Nan province

Nan (, ; Northern Thai: ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (changwat), and lies in upper northern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from south clockwise): Uttaradit, Phrae, and Phayao. To the north and east it borders Sainyabuli of Laos.

Nan was inducted into the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for the City of Crafts and Folk Arts in 2025.

Geography The province is in the remote Nan River valley, surrounded by forested mountains, the Phlueng Range in the western part and the Luang Prabang Range in the east.ดร.กระมล ทองธรรมชาติ และคณะ, สังคมศึกษา ศาสนาและวัฒนธรรม ม.1, สำนักพิมพ์ อักษรเจริญทัศน์ อจท. จำกัด, 2548, หน้า 24–25 The highest mountain is the 2,079 meter high Phu Khe in Bo Kluea District, northeast of the city of Nan towards the border with Laos. The total forest area is or 61.3 percent of provincial area.

National parks There are ten national parks in region 13 (Phrae), of which seven national parks are in Nan province. (Visitors in fiscal year 2024)

Doi Phu Kha National Park (28,945) Si Nan National Park (38,495) Mae Charim National Park (6,251) Nanthaburi National Park (5,121) Khun Sathan National Park (21,074) Tham Sakoen National Park (5,224) Khun Nan National Park (3,044)

Wildlife Sanctuaries The two wildlife sanctuaries in region 13 (Phrae) are not in Nan province.

Location protected areas Overview of protected areas of Nan National park 1 Doi Phu Kha 2 Khun Nan 3 Khun Sathan 4 Mae Charim 5 Nanthaburi 6 Si Nan 7 Tham Sakoen

Environmental issues Nan and government forestry officials are concerned about deforestation after hill tribes turned 1.5 million rai of forest land into cornfields. Nan Governor, Mr Suwat, says officials have attempted to persuade hill tribes to grow perennial plants such as cashew nuts and bamboo in the forest legally. "It's impossible to solve the deforestation problem without involving the hill tribes," he says. "We must give them a solution to live in the forest and protect nature at the same time."

Climate Nan province has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). Winters are quite dry and very warm. Temperatures rise until April, which is very hot with the average daily maximum at . The monsoon season runs from late April through October, with heavy rain and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day, although nights remain warm.

History

For centuries Nan was an independent kingdom founded by the Kao People but, due to its remoteness, it had few connections to the other kingdoms. The first kingdom around the city Mueang Pua (also known as Woranakorn) was created in the late-13th century. Its rulers, the , were related to the founders of Vientiane, however it became associated with the Sukhothai Kingdom as it was easier to reach from the south than from the east or west. In the 14th century the capital was moved to its present location at Nan.

In the 15th century, when Sukhothai declined in power, it became vassal of the kingdom of Lan Na. In 1443 King Inthakanthao of Nan Kingdom plotted to capture neighboring Phayao by asking King Tilokaraj to help him fight against Vietnamese troops attacking Nan, even though there was no such threat. King Inthakanthao killed the king of Phayao, however the troops of Tilokaraj then attacked Nan itself, and captured it in 1449.

Between 1560–1785, Nan was colonized by Burma many times. Nan was also an abandoned city without people twice: first from 1704–1706, and later in 1778–1801.

When Lannathai was under Burmese rule, Nan tried to liberate itself many times without success, which finally led to Burmese rule of Nan in 1714. In 1788 the Burmese rulers were finally driven out. Nan had to then accept new rulers from Siam. In 1893 after the Paknam crisis Siam had to give a big part of eastern Nan to French Indochina. In 1899 mueang Nan became part of the circle (Monthon) Tawan Tok Chiang Nuea (northwestern circle). In 1916 the northwestern circle was split and Nan was assigned to the circle Maharat. When the circles were abolished in 1932, the provinces including Nan became top-level subdivisions of Siam.

Before the early-1980s, bandits as well as People's Liberation Army of Thailand (PLAT) guerrillas were a big problem in the province, usually destroying highway construction overnight. With the help of the army and the more stable political system the province improved significantly, but is still a very rural and remote area.

In August 2024, many provinces in the north experienced flooding. For Nan, it was considered the worst flooding in 100 years.

Demographics Hill tribes constitute 10.5 percent of the population. Inhabitants known as the T'in or Mal people speak a Northern Mon-Khmer or Khmuic language, T'in, an unknown language when Gérard Diffloth's classifications were widely cited in a 1974 Encyclopædia Britannica article.

Symbols The provincial seal shows a Usuparatch bull carrying the stupa of Phra That Chae Haeng. The buffalo dates back to a legend that the rulers of Nan and Phrae were brothers, and met at a mountain to decide about the boundary between their lands. The ruler of Nan went there on a buffalo, while the ruler of Phrae went there on a horse.

The provincial tree and provincial flower is the Orchid Tree (Bauhinia variegata). Hypsibarbus vernayi is the provincial aquatic life, what with they swim upstream to spawns in the water source in the forestland of Bo Kluea district. An unseen natural phenomenon that occurs only once a year during the Buddhist holy days of March.

Administrative divisions

Provincial government

The province is divided into 15 districts (amphoe). These are further divided into 99 subdistricts (tambons) and 848 villages (mubans).

