Sirindhorn, Ubon Ratchathani, named after the second daughter
• 1974: Ubolratana, Khon Kaen, named after the eldest daughter

Province governor reshuffle, part 2

Again it was the Phuket Gazette which made me notice the second part of the province governor reshuffle, this time six reassignments approved by the cabinet in their meeting on Tuesday. The full list of new governors according to the government news agency is as listed below. Hopefully my romanizations of the names aren't too wrong. With this list the reshuffle should be complete, as now no province has its governor post vacant anymore.

• Suchin Chaichumsak (นายสุจินต์ ไชยชุมศักดิ์), governor of Nakhon Nayok to become governor of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya.
• Chokchai Detamornthan (นายโชคชัย เดชอมรธัญ), governor of Maha Sarakham to become governor of Phuket.
• Suwat Phromsuwan (นายสุวัฒน์ พรมสุวรรณ), governor of Nan to become governor of Lampang.
• Phaisan Wimonrat (นายไพศาล วิมลรัตน์), deputy governor of Chachoengsao to become governor of Nan.
• Narongsak Chaloemkiat (นายณรงค์ศักดิ์ เฉลิมเกียรติ), deputy governor of Samut Sakhon to become governor of Phayao.
• Wirasak Wichitsaengsi (นายวีระศักดิ์ วิจิตร์แสงศรี), deputy governor of Suphanburi to become governor of Phichit.
• Phibun Thatthakitkoson (นายพิบูลย์ หัตถกิจโกศล), deputy governor of Pathum Thani to become governor of Phetchabun (in source wrongly said Phetchaburi).
• Watthana Phutichat (นายวัฒนา พุฒิชาติ), deputy governor of Si Sa Ket to become governor of Phrae.
• Suebsak Iamwichan (นายสืบศักดิ์ เอี่ยมวิจารณ์), deputy governor of Sing Buri to become governor of Mae Hong Son.
• Wirachai Phuphiangchai (นายวีระชัย ภู่เพียงใจ), deputy governor of Uttaradit to become governor of Lamphun.
• Nathaphat Suwanprathip (นายณัฐภัทร สุวรรณประทีป), deputy governor of Lopburi to become governor of Kalasin.
• Phisut Butyapronpheng (นายพิสุทธิ์ บุษยพรรณพงศ์), deputy governor of Ubon Ratchathani to become governor of Bueng Kan.
• Sen Nonthachot (นายเสน่ห์ นนทะโชติ), deputy governor of Loei to become governor of Maha Sarakham.
• Sarit Witoon (นายสฤษดิ์ วิฑูรย์), assistant permanent secretary to become governor of Roi Et.
• Khumphon Bonthaithuk (นายคุมพล บรรเทาทุกข์), deputy governor of Sakon Nakhon to become governor of Loei.
• Witthaya Chanchalong (นายวิทยา จันทร์ฉลอง), deputy governor of Buriram to become governor of Sakon Nakhon.
• Thanakon Ingchitphaisan (นายธนากร อึ้งจิตรไพศาล), deputy governor of Phitsanulok to become governor of Nong Bua Lam Phu.
• Sirirat Khumupkan (นายสิริรัฐ ขุมอุปการ), deputy governor of Khon Kaen to become governor of Amnat Charoen.
• Narong Phonla-iat (นายณรงค์ พลละเอียด), deputy governor of Ranong to become governor of Chumphon.
• Siriphat Phatkun (นายศิริพัฒ พัฒกุล), deputy governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat to become governor of Trang.
• Wiranan Phengchan (นายวีรนันทน์ เพ็งจันทร์), deputy governor of Pattani to become governor of Pattani.
• Chatuphot Piyampura (นายจตุพจน์ ปิยัมปุตระ), deputy governor of Ranong to become governor of Ranong.
• Aichai Innat (นายอวยชัย อินทร์นาค), deputy governor of Surat Thani to become governor of Surat Thani.
• Nimit Wanchaithonwong (นายนิมิต วันไชยธนวงศ์), deputy governor of Yala to become governor of Chainat.
• Pradit Yomanan (นายประดิษฐ์ ยมานันท์), deputy director general to become governor of Nakhon Nayok.
• Khanchat Tansathian (นายคันฉัตร ตันเสถียร), deputy governor of Ubon Ratchathani to become governor of Samut Songkhram.
• Sanrong Phongcharoen (นายกล้าณรงค์ พงษ์เจริญ), deputy governor of Chanthaburi to become governor of Sa Kaeo.

Interesting to note - this year it was the first time the reshuffle was also announced in the Royal Gazette - part one can now also be found officially here. In the 1950s there were some announcements on province governor assignments, but since then it was only done by ministerial orders.

RIP Gwillim Law

Gwillim Law, the author of the incredible website statoids.com, has passed away recently. I was lucky to be able to get a used copy of his book "Administrative Subdivisions of Countries" when I started writing in Wikipedia on these, and later his website became a great resource to find up-to-date information. With time, I was able to get into the Thai subdivision to a much deeper degree and getting access to the primary sources, so for example for the 2010 census I was able to provide him with data as a way to return the favor.

His daughter Shirley has taken over the enormous task of keeping his website running - knowing how much time I spend on just a single country, covering the whole world down to the second level subdivisions must be a full time work. I only hope she can keep up the heritage of her father, and of course whenever there are any changes in Thailand to be included I will notify her same as I did before with him.

Rename of Muban in Nakhon Sawan

Earlier today, the change of name of one administrative village in Nakhon Sawan was announced in the Royal Gazette. Mu 5 of Yang Tan subdistrict, Khok Phra district, was renamed from Ban Ta Nio (บ้านตานิว) to Ban Yang Tan (บ้านยางตาล). The name change was approved by the board to consider name changes in their meeting 1/2559 on April 29 - sadly no transcript or summary of these board meetings is available online.

