Narathiwat province
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| Capital: | Narathiwat |
| Area: | 4,475.0 km² Ranked 50th |
| Inhabitants: | 662,350 (2000) Ranked 36th |
| Pop. density: | 148 inh./km² Ranked 24th |
| ISO 3166-2: | TH-96 |
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Narathiwat (Thai นราธิวาส) is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from west clockwise) Yala and Pattani. To the south it borders Malaysia.
The name Narathiwat means The residence of good people.
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2 History 3 Demographics 4 Symbols 5 Administrative divisions 6 External links |
Geography
The province is located on the shore of the Gulf of Thailand on the Malay Peninsula.
History
Historically Narathiwat used to be part of Pattani, a semi-independent Malay kingdom, but part of the Thai kingdoms of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya. After Ayutthaya fell in 1767 Pattani gained full independence, but under King Rama I it became part of Thailand again. In 1909, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Siam as part of a treaty negotiated with the British Empire. Along with Yala, Narathiwat was originally part of Pattani, but they were split off and became province of their own. There exists a separatist movement in Narathiwat, which occasionally prompts violence.
Demographics
Narathiwat is one of the four Thai provinces which have a Muslim majority, 82% are Muslim and only 17.9% are Buddhist. Also 80.4% speak the Malay language.
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The provincial seal shows a sailing boat with a white elephant on the sail. The white elephant is a royal symbol of Thailand, and is put on the seal to commemmorate the animal called Phra Sri Nararat Rajakarini that was caught here and given to the king. The provincial symbol is the longkong fruit (Lansium domesticum), the provincial tree is the Chengal (Neobalanocarpus heimii) and the provincial flower is Odontadenia macrantha. |
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