The Provinces of Thailand
Thailand is divided into 75 provinces (Thai: จังหวัด, changwat, singular and plural), which are grouped into 5 groups of provinces - sometimes the East and Central are grouped together. The capital Bangkok, though not a province but a special administrative area, is usually also included as a 76th province as it is at the same administrative level as the other provinces. The name of the province is the same as that of the capital city, which is sometimes preceded with a Mueang to avoid confusion with the province. With the exception of Songkhla the capital is also the biggest city in the province.
Map showing the 76 provinces of Thailand
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. Ranong has the lowest population number, while Mae Hong Son has the lowest population density (numbers according to 2000 census).
Each province is administered by a governor, who is appointed by the Ministry of the Interior. The only exception is Bangkok, whose governor is elected.
The provinces are subdivided into 877 districts (amphoe, อำเภอ). The fifty districts of Bangkok are called khet (เขต), but even in official documents they are sometimes misidentified as amphoe. The number of districts in the provinces varies, from three in the smallest provinces to the fifty in Bangkok. Further subdivision levels are tambon (subdistricts) and finally, muban (villages). In Bangkok the tambon are called khwaeng. | 