Interestingly, in my XML I already had the new name, probably copied from the website of Yang Tan subdistrict administrative organization. Checking the other sources I used to compile my Muban list, it showed that the postcode list at noplink had the original name, and also back in 1997 when the subdistrict boundaries were defined officially that Muban was listed as Ban Ta Nio [Gazette].

New Muban in Udon Thani

Yesterday, the creation of a new administrative in Udon Thani was announced in tge Royal Gazette, becoming effective with its announcement.

• Mu 21 of Chiang Yuen subdistrict, Mueang Udon Thani district, Udon Thani province, split from Mu 3 (Ban I Lung, บ้านอีหลุ่ง) and named Ban Suk Samran (บ้านสุขสำราญ). [Gazette]

This announcement is still based on the Ministerial Act มท ๐๓๑๐.๑/ว ๗๔๖๕ from December last year. There were other Muban in Udon Thani created before based on this same Ministerial Act, but I have no idea what caused the delay for this Muban. And even more interesting - the new Muban got the number 21, however the subdistrict so far had just 19 Muban - thus unless this is a mistake the creation of Muban 20 must be still in the pipeline.

All TAO to become municipalities?

Yesterday, the national reform council (สภาขับเคลื่อนการปฏิรูปประเทศ) has by a big majority approved the plan to reform the local government units. This plan still has to go through some more bureaucratic steps before becoming effective - it must be approved by the cabinet, then reviewed by the Council of State and considered by the cabinet again, and finally going through the parliament to become a law - but as all these are either the military junta themselves or their handpicked subordinates its quite likely this plan will make it to law in the not too far future.

Prachatai has a long article about this decision, but there seem to be no English sources available. Linked within the article is a scan of the draft law. Being quite lengthy and having lots of technical term I can only get a few parts of the content, the main being section 5 which states that all TAO shall become subdistrict municipalities (Thesaban Tambon), and also states that in case the name collides with an already existing other municipality the one with the highest municipal level or the one being a municipality first shall keep its name. Later sections name the various officials with the TAO, and also the provincial administrative organizaions are mentioned, but my Thai isn't good enough to get any details in these parts.

 The massive upgrade of all 5334 TAO somehow resembles a similar steps done in 1999, when all the 980 sanitary districts were upgraded to subdistrict municipalities. The NCPO announcement 29/2016 already prepared for this occasion to allow the current councilors and mayor to remain in office after the upgrade, to avoid massive vacant offices until the junta believes the country is ready to resume with the local elections. I just hope it will be not just a change in naming, but also taking the chance to merge local governments where applicable, so they are able to perform the additional tasks which a subdistrict municipality has to provide to its citizen.

2016 province governor reshuffle - part one

Phuket Gazette reports that the province governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada has been assigned as the new governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat, notifying me that the annual reshuffle of the governors has already begun. I found the full list of 19 transfers on Channel 7, but I will omit those which are not related to province governors. There will be further reassignments and also promotions of vice governors later to fill the vacancies, so this is only the the first part of annual reshuffle.

• Prayoon Rattanasenee (นายประยูร รัตนเสนีย์), governor of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, becomes deputy secretary of the Interior.
• Dejrath Simsiri (นายเดชรัฐ สิมศิริ), governor of Trang, becomes inspector-general in the MOI.
• Sanit Khaosa-at (นายสนิท ขาวสะอาด), governor of Phetchaburi, becomes inspector-general in the MOI.
• Supachai Iamsuwan (นายศุภชัย เอี่ยมสุวรรณ), governor of Phayao, becomes governor of Phitsanulok.
• Surasak Charoensirichot (นายสุรศักดิ์ เจริญศิริโชติ), governor of Uttaradit, becomes governor of Rayong.
• Phiphat Ekphaphan (นายพิพัฒน์ เอกภาพันธ์), governor of Mae Hong Son, becomes governor of Uttaradit.
• Chatchai Uthaipun (นายชาติชาย อุทัยพันธ์), governor of Nakhon Pathom, becomes governor of Samut Prakan.
• Adiak Thepeat (นายอดิศักดิ์ เทพอาสน์), governor of Sakon Nakhon, becomes governor of Nakhon Pathom.
• Anuson Kaeokangwan (นายอนุสรณ์ แก้วกังวาล), governor of Roi Et, becomes governor of Buri Ram.
• Chamroen Tipayapongtada (นายจำเริญ ทิพญพงศ์ธาดา), governor of Phuket, becomes governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat.
• Phakwan Thianthai (นายภัควรรณ์ เทียนไชย), governor of Sa Kaeo, becomes governor of Chonburi.
• Suriya Omrarotwonwuthi (นายสุริยะ อมรโรจน์วรวุฒิ), governor of Pattani, becomes governor of Prachinburi.
• Banthit Thewithiwarak (นายบัณฑิต เทวีทิวารักษ์), governor of Phetchabun, becomes governor of Sara Buri.
• Chatporn Rajdussadee (นางฉัตรพร ราษฎร์ดุษดี), governor of Phichit, becomes governor of Phetchaburi.
• Phongsak Prichawit (นายพงษ์ศักดิ์ ปรีชาวิทย์), governor of Bueng Kan, becomes governor of Khon Kaen.
• Pasin Komolvieh (นายพศิน โกมลวิชญ์), governor of Nong Bua Lam Phu, becomes governor of Sing Buri.

Of these, the governor of Nakhon Pathom, Phetchabun and Bueng Kan were two years at his current position and the one from Sa Kaeo for four years, all other were reassigned after one year already. The governor of Pattani even just started in March this year when he replaced the governor removed by NCPO order 12/2016. Several of those governors replaced are in fact retired, unlike other years I was able to find the list of the 21 governors leaving government service this time as well.

