Southern Thailand, Southern Siam or
Tambralinga is a southernmost
cultural region of
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
, separated from
Central Thailand
Central Thailand (Central plain) or more specifically Siam (also known as Suvarnabhumi and Dvaravati) is one of the regions of Thailand, covering the broad alluvial plain of the Chao Phraya River. It is separated from northeast Thailand (Isan) ...
region by the
Kra Isthmus.
Geography
Southern Thailand is on the
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The ar ...
, with an area of around , bounded to the north by
Kra Isthmus, the narrowest part of the peninsula. The western part has highly steep coasts, while on the east side river plains dominate. The largest river of the south is the
Tapi in
Surat Thani, which together with the
Phum Duang in
Surat Thani drains more than , more than 10 percent of the total area of southern Thailand. Smaller rivers include the
Pattani,
Saiburi,
Krabi, and the
Trang Trang may refer to:
Places
* Trang province, Thailand
**Trang, Thailand, capital city of Trang province
**Trang Airport
** Trang railway station
** Trang River
*Trang, a sub-district of Mayo district, Pattani province, Thailand
* Trang (commune), ...
. The biggest lake of the south is
Songkhla Lake ( altogether). The largest artificial lake is the Chiao Lan (Ratchaprapha Dam), occupying of
Khao Sok
Khao Sok National Park ( th, เขาสก, ) is in Surat Thani Province, Thailand. Its area is 461,712 rai ~ , and it includes the Cheow Lan Lake contained by the Ratchaprapha Dam. The park is the largest area of virgin forest in southern ...
National Park in
Surat Thani. The total forest area is or 24.3 percent of provincial area.
Running through the middle of the peninsula are several mountain chains, with the highest elevation at
Khao Luang, , in
Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. Ranging from the Kra Isthmus to
Phuket
Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands o ...
Island is the
Phuket chain, which connects to the
Tanao Si Mountain Range further north. Almost parallel to the Phuket chain, but to the east is the
Nakhon Si Thammarat or Banthat chain, which begins with
Samui Island,
Ko Pha Ngan, and
Ko Tao in Surat Thani Province and ends at the
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
n border at the Ko Ta Ru Tao archipelago. The border with Malaysia is formed by the
Sankalakhiri range, sometimes sub-divided into the Pattani, Taluban, and Songkhla chain. At the Malaysian border the
Titiwangsa chain rises up.
The limestone of the west coast has been eroded into many steep singular hills. The parts submerged by the rising sea after the last ice age now form many islands, like the well-known
Phi Phi Islands. Also well known is the so-called ''James Bond Island'' in
Phang Nga Bay, featured in the movie ''
The Man with the Golden Gun''.
The population of the growing region is projected to be 9,156,000 in 2015, up from 8,871,003 in 2010 (census count and adjusted), despite these figures are adjusted for citizens who have left for Bangkok or who have moved to the region from elsewhere, as well as registered permanent residents (residency was problematic in the prior 2000 census), the figure is still misleading. There are still a huge number of migrant or informal workers, temporary workers, and even stateless people, and a large expatriate population which is not included.
Most of Southern Thailand is in
Tenasserim-South Thailand semi-evergreen rain forests ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
. The
Peninsular Malaysian rain forests
The Peninsular Malaysian rain forests is an ecoregion on Malay Peninsula and adjacent islands. It is in the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome.
Geography
The ecoregion covers most of the southern Malay Peninsula in Malaysia a ...
and
Peninsular Malaysian montane rain forests
The Peninsular Malaysian montane rain forests is an ecoregion on Malay Peninsula. It occupies the mountainous spine of the peninsula in Malaysia and southernmost Thailand. It is in the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome.
Geog ...
ecoregions extend into southernmost Thailand along the border with Malaysia.
History
The Malay peninsula has been settled since prehistoric times. Archeological remains were found in several caves, some used for dwellings, others as burial sites. The oldest remains were found in
Lang Rongrien
Lang may refer to:
*Lang (surname), a surname of independent Germanic or Chinese origin
Places
* Lang Island (Antarctica), East Antarctica
* Lang Nunatak, Antarctica
* Lang Sound, Antarctica
* Lang Park, a stadium in Brisbane, Australia
* La ...
Cave, dating 38,000 to 27,000 years before present, and in the contemporary Moh Khiew cave.
In the
first millennium Chinese chronicles mention several coastal cities or city-states. No exact geographical locations were recorded, so the identification of these cities with later settlements is difficult. The most important of these states were
Langkasuka, usually considered a precursor of the
Patani Kingdom;
Tambralinga, probably the precursor of the
Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom
Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom ( th, อาณาจักรนครศรีธรรมราช ), Nagara Sri Dharmarashtra or Kingdom of Ligor, was one of the major constituent city states (''mueang'') of the Siamese kingdoms of Sukhothai an ...