แบ่งการปกครองแบ่งออกเป็น 15 อำเภอ 99 ตำบล 893 หมู่บ้าน ได้แก่

Number District Name District Village House Area PopulationThai English ManWomanTotal1.1114038,127813.12640,67741,24781,914 เมืองน่าน Mueang Nan2.5385,001998.1528,3348,01816,352แม่จริมMae Charim3.4264,027338.2105,700 5,60211,302บ้านหลวงBan Luang4.76911,9891,408.12217,894 15,94631,812นาน้อย Na Noi5.1210721,768657.36331,545 32‘33563,880ปัว Pua6.109117,894702.20424,83125,28050,111ท่าวังผา Tha Wang Pha7.171286,7341,894.89334,30734,39968,706เวียงสา Wiang Sa8.44026,780760.8119,5289,38018,908ทุ่งช้าง Thung Chang9. 6 60 277.115 27,097เชียงกลาง Chiang Klang10. 4 48 785.608 14,256นาหมื่น Na Muen11. 3 31 416.837 15,681สันติสุข Santi Suk12. 4 38 848.341 15,316บ่อเกลือ Bo Kluea13. 3 25 544.364 12,466สองแคว Song Khwae14. 7 61 508.236 35,929ภูเพียง Phu Phiang15.2223,462518.6905,032 4,7599,791เฉลิมพระเกียรติ Chaloem Phra Kiat

Mueang Nan Mae Charim Ban Luang Na Noi Pua Tha Wang Pha Wiang Sa Thung ChangChiang Klang Na Muen Santi Suk Bo Kluea Song Khwae Phu Phiang Chaloem Phra Kiat

Local government As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Nan Provincial Administration Organisation () and 19 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. Nan has town (thesaban mueang) status. Further 18 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon). The non-municipal areas are administered by 80 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations – SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).

Economy Economic output In 2022, Nan province had an economic output of 37.616 billion baht (US$990 billion). This amounts to per capita gross provincial product (GPP) of 86,057 baht (US$2,265). In 2024 the total labourforce was 245,287 of which 241,719 persons were employed in economic activity. In agriculture and fishing 127,993 persons (53.0%) were employed and in the non-agricultural sector 113,726 persons (47.0%).

+ Gross Provincial Product (GPP) ActivitiesBahtPercent1 Agriculture and fishing 10,893,000,000 29.02 Trade 4,107,000,000 10.93 Education 3,994,000,000 10.64 Defence + publ.admin. 3,135,000,000 8.35 Finance 3,130,000,000 8.36 Manufacturing 2,963,000,000 7.97 Construction 2,647,000,000 7.08 Real estate 2,358,000,000 6.39 Human health 1,606,000,000 4.310 Transportation 528,000,000 1.411 Other service activity 409,000,000 1.112 Energy 371,000,000 1.013 Information 368,000,000 1.014 Mining 336,000,000 0.915 Hotel and restaurant 281,000,000 0.816 Pastime 201,000,000 0.517 Administration 154,000,000 0.418 Water supply 130,000,000 0.319 Scientific activity 5,000,000 0.0 Total 37,616,000,000 100

+ Employed persons ActivitiesWorkforcePercent1 Agriculture and fishing 127,993 53.02 Other service activity 24,960 10.33 Trade 21,882 9.14 Defence + publ.admin. 12,532 5.25 Manufacturing 12,436 5.16 Construction 12,174 5.07 Hotel and restaurant 8,440 3.58 Education 6,397 2.69 Finance 4,784 2.010 Human health 4,378 1.811 Scientific activity 2,551 1.112 Transportation 825 0.313 Mining 541 0.214 Household enterprise 482 0.215 Pastime 472 0.216 Water supply 291 0.117 Administration 283 0.118 Information 240 0.119 Energy 58 0.1 Total 241,719 100

Agriculture is the province's main economic activity, but tourism in 2016 contributed an estimated 30% to the provincial GDP. The number of hotel rooms in Nan has doubled to 4,000 in 2016. The Tourism Department says arrivals to Nan rose by 19% to 1.76 million in 2015, of which Thais numbered 1.44 million. Tourism revenue rose by 14% to 4.43 billion baht. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects tourist arrivals to Nan will rise by 10% to 1.94 million in 2016 as tourism revenue grows by 10% to 4.88 billion baht. "We want only quality tourists, not a big volume", said a spokesman. In 2018 some 939,240 tourists visited Nan, up 4.4% year-on-year, contributing 2.6 billion baht in tourism income, a gain of 8.3%. Most visitors—97%—are Thais, of whom 62% were repeat visitors. Just 3% were foreign tourists from the US, France, China, Japan, and Laos. In the first eight months of 2019 Nan welcomed 643,129 tourists, up 0.2% year-on-year, generating 1.94 billion baht in income, up 2.1%. According to the Bangkok Post, the top two attractions in Nan province are Doi Samer Dao and Wat Phumin, a temple with many "local art masterpieces".

Human achievement index 2022 Health Education Employment Income 74 50 40 59 Housing Family Transport Participation 44 19 33 2 Province Nan, with an HAI 2022 value of 0.6496 is "somewhat high", occupies place 26 in the ranking. Since 2003, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using the Human achievement index (HAI), a composite index covering all the eight key areas of human development. National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has taken over this task since 2017. RankClassification 1 – 13"high"14–29"somewhat high"30–45"average"46–61"somewhat low"62–77"low" Map with provinces and HAI 2022 rankings

Gallery

Nan province

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