My @amphoe collection

Some of the souvenirs I brought back from my recent visit in Thailand was the completion of my @amphoe collection. When I visited last year, the first issue was just out and the second came out while I still was in Thailand. Thanks to my brother in law, I did not miss the issues published in the meantime - he went to the province hall in Surat Thani every two months to collect one magazine for me. Even though the magazine is also available online - and even available online before the print version comes out - I am old-fashioned and still like to have the paper version as well, and now I have all seven issue published so far.

And even more special is the shirt - when we picked issue number two last year,  my family noticed a competition on the back-side of the magazine and directly my mother-in-law posed in front of the province hall with the magazine in hand. And she won and got that shirt for reward and gave it to me, as I am the one who is crazy about the Amphoe...

I will certainly keep on checking their Facebook page for the next issues, even though I can only read the small bilingual section that always contains some interesting facts. And hope next year I will be able to show an even larger collection.

How many Muban are there in Thailand?

The administrative villages (Muban, หมู่บ้าน) are the central administrative subdivision for which it is most difficult to find authoritative information. I still haven't find any complete official lists online by the Department of Provincial Administration, though it seems they publish a list every year named "ทำเนียบท้องที่ พุทธศักราช ####", but only the 2003 edition is online and hardly readable as being scanned at too low resolution. Haven't had any luck yet to find any of these book in a library in Bangkok...

While it is difficult to get a complete list of all the Muban, at least the total number should be easier to find. Every year DOPA publishes a short statistics showing the numbers of the administrative subdivision, thus the latest official number is 74965. I already mentioned that my own list compiled mostly from the postcode page of noplink has a few more, 75090 as of December 31st 2015. Another source is the Statistical Yearbook published by the NSO, the 2015 edition lists however a much lower number of 55387. Apparently NSO only counts those Muban which are still in use administratively, the difference of almost 20000 Muban are probably those which no longer have a village headman as being part of a municipality.

Since I collected the DOPA number for several years already, and also now worked through all the yearbooks available online, its possible to compile a little chart showing the development of the numbers. And as since 2002 the creation of new Muban was announced in the Royal Gazette, I could also calculate the past numbers from my data. The actual numbers can be found in this spreadsheet, but the graphics is what shows most.
My numbers (yellow) and the DOPA numbers are almost same, the difference of 125 is hardly visible in this scale. However for 2002 the difference is already 1241. thus apparently not all Muban creation were announced in the Royal Gazette. The Yearbook numbers are steadily decreasing, interestingly in the 2010 yearbook the DOPA full number from 2008 was published.

I'd love to get my list in better sync with the other data, but for that I would need access to those Local Directory (ทำเนียบท้องที่) books. Also, there are holes in the Yearbook graph, some of the latest issues are not found online. During my latest stay in Bangkok I tried to find some in a library, but despite having them in the catalog they weren't on the shelve where the belonged. The online library of the NSO is sadly also no help, there are only few issues listed there, and most of those don't work. If anyone this access to a university library having these books is willing to help, please contact me.

New Muban in Nakhon Sawan

Somehow I almost missed the announcement of yet another new administrative village last week, this time in Nakhon Sawan province. The Muban became effective with the publication in the Royal Gazette on June 16.

• Mu 6 of Bueng Senat subdistrict, Mueang Nakhon Sawan district, Nakhon Sawan province, split from Mu 2 (Ban San Phing, บ้านสันพิง) and named Ban Khlong Krang (บ้านคลองกร่าง). [Gazette]

NCPO Announcement 29/2016

Today, the 29th announcement of the National Council for Peace and Order of this year (คำสั่งหัวหน้าคณะรักษาความสงบแห่งชาติ ที่ ๒๙/๒๕๕๙) was announced in the Royal Gazette, which by its publication became active law. This announcement deals with the local government administrators and councilors in case of a change in the municipal status. So far, whenever a municipality or a subdistrict administrative organization changes its administrative status, the mayor and the council have to vacate their office and stand for a new election. Especially for the council this is logical, as with the change of status the size of the council changes, thus the previously elected council doesn't fit anymore. Thus, so far usually all the municipal upgrades were done whenever the terms of either the council and/or the mayor ends, and a new election was pending anyway. However, in some cases the time till the next election was quite long, as the Election Commission first has to come up with a new constituency outline matching the new size of the council.

However, since the coup in 2014 there were no elections for the local governments anymore, by announcements 85 and 86 all of the local elections were halted and those mayors and councilors in office were given an indefinite extension of their term by announcement 1/2015. As even for a nation election the schedule is still unsure and depends on the constitutional referendum, those less important local elections certainly have to wait even longer.

I am not sure if this announcement somehow relates with an announcement by the Department of Local Administration from last week titled "แนวทางการแก้ไขปัญหาและผลกระทบจากการปรับโครงสร้างเทศบาล" (way to solve municipal restructure) - which if I understand it correctly suggests that TAO with more than 20 million Baht income should be upgraded to municipalities.

New Muban in Nakhon Phanom and Sakon Nakhon

Announced last week, five Muban were created in Nakhon Phanom effective April 11.

• Mu 11 of Ban Kaeng subdistrict, Na Kae district, Nakhon Phanom province, split from Mu 2 (Ban Kaeng, บ้านแก้ง) and named Ban Kaeng (บ้านแก้ง). [Gazette]
• Mu 14 of Kaen Luang subdistrict, Na Kae district, Nakhon Phanom province, split from Mu 3 (Ban Don Khram, บ้านดอนคราม) and named Ban Don Khram (บ้านดอนคราม). [Gazette]
• Mu 16 of Tha Champa subdistrict, Tha Uthen district, Nakhon Phanom province, split from Mu 7 (Ban Kham Toei, บ้านคำเตย) and named Ban Kham Toei Noi (บ้านคำเตยน้อย). [Gazette]
• Mu 17 of Chaiburi subdistrict, Tha Uthen district, Nakhon Phanom province, split from Mu 9 (Ban Kaeo Pat Pong, บ้านแก้วปัดโป่ง) and named Ban Kaeo Pat Pong (บ้านแก้วปัดโป่ง). [Gazette]
• Mu 11 of Phiman subdistrict, Na Kae district, Nakhon Phanom province, split from Mu 7 (Ban Suk Kasem, บ้านสุขเกษม) and named Ban Suk Kasem (บ้านสุขเกษม). [Gazette]

Another five Muban were created in Sakon Nakhon, these became effective with the publication, thus on June 9.