, or
P'an-p'an in Phunphin district, Surat Thani, probably located at the
Bandon Bay Tapi River. The cities were highly influenced by
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
culture, and have adopted
Brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...
or
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
religion. When
Srivijaya
Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 7th ...
in
Chaiya extended its sphere of influence, those cities became tributary states of Srivijaya. The city
Chaiya in
Surat Thani Province contains several ruins from Srivijaya times, and was probably a regional capital of the kingdom. Some Thai historians even claim that it was the capital of the kingdom itself for some time, but this is disputed.
After Srivijaya lost its influence, Nakhon Si Thammarat became the dominant kingdom of the area. During the rule of King
Ramkhamhaeng the Great of
Sukhothai, Thai influence first reached Nakhon Si Thammarat. According to the Ramkhamhaeng inscription, Nakhon Si THammarat was a tributary state of Sukhothai. During most of later periods, Nakhon became a tributary of
Ayutthaya.
The deep south belonged to the Malay sultanates of
Pattani and
Kedah, while the northernmost part of the peninsula was under the control of Bangkok.
During the ''Thesaphiban'' reforms at the end of the 19th century, both Nakhon Si Thammarat and Pattani were incorporated into the central state. The area was subdivided into 5 ''
monthon
''Monthon'' ( th, มณฑล) were administrative subdivisions of Thailand at the beginning of the 20th century. The Thai word ''monthon'' is a translation of the word ''mandala'' (', literally "circle"), in its sense of a type of political for ...
'', which were installed to control the city states (''
mueang
Mueang ( th, เมือง ''mɯ̄ang'', ), Muang ( lo, ເມືອງ ''mɯ́ang'', ; Tai Nuea: ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ''muang''), Mong ( shn, ''mə́ŋ'', ), Meng () or Mường (Vietnamese), were pre-modern semi-independent city-states or principali ...
''). Minor ''mueang'' were merged into larger ones, thus forming the present 14 provinces. With the
Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 the boundary to Malaysia was fixed. Kedah came under British control, while Pattani stayed with Siam.
Languages
The largest native language is
Southern Thai ( th, ภาษาไทยใต้ ), also known as Pak Thai or Dambro ( th, ภาษาตามโพร ), which is a
southwestern Tai language
spoken in the 14
''changwat'' of southern Thailand as well as by small
Thai communities in the northernmost
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
n states. It is spoken natively by roughly five million people and as a second language by the 1.5 million native speakers of
Patani Malay, along with other
ethnic groups such as the local
Negritos
The term Negrito () refers to several diverse ethnic groups who inhabit isolated parts of Southeast Asia and the Andaman Islands. Populations often described as Negrito include: the Andamanese peoples (including the Great Andamanese, the On ...
communities, and other tribal groups.
Althrough
Central Thai is the sole official language in Thailand and most people are able to communicate in Central Thai, the language is only the third largest native language in Southern Thailand, with roughly four hundred thousand native speakers. In particular, it is only native among
Teochew, Hoklo, Hakka and Cantonese ethnic groups, particularly in their major
ethnic enclaves
In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...
like
Hat Yai
Hat Yai ( th, หาดใหญ่, , also Haad Yai or Had Yai) is a city in southern Thailand near the Malaysian border. It is south of Bangkok, and has a population of 156,802 (2019) in the city itself and an urban population of about 400,00 ...
and
Bandon districts.
Administrative divisions
The Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) identities Southern Thailand as 14 provinces.
The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) includes for Southern Thailand (east coast) also the two provinces: Prachuap Khiri Khan and Phetchaburi.
Demography
Southern Thailand has 9.454 million inhabitants and its population density is .
Ten major cities of southern Thailand
Religion
Thailand is a Buddhist majority country. About 93.46% in Thailand follow Buddhism.
Buddhism is the majority religion in Southern Thailand as well. However, Buddhism makes up only 75.45% in Southern Thailand.
Thai people follow Theravada Buddhism. Minority ethnic groups such as Khmer also follow Buddhism. 10 out of 14 provinces in Southern Thailand have Buddhist majorities.
Islam constitutes 24.33% of Southern Thailand even though Islam only constitutes 5.36% of the whole country.
Islam is mostly followed by Malay people in Southernmost Thailand. There's also a small
Thai Muslim population. Islam is the majority religion in the Malay majority in Yala, Pattani, Naratiwat and Satun provinces near Malaysia known as Southernmost Thailand.
Christianity makes up 0.21% of Southern Thailand population.
Sikhism makes up 0.05% in Southern Thailand. Sikhism is followed by Indian immigrants.
Economy
The bulk of the southern population relies on agriculture for 27 percent of its gross regional product in 2014. It is followed by industry (12 percent), trade (10 percent), transportation (9 percent), tourism (8 percent), and construction and property (7 percent).
