Nong Bua Lamphu ( th, หนองบัวลำภู, , ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat'') lies in upper northeastern Thailand also called Isan. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, and Loei.

Geography

Nong Bua Lamphu is in the heart of the Khorat Plateau. The total forest area is , or 11.7 percent of the area of the province.

National parks

There is one national park and one national park (preparation), along with five other national parks, make up region 10 (Udon Thani) of Thailand's protected areas. * Phu Kao–Phu Phan Kham National Park, *

Phu Hin Chom That–Phu Phra Bat National Park Phu or ''variation'', may refer to: Places *Phủ, prefecture in 15th–19th century Vietnam People Given name *Phu Dorjee (died 1987), first Indian to climb Mount Everest without oxygen *Phu Dorjee Sherpa (died 1969), first Nepali to climb Mount ...

Paleontological remains

'' Chalawan'', an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus of crocodylin, is known solely from its holotype collected in the early-1980s from a road-cut near the town of Nong Bua Lam Phu, in the upper part of the

Phu Kradung Formation The Early Cretaceous Phu Kradung Formation is the lowest member of the Mesozoic Khorat Group which outcrops on the Khorat Plateau in Isan, Thailand. This geological formation consists of micaceous, brown to reddish-brown siltstone beds with minor ...

. This single specimen is the most well preserved vertebrate fossil that has been found from the formation. It contains a single species, ''Chalawan thailandicus''.

History

Nong Bua Lam Phu is famous as the spot where in the 16th century Naresuan, the king-liberator of Siam, came to learn of the outcome of a war between the Lao and

Burmese Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (hor ...

in the area of Vientiane. This place was long a Lao stronghold. During the existence of the Lao Kingdom of Lan Xang (1354–1707), Nong Bua Lam Phu was traditionally given to the crown prince ( Uparat) to rule. It was the birthplace of the principal wife of

Chao Siribunyasan Chao may refer to: People * Chao (surname), various Chinese surnames (including 晁 and 巢, as well as non-Pinyin spellings) * Zhou (surname) (周), may also be spelled Chao * Zhao (surname) (趙/赵), may also be spelled Chao in Taiwan and Hon ...

(), the last independent king of Vientiane. In 1827, Chao Anou of Vientiane designated Phagna Narin to be governor at the onset of the

Laotian Rebellion __NOTOC__ Lao may refer to: Laos * Something of, from, or related to Laos, a country in Southeast Asia * Lao people (people from Laos, or of Lao descent) * The Lao language * Lao script, the writing system used to write the Lao language ** Lao ...

of 1826–1828. Under Thai rule, the province originally consisted of five

amphoe An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', th, อำเภอ, )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the provinces, and are analogous to countie ...

(districts) in Udon Thani province. In 1993 Udon was decentralized and a separate province of Nong Bua Lam Phu was created. It is one of the newest provinces of Thailand, together with Amnat Charoen province, Sa Kaeo province, and Bueng Kan province. On 6 October 2022, a mass murder occurred at and near a daycare center in Uthai Sawan, a town located in the province. A total of 36 people were killed, and 10 others were injured, before the attacker committed suicide. It was the deadliest mass murder by a single perpetrator in the modern history of Thailand.

Economy

Nong Bua Lamphu is the poorest province in Thailand according to the ''Bangkok Post''. Incomes, as of 2018, average 41,000 baht annually. The province is largely agricultural. Sticky rice has long been the area's traditional crop, although there has been a shift to sugarcane due to low rice prices and sugarcane's resistance to flooding. In 2016, more than one third of the available agricultural land in Nong Bua Lamphu was used for sugarcane plantations. According to the provincial Office of Agricultural Economics, sugarcane cultivation is expected to rise. In contrast, the area devoted to rice farming shrunk by 73 percent from 2000 to 2016.

Symbols

Administrative divisions

Provincial government

The province is divided into six districts (''

''). The districts are further divided into 59 subdistricts ('' tambon'') and 636 villages (''

muban Muban ( th, หมู่บ้าน; , ) is the lowest administrative sub-division of Thailand. Usually translated as 'village' and sometimes as 'hamlet', they are a subdivision of a tambon (subdistrict). , there were 74,944 administrative mu ...

'').

Local government

As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Nong Bua Lamphu Provincial Administration Organisation (') and 24 municipal (''thesaban'') areas in the province. Nong Bua Lamphu has town (''

thesaban mueang Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' system. The mu ...

'') status. Further 23 subdistrict municipalities ('' thesaban tambon''). The non-municipal areas are administered by 43 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations – SAO (''ongkan borihan suan tambon'').

Human achievement index 2017

Since 2003, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at the sub-national level using the

Human Achievement Index Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

(HAI), a composite index covering eight key areas of human development. The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has taken over this task since 2017.

References

External links

Province page from the Tourist Authority of Thailand
Golden Jubilee Network province guide
currently empty-->
Website of province
(Thai only)

{{Coord, 17, 10, N, 102, 23, E, region:TH_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title Isan Provinces of Thailand