• Mu 14 of Kham Sa-at subdistrict, Sawang Daen Din district, Sakon Nakhon province, split from Mu 11 (Ban That Sopha, บ้านธาตุโสภา) and named Ban Pluak (บ้านปลวก). [Gazette]
• Mu 27 of Sawang Daen Din subdistrict, Sawang Daen Din district, Sakon Nakhon province, split from Mu 16 (Ban Noi Nong Bua, บ้านน้อยหนองบัว) and named Ban Non Si Thong (บ้านโนนสีทอง). [Gazette]
• Mu 17 of Pho Phaisan subdistrict, Kusuman district, Sakon Nakhon province, split from Mu 7 (Ban Kut Sakoi, บ้านกุดสะกอย) and named Ban Kut Sakoi (บ้านกุดสะกอย). [Gazette]
• Mu 12 of Na Phiang subdistrict, Kusuman district, Sakon Nakhon province, split from Mu 4 (Ban Na Phiang Mai, บ้านนาเพียงใหม่) and named Ban Khok Ang Thong (บ้านโคกอ่างทอง). [Gazette]
• Mu 12 of Na Thong Watthana subdistrict, Phon Na Kaeo district, Sakon Nakhon province, split from Mu 9 (Ban Phon Khae Noi, บ้านโพนแคน้อย) and named Ban Phon Na Kaeo (บ้านโพนนาแก้ว). [Gazette]

And again more new Muban

Another batch of new administrative villages was published yesterday. To be able to report them all here, I am splitting them into three postings - the Muban in Nakhon Phanom and Sakon Nakhon will be reported next week, whereas this time I list those in the other provinces.

• Mu 27 of Mae Salong Nai subdistrict, Mae Fa Luang district, Chaing Rai province, split from Mu 1 (Ban Hin Taek, บ้านหินแตก) and named Ban Hin Dam (บ้านหินคำ). [Gazette]
• Mu 10 of Rim Khong subdistrict, Chiang Khong district, Chaing Rai province, split from Mu 6 (Ban Kio Kan, บ้านกิ่วกาญจน์) and named Ban Kio Doi Luang (บ้านกิ่วดอยหลวง). [Gazette]
• Mu 11 of Si Kham subdistrict, Mae Chan district, Chaing Rai province, split from Mu 9 (Ban Saen Suk, บ้านแสนสุข) and named Ban Rung Charoen (บ้านรุ่งเจริญ). [Gazette]
• Mu 8 of Pho Thong subdistrict, Tha Sala district, Nakhon Si Thammarat province, split from Mu 5 (Ban Si Yaek Wat Not, บ้านสี่แยกวัดโหนด) and named Ban Pho Thong (บ้านโพธิ์ทอง). [Gazette]
• Mu 7 of Pa Klang subdistrict, Pua district, Nan province, split from Mu 3 (Ban Khang Ho, บ้านค้างฮ่อ) and named Ban Pa Klang (บ้านป่ากลาง). [Gazette]
• Mu 14 of Phu Kha subdistrict, Pua district, Nan province, split from Mu 8 (Ban Pa Rai, บ้านป่าไร่) and named Ban Mai Phu Kha (บ้านใหม่ภูคา). [Gazette]
• Mu 7 of Nam Pua subdistrict, Wiang Sa district, Nan province, split from Mu 2 (Ban Nam Pua, บ้านน้ำปั้ว) and named Ban Nam Pua Mai (บ้านน้ำปั้วใหม่). [Gazette]
• Mu 22 of Rom Yen subdistrict, Chiang Kham district, Phayao province, split from Mu 13 (Ban Pracha Phakdi, บ้านประชาภักดี) and named Ban Huai Duea Doi Nang (บ้านห้วยเดื่อดอยนาง). [Gazette]
• Mu 12 of Kok Sathon subdistrict, Dan Sai district, Loei province, split from Mu 6 (Ban Thup Kho, บ้านตูบค้อ) and named Ban Thup Kho (บ้านตูบค้อ). [Gazette]
• Mu 11 of Kok Sathon subdistrict, Dan Sai district, Loei province, split from Mu 4 (Ban Mak Khaeng, บ้านหมากแข้ง) and named Ban Man Khao (บ้านหมันขาว). [Gazette]

Interestingly, the Muban created in Chiang Rai are based on the Ministerial Order มท ๐๓๑๐.๑/๓๑๑๓ from March 2012 (sic!), whereas all others are based on the same as the previous Muban creations this year, มท ๐๓๑๐.๑/ว ๗๔๖๕ from December 15 2015. I don't know whether this is a mistake, or it really took the provincial administration in Chiang Rai four years to finalize the order from the Ministry of Interior.

The date at which the Muban creations became effective differs for the provinces.  Those in Nan became effective with the publication in the Royal Gazette, all others at the same date the announcements were signed by the province governor - Chiang Rai on April 11, Nakhon Si Thammarat on April 18, Phayao on April 5 and Loei on April 1.

Statistical yearbooks

One resource I so far neglected when collecting my data were the Statistical Yearbooks, published by the National Statistics Office (NSO) annually (in past sometimes bi-annually). Quite a lot of the statistics in these books are really specialized, whereas the population numbers I already took from the census reports and the registration data. There is however one table which turns out to be useful - the number of administrative units of each type for each province. For some recent years I could even find this table as a Excel sheet, which made it most easy to translate to my XML structure.