For FY 2018, Southern Thailand Region had a combined economic output of 1,402 trillion baht (US$45.2 billion), or 8.6 percent of Thailand's GDP. Surat Thani province had an economic output of 206.869 billion baht (US$6.67 billion). This equates to a GPP per capita of 182,371 baht (US$5,883), more than double for Yala province, which is fifth and more than three times for Narathiwat province, lowest in the ranking.
Kamphaeng Phet province had an economic output of 117.705 billion baht (US$3.8 billion). This amounts to a GPP per capita of 150,783 baht (US$4,864), half more than for Tak province, which is fifth in the ranking.
Transportation
Southern Thailand is connected with Bangkok by railway as well as highway. Several regional airports are located at the larger towns. The transportation hub of all south Thailand is Hat Yai.
Road
Phetkasem Road is the longest road in Thailand, running from Bangkok along the Kra Isthmus and then along the west coast of the peninsula. From Trang it crosses over to the east coast to Hat Yai, and ends at the Malaysian border.
Two
Asian highway
The Asian Highway Network (AH), also known as the Great Asian Highway, is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to improve their connectivity via hig ...
s run through Southern Thailand:
Asian Highway 2
Asian Highway 2 (AH2) is a road in the Asian Highway Network running from Denpasar, Indonesia to Merak and Singapore to Khosravi, Iran. The route is connected to M10 of the Arab Mashreq International Road Network. The route is as follows: ...
runs mostly parallel to the railroad all the way from Bangkok. It crosses to Malaysia at
Sadao, and continues on the west side of the peninsula.
Asian Highway 18 begins in Hat Yai and runs south along the east coast, crossing to Malaysia at
Sungai Kolok
Su-ngai Kolok ( th, สุไหงโกลก, ms, Sungai Golok) is a border town, subdistrict, and district on the Malaysia-Thailand Border in Narathiwat Province, Thailand. It is one of the largest and most prosperous districts in Narathiwa ...
.
Rail
The
southern railway connects Bangkok to Hat Yai, and continues from there to Sungai Kolok. There are branches from
Ban Thung Phoe Junction to
Kirirat Nikhom. Two smaller branches of the railway run from
Thung Song to Trang and Nakhon Si Thammarat, and from
Hat Yai Junction to Malaysia and Singapore.
Air
Southern Thailand has five international airports and six domestic airports. Thailand's transport ministry is constructing the 1.9 billion
baht
The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-m ...
Betong Airport. It is scheduled for completion in 2020.
*
Chumphon Airport
Chumphon Airport , ( th, ท่าอากาศยานชุมพร), is an airport in Tambon Chum Kho, Pathio District, Chumphon, Thailand. The airport is 35 kilometres north of Chumphon.
Airlines and destinations
Overview
In 2008 ...
*
Hat Yai International Airport
*
Krabi International Airport
Krabi International Airport ( th, ท่าอากาศยานนานาชาติกระบี่ , is an international airport serving Krabi, Thailand. It is about east of the city center. The airport opened in 1999. In 2017, the a ...
*
Nakhon Si Thammarat Airport
Nakhon Si Thammarat International Airport ( th, ท่าอากาศยานนครศรีธรรมราช is an airport serving Nakhon Si Thammarat, a town in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Thailand.
History
The airport's first ...
*
Narathiwat Airport
Narathiwat Airport ( th, ท่าอากาศยานนราธิวาส) is an airport in Narathiwat Province, Thailand.
Serving the Narathiwat Province
Narathiwat ( th, นราธิวาส, Malay: Menara) is one of the so ...
*
Pattani Airport
*
Phuket International Airport
*
Ranong Airport
Ranong Airport ( th, ท่าอากาศยานระนอง) is an airport serving Ranong, a town in Ranong Province, Thailand.
Location
Ranong airport serves the province of Ranong in the southern part of the country, it is locat ...
*
Ko Samui International Airport
*
Surat Thani International Airport
Surat Thani International Airport ( th, ท่าอากาศยานสุราษฎร์ธานี) is an international airport located in Phunphin District, Surat Thani Province, in Southern Thailand. The airport, 21 kilometres w ...
*
Trang Airport
See also
*
South Thailand insurgency
The South Thailand insurgency ( th, ความไม่สงบในชายแดนภาคใต้ของประเทศไทย; ms, Pemberontakan di Thailand Selatan) is an ongoing conflict centered in southern Thailand. It ...
*
Yawi language
*
OK Betong — ''Thai film set in Southern Thailand''.
References
Further reading
*Suthiwong Pongpaiboon. ''Southern Thai Cultural Structures and Dynamics Vis-à-vis Development''. .
External links
*
{{Coord, 8.0592, N, 99.9756, E, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:TH, display=title
.
Regions of Thailand