Using the Royal Gazette, I believe I already have all the data on creation of districts and subdistricts from about 1950, however for the administrative villages they only became published in the Gazette since 2004, so only source for these numbers so far were the census reports. However, these lists help to check for any discrepancy, for entities created or abolished without announcement in the Royal Gazette.

There is however one problem - those books are of course available in several Thai libraries but as I am not living in Thailand they are hardly reachable for me. The NSO has an online library, but that still has by far not all issues of the yearbook, but even worse for many of those available the pages with this specific table are missing, often only the table of contents is displayed. For example for 1964, the last available page is number 32, luckily the table with the entity numbers end at page 31.

The most strange issues with the entity numbers was the number of subdistricts, which according to my data should have be 7256, but in the annual lists from the Department of Provincial Administration always listed as 7255, which made me believe that the subdistrict Pak Phanang in Nakhon Si Thammarat might have been dissolved as there more some contradicting values for the number of subdistrict in this province. Looking at the lasted yearbook, it lists 7425 subdistricts, including those in Bangkok this makes 7256 again. Thus it seems the confusion is within DOPA itself, both for the population statistics and the reports to the NSO they use the number of 7256, but in their own annual report for whatever reason one Tambon is omitted.

Province creation rumors again

Its not yet a year ago that a plan to create several new provinces has gone viral in the social networks, so that the Department of Provincial Administration had to post a correction. It seems the same has happened again today, the correction posted on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Interior.

I haven't yet found the post which made DOPA issue yet another correction, but Channel 3 news reported on the correction and listed the alleged new provinces. It is the same list as last year for the Northeast, only adding Na Thawi (จังหวัดนาทวี) to be split from Songkhla. Na Thawi, like all the other, apparently was considered in past but then shelved like all the other province plans.

Three more province with new administrative villages

Yesterday, another three announcements were published in the Royal Gazette to formally create new administrative villages, this time in the provinces Lampang, Udon Thani and Ubon Ratchathani. Again, these are based on the Ministerial Order มท ๐๓๑๐.๑/ว ๗๔๖๕ from December 15. With 44 Muban announced so far, this is the biggest number of new villages since 2007, when a total of 449 villages were created.

• Lampang - 1 Muban [Gazette] effective March 22
  • Mu 10 of Nam Cho subdistrict, Mae Tha district, split from Mu 3 (Ban To, บ้านต๋อ) and named Ban To Kaeo Phatthana (บ้านต๋อแก้วพัฒนา).
• Udon Thani - 6 Muban [Gazette] effective with publication
  • Mu 14 of Tha Li subdistrict, Kumphawapi district, split from Mu 4 (Ban Tha Li, บ้านท่าลี่) and named Ban Tha Li (บ้านท่าลี่).
  • Mu 15 of Kumphawapi subdistrict, Kumphawapi district, split from Mu 5 (Ban Don Kaeo, บ้านดอนแก้ว) and named Ban Don Kaeo (บ้านดอนแก้ว).
  • Mu 12 of Non Thong subdistrict, Ban Phue district, split from Mu 7 (Ban Don Tan, บ้านดอนตาล) and named Ban Don Tan (บ้านดอนตาล).
  • Mu 13 of Non Thong subdistrict, Ban Phue district, split from Mu 8 (Ban Dong Bang, บ้านดงบัง) and named Ban Dong Bang (บ้านดงบัง).
  • Mu 14 of Non Thong subdistrict, Ban Phue district, split from Mu 9 (Ban Na Hai, บ้านนาไฮ) and named Ban Na Hai (บ้านนาไฮ).
  • Mu 15 of Non Thong subdistrict, Ban Phue district, split from Mu 10 (Ban Na Toei, บ้านนาเตย) and named Ban Na Toei (บ้านนาเตย).
• Ubon Rathathani - 5 Muban [Gazette] effective with publication
  • Mu 17 of Sang Tho subdistrict, Khueang Nai district, split from Mu 7 (Ban Don Chiang Tho, บ้านดอนเชียงโท) and named Ban Don Chiang Tho (บ้านดอนเชียงโท).
  • Mu 12 of Song subdistrict, Nam Yuen district, split from Mu 2 (Ban Duan, บ้านดวน) and named Ban Chai Charoen (บ้านชัยเจริญ).
  • Mu 12 of Ban Maet subdistrict, Buntharik district, split from Mu 1 (Ban Hat Sai Khun, บ้านหาดทรายคูณ) and named Ban Don Chot (บ้านดอนโจด).
  • Mu 13 of Kaeng Dom subdistrict, Sawang Wirawong district, split from Mu 2 (Ban Khok Sombun Nai, บ้านโคกสมบูรณ์ใน) and named Ban Non Tao Lek (บ้านโนนเตาเหล็ก).
  • Mu 13 of Sawang subdistrict, Sawang Wirawong district, split from Mu 4 (Ban Phaeng, บ้านแพง) and named Ban Non Sai Ngam (บ้านโนนทรายงาม).

A bit notable is the fact that all 6 Muban in Udon Thani got the same name as the Muban from which they were split off. Checking with the all the 2029 Muban creations published in the Royal Gazette since 2002, this naming scheme was used 361 times so far (17.7%). The suffix "Kaeo Phatthana" however was used for the first time.

New Muban in Surin

And another two new administrative villages announced last week, again based on the Ministerial Order มท ๐๓๑๐.๑/ว ๗๔๖๕ from December 15, this time signed by the province governor on March 16th and becoming effective with the publication of the announcement on April 28 [Gazette].

• Mu 17 of Nong Yai subdistrict, Prasat district, Surin province, split from Mu 11 (Ban Saen Suk, บ้านแสนสุข) and named Ban Charoen Suk (บ้านเจริญสุข).
• Mu 20 of Khok Sa-at subdistrict, Prasat district, Surin province, split from Mu 1 (Ban Khok Sa-at, บ้านโคกสะอาด) and named Ban Khok Sa-at Phatthana (บ้านโคกสะอาดพัฒนา).

New Muban in Lamphun

Another two new administrative villages were announced yesterday, again based on the Ministerial Order มท ๐๓๑๐.๑/ว ๗๔๖๕ from December 15, this time signed by the province governor on March 2nd and becoming effective with the publication of the announcements.

• Mu 11 of Wang Phang subdistrict, Wiang Nong Long district, Lamphun province, split from Mu 5 (Ban Dong Luang, บ้านดงหลวง) and named Ban Dong Tai Phattana (บ้านดงใต้พัฒนา) [Gazette].
• Mu 17 of Nam Dip subdistrict, Pa Sang district, Lamphun province, split from Mu 7 (Ban Nam Dip Luang, บ้านน้ำดิบหลวง) and named Ban Nam Dip Nuea (บ้านน้ำดิบเหนือ) [Gazette].

I already updated the corresponding Wikipedia articles in English, German and Thai - including changing the two Tambon articles into something with actual content. In the unlikely case anyone is interesting how these two changes are encoded in my XML files, the corresponding GIT changeset is here.

Protected areas

Though not really connected to the administrative subdivisions, I also keep following the changes in the protected areas - National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and so on - when these are published in the Royal Gazette, and also created a XML schema to have the data on these in a machine readable format. In the last two weeks there were three announcements around these protected areas.

• Creation of Non-hunting area Khao Phu Luang (เขตห้ามล่าสัตว์ป่าเขาภูหลวง) in Nakhon Ratchasima [Gazette], covering 232 km² of the forested hills around Lam Phra Loeng reservoir.
• Remove of about 0.5 km² of Bakdai subdistrict out of the area of the Huai Thap Than - Huai Samran wildlife sanctuary (เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่าห้วยทับทัน-ห้วยสำราญ).
• Declaration of Khao Khao (เขตที่ดินโบราณสถานเขาขาว) as a historical monument, protecting rock pantings on three hills in Ao Luek district, Krabi.

Especially for the third one, I even had expanded the XSD to be able to be able to encode the fact that this historical monument covers three separate areas with five specifically marked locations.

And while I was at it, I finally also found an Excel sheet with all the protected areas managed by the Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, most interestingly showing the internal codes used for these parks. Each of the class of protected areas has a number range, and is named in order of the creation of the park - but even though there is this simple numbering schema, the actual codes have been reworked twice already. The number ranges are

• 1xxx for 127 National Parks (อุทยานแห่งชาติ)
• 2xxx for 58 Wildlife Sanctuaries (เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่า)
• 3xxx for 67 Non-hunting areas (เขตห้ามล่าสัตว์ป่า)
• 4xxx for 110 Forest Parks (วนอุทยาน)
• 9xxx for areas about to be protected - 20 National Parks, 2 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 3 Non-Hunting areas.

Dating from 2013, this sheet however does not include the above mentioned Khao Phu Luang Non-hunting area, though it seems none of the pending protected areas have been officially announced yet. Using that Excel sheet, I have now resumed work on the protected area XMLs, the one on the Forest Parks already has the complete list with creation date, area and the link to WikiData when available, only need to add the locations. However, the list which would be most useful for Wikipedia to support the annual "Wiki loves monuments" event is also the one which creates most work, as there are thousands of sites.

and more new Muban

Another three new administrative villages were announced in the Royal Gazette yesterday, again all based on the same ministerial order มท ๐๓๑๐.๑/ว ๗๔๖๕.

• Mu 6 of Sam Tambon subdistrict, Chulabhorn district, Nakhon Si Thammarat province, split from Mu 4 (Ban Samnak Mai Riap, บ้านสำนักไม้เรียบ) and named Ban Khuan Ton (บ้านควนโตน) [Gazette].
• Mu 10 of Non Sa-nga subdistrict, Pathum Rat district, Roi Et province, split from Mu 7 (Ban Non Chan, บ้านโนนจาน) and named Ban Non Charoen (บ้านโนนเจริญ) [Gazette].
• Mu 17 of Phon Mueang subdistrict, At Samat district, Roi Et province, split from Mu 5 (Ban Dong Bang, บ้านดงบัง) and named Ban Sanam Chai (บ้านสนามชัย) [Gazette].

The Muban in Nakhon Si Thammarat became effective on the date the announcement was signed, i.e. January 27, whereas the two Muban in Roi Et became effective with the publication in the Royal Gazette.

More new Muban

Another four new administrative villages were announced in the Royal Gazette last week, again originating from the ministerial order มท ๐๓๑๐.๑/ว ๗๔๖๕.

• Mu 11 of Lan Dokmai subdistrict, Mueang Kamphaeng Phet district, Kamphaeng Phet province, split from Mu 4 (Ban Ko Nam Chon, บ้านเกาะน้ำโจน) and named Ban Wang Rai (บ้านวังไร่) [Gazette].
• Mu 16 of Pho Mak Khaeng subdistrict, Bueng Khong Long district, Bueng Kan province, split from Mu 7 (Ban Dong Chomphu, บ้านดงชมภู) and named Ban Mai Phu Charoen (บ้านใหม่ภูเจริญ) [Gazette].
• Mu 13 of Nam Chan subdistrict, Seka district, Bueng Kan province, split from Mu 11 (Ban Kham Bon Tai, บ้านคำบอนใต้) and named Ban Kham Bon Mai (บ้านคำบอนใหม่) [Gazette].
• Mu 27 of Prasong subdistrict, Tha Chana district, Surat Thani province, split from Mu 20 (Ban Mae Tabon, บ้านแม่ทะบน) and named Ban Mae Tha Klang (บ้านแม่ทะกลาง) [Gazette].

All were announced on March 17, and while the announced from Surat Thani was signed and became effective on the same date as the ministerial order, the other Muban became effective with the announcement in the Royal Gazette.

Entity numbers as of December 2015

The Department of Provincial Administration has announced the number of administrative subdivisions as of December 31st and the population. As I already mentioned the latest population figures here, below is just the list of subdivision types - in brackets the numbers from the 2015 report if numbers differ.

• Changwat: 76
• Amphoe: 878
• Tambon: 7255
• Muban: 74965
• PAO: 76
• Thesaban: 2441 (2440)
  • Thesaban Nakhon: 30
  • Thesaban Mueang: 198 (196)
  • Thesaban Tambon: 2233 (2234)
• TAO: 5334 (5335)

The only difference is in the local administrative units, and the three entities which changed status are Pa Sak in Phetchabun upgraded from TAO the Thesaban Tambon, and Lom Raet in Lampang and Taluban in Pattani upgraded from Thesaban Tambon to Thesaban Mueang (see here). Interestingly, the newly created Muban in December are not included, though 11 of those became effective before December 31st, the date of the list.

Comparing with the numbers in my XML files, there is still the strange discrepancy in the Tambon numbers, with Pak Phanang subdistrict not counted though it is still included in the population data. The number of Muban I have is 75201, which includes the 21 recently created Muban. Thus there are 215 Muban in my lists which DOPA does not count anymore, probably because they now have no headmen anymore because of being in a city or town municipality

New Muban in Phetchabun

All nine new administrative villages in Phetchabun were created by that ministerial order มท ๐๓๑๐.๑/ว ๗๔๖๕ issued December 15, and became effective December 30, the day as the announcement were signed by the province governor. The announcements were published in the Royal Gazette on March 3 - unlike those in Nakhon Ratchasima issued the same day these Muban were announced in one single document [Gazette].

• Mu 16 of Khok Prong subdistrict, Wichian Buri district split from Mu 7 (Ban Khok Prong, บ้านโคกปรง) and named Ban Khok Prong (บ้านโคกปรง).
• Mu 17 of Yang Sao subdistrict, Wichian Buri district split from Mu 8 (Ban Khok Kruat, บ้านโคกกรวด) and named Ban Khok Kruat Nuea (บ้านโคกกรวดเหนือ).
• Mu 17 of Khok Prong subdistrict, Wichian Buri district split from Mu 1 (Ban Khok Prong, บ้านโคกปรง) and named Ban Khok Prong (บ้านโคกปรง).
• Mu 17 of Dong Mun Lek subdistrict, Mueang Phetchabun district split from Mu 4 (Ban Kong Kayang, บ้านกงกะยาง) and named Ban Kong Kayang Tai (บ้านกงกะยางใต้).
• Mu 16 of Pa Lao subdistrict, Mueang Phetchabun district split from Mu 2 (Ban Pa Lao, บ้านป่าเลา) and named Ban Pa Lao Tai (บ้านป่าเลาใต้).
• Mu 15 of Pa Lao subdistrict, Mueang Phetchabun district split from Mu 3 (Ban Pa Daeng Nuea, บ้านป่าแดงเหนือ) and named Ban Non Sawang (บ้านโนนสว่าง).
• Mu 14 of Huai Yai subdistrict, Mueang Phetchabun district split from Mu 6 (Ban Nam Duea Tai, บ้านน้ำเดื่อใต้) and named Ban Non Sa-at (บ้านโนนสะอาด).
• Mu 13 of Huai Yai subdistrict, Mueang Phetchabun district split from Mu 5 (Ban Nam Duea Nuea, บ้านน้ำเดื่อเหนือ) and named Ban Sam Khla (บ้านซำคล้า).
• Mu 17 of Wang Ban subdistrict, Lom Kao district split from Mu 14 (Ban Thap Boek, บ้านทับเบิก) and named Ban Na Sa-ung (บ้านนาสะอุ้ง).

New Muban in Nakhon Ratchasima

When I reported the new administrative village in Ratchaburi, I already wondered if there were maybe more to come with the same ministerial order มท ๐๓๑๐.๑/ว ๗๔๖๕. And - there were, last week two more batches of Muban were announced, ten in Nakhon Ratchasima province and another nine in Phetchabun I will report tomorrow.

All ten new administrative villages were created by that ministerial order issued December 15, and became effective January 18, the day as the announcements were signed by the province governor. The announcements were published in the Royal Gazette on March 3.

• Mu 16 of Kampang subdistrict, Non Thai district split from Mu 9 (Ban Mai Nari, บ้านใหม่นารี) and named Ban Mai Phatthana (บ้านใหม่พัฒนา) [Gazette].
• Mu 11 of Ban Wang subdistrict, Non Thai district split from Mu 3 (Ban Wang, บ้านวัง) and named Ban Wang Sa-nga (บ้านวังสง่า) [Gazette].
• Mu 15 of Khanong Phra subdistrict, Pak Chong district split from Mu 9 (Ban Khao Chan Hom, บ้านเขาจันทน์หอม) and named Ban Sap Si Mongkhon (บ้านทรัพย์ศรีมงคล) [Gazette].
• Mu 14 of Khanong Phra subdistrict, Pak Chong district split from Mu 10 (Ban Takhian Thong, บ้านตะเคียนทอง) and named Ban Pin Thong (บ้านปิ่นทอง) [Gazette].
• Mu 11 of Wang Mai Daeng subdistrict, Prathai district split from Mu 2 (Ban Khok Phra, บ้านโคกพระ) and named Ban Khok Phra Phatthana (บ้านโคกพระพัฒนา) [Gazette].
• Mu 8 of Thung Sawang subdistrict, Prathai district split from Mu 2 (Ban Yoei Tabaeng, บ้านเย้ยตะแบง) and named Ban Tabaeng Mai Samakkhi (บ้านตะแบงใหม่สามัคคี) [Gazette].
• Mu 16 of Thung Arun subdistrict, Chok Chai district split from Mu 13 (Ban Hua Saphan, บ้านหัวสะพาน) and named Ban Hua Saphan (บ้านหัวสะพาน) [Gazette].
• Mu 14 of Chok Chai subdistrict, Chok Chai district split from Mu 2 (Ban Sa Pathum, บ้านสระปทุม) and named Ban Sa Prathum Mai Phatthana (บ้านสระประทุมใหม่พัฒนา) [Gazette].
• Mu 15 of Chok Chai subdistrict, Chok Chai district split from Mu 10 (Ban Bueng Thap Prang, บ้านบึงทับปรางค์) and named Ban Pra Ngok Mai Phatthana (บ้านปรางค์ใหม่พัฒนา) [Gazette].
• Mu 17 of Thung Arun subdistrict, Chok Chai district split from Mu 12 (Ban Mai Don Ket, บ้านใหม่ดอนเกตุ) and named Ban Mai Ket Arun Sap (บ้านใหม่เกตุอรุณทรัพย์) [Gazette].

As its so many I obviously didn't even tried to build maps for the boundaries of these, I even haven't yet updated the Wikipedia articles on the district with the new Muban numbers.

New administrative village in Ratchaburi

Last week, another newly created administrative village (Muban) was announced in the Royal Gazette, this time Mu 16 of Pak Chong subdistrict, Chom Bueng district, Ratchaburi was split off from Mu 8 (Ban Nong Phai, บ้านหนองไผ่). The newly established village is named Ban Nong Ta On (บ้านหนองตาอ้น). The announcement became effective on December 15, and same as the new Muban in Phichit it was created by the ministerial order มท ๐๓๑๐.๑/ว ๗๔๖๕. Sadly the ministerial orders of the Ministry of Interior aren't available online, so I don't know if there were any further villages created together with these two.

Strangely, all the coordinates given in the announcement seem to be wrong, as my algorithm translates e.g. NQ ๑๕๑๕๕๖๕๒ to 13.1752° N 99.1398° E - within the mountains near the boundary to Myanmar. But as the new village is located at the border towards Potharam district, I would expect MGRS coordinates starting with NR, a different UTM square. Thus I cannot create a map with the boundary this time.

Also interesting, it seems that several of the Mubanin Pak Chong were renamed relatively recently. In the 1997 boundary definition [Gazette], Mu 8 was named Ban Nong Krut (บ้านหนองกรูด), even the postcode list at noplink still lists the old name - comparing with the Muban list by the TAO website also Mu 1 and 5 had been renamed.

Origin of the name "Sala Klang"

Issue 5 of the @Amphoe magazin is available online now, and probably being available in print very soon. In their section "Things you may not know about Administration" (Page 21), they quote from the book "Thesaphiban" by Prince Damrong, father of the administrative system still in use today.

However, the governor’s home differed from other people's homes in being in a highly secure area centered on the governor's home known as a chuan. As such, government business would be conducted in a large pavilion on nearby grounds outside the bulwarks surrounding the governor's residence. This pavilion became known as the sala klang ("central pavilion").

Several of these former governor homes have been preserved, and at least two of them can be visited - the National Museum in Songkhla is in the former residence of the province governor, also the Ratchaburi National Museum is in the former provincial administrative building dating back to 1922, and the former residence of the Monthon administrator is located right next to it. And there are probably many more preserved, those two are just the ones I visited.

Population statistics 2015

Last week, the Department of Provincial Administration officially published the population numbers as of December 31st 2015. The reason why I said officially - the numbers were actually already available before January 18th, when I downloaded them and added them into my XML structure. I even added them in several WikiData items already. Sadly, the actual population data is only linkable at province and district level, the one for the whole country needs a POST call and thus cannot be linked, so can only be reached from the DOPA website itself.

As usual, this population number only includes the registered Thai residents, and since often Thais are still registered at other places than their actual residence, these numbers are to be taken with care. The census data however is supposed to list the actual residence, and also includes foreigners. Anyway, according to this statistics

• Thailand has a population of 65,729,098, of which 32,280,886 are male and 33,448,212 female.
• Compared to 2014, the population has increased by 604,382 or 0.9%.
• Bangkok remains the most populous province with 5,696,409 citizen, followed by Nakhon Ratchasima with 2,628,818 and Ubon Ratchathani with 1,857,429 (Chiang Mai is only the 5th).
• The least populated provinces are Ranong with 187,536 and Samut Songkhram with 194,376 citizen.

Only other thing which I noticed during the download - the subdistrict municipality Klet Kaeo (เทศบาลตำบลเกล็ดแก้ว) in Chonburi province now has received its own geocode 2060, which is not yet listed in the CCAATT list.

New administrative village in Phichit

Last week, the creation of a new administrative village (Muban) in Phichit province was announced in the Royal Gazette. Signed by the province governor on December 30 and published February 4th, it became effective the day after publication. Unless there were announcements which didn't make it to the Royal Gazette, this was the first new Muban since January 2014.

Mu 2 of Nong Sano subdistrict (ตำบลหนองโสน), Sam Ngam district was split, the northern part making up the new Mu 20. As both Mu 2 and Mu 20 cover the central settlement of Nong Sano, both are named Ban Nong Sano (บ้านหนองโสน). The announcement includes the boundary definition of both the newly created as well as the modified Muban, which I have tried to translate into a little map. The boundary is defined by some fixed points and a natural boundary between them, however not in all cases I could find such a natural boundary, so I just draw a straight line instead. Sadly the website of the TAO Nong Sano is no longer online, and the interesting pages aren't archived in archive.org, so I cannot check if there are any detailed information on the original size of the Muban - but with those boundaries I draw Google Maps calculated that Mu 20 covers an area of 4.8 km², and Mu 2 now covers 3.9 km².