Biggest Metro Areas in Thailand...?

SiSePuede419 · January 25

Forget the population numbers. They're just numbers from Google. Assume they're all wrong.

What I am interested in is...

Did I miss any "important" cities (or urban metro areas--whatever you want to call them) in Thailand?🤔

Typical characteristics of metropolitan areas:

A metropolitan area, or metro, is a large, developed region that contains a core city, infrastructure, and developed industries. Metropolitan areas are densely populated, urban, and culturally significant. They usually include a main city and a series of smaller satellite cities

This is why Pattaya would be considered a "satellite city" or suburb of the Bangkok metro area included in that population total and not a separate city/metro area.

==============================

Thailand Population (by metro area, per Google)

==============================

Bangkok 14,626,225

Chiang Mai 1,229,000

Chiang Rai. 557,000

Khon Kaen. 509,000

Surat Thani. 503,000

Phuket. 455,000

Udon Thani. 430,000

Hat Yai. 404,044

Ubon Rat. 200,000

Nakhon Si T. 102,152

Koh Samui 70,000

Pai. 27,370

Koh Phagnan. 14,000

Koh Chang. 5,000

Edited January 25 by SiSePuede419
Removed Samut Prakan, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Rat because part of BKK metro

Crossy · January 25

I'm surprised Ayutthaya doesn't make the list.

SiSePuede419 · January 25

1 minute ago, Crossy said:

Ayutthaya

Significant cultural location.

However that doesn't make it a metro.

Is there really that much development there?

Or is Ayutthaya it just a train ride away from the real city to the south, I'm sure you have been there before...? 🫡

Yeah, Ayutthaya has a Makro and a Central.

Have you been there?

Not all Centrals are created equal.

The Central in Surat Thani is a bit rough, for example.

The biggest feature there is an indoor taikwando gym for kids.

Are the people in the South training to be fierce guerrilla fighters or something?

At the free play area in Central Surat, a little girl grabbed my son by the hair and threw him down.

You should have seen the surprised look on his face. 😲

Stocky · January 25

How these numbers are derived is anyone's guess, but Hat Yai smaller than Surat Thani, Phuket and Chiang Rai, I don't think so.

Crossy · January 25

12 minutes ago, SiSePuede419 said:

Have you been there?

Yes, have you?

It's certainly bigger than some on your list.

You asked if anyone thought you had missed any, I made a suggestion, ok if it doesn't fit your criteria. No harm, no foul.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

SiSePuede419 · January 25

41 minutes ago, Stocky said:

Hat Yai smaller than Surat Thani, Phuket and Chiang Rai,

OK, I'm increasing the population of Hat Yai to 800K, which Goggle says is on the greater urban area.

Yeah, never been there but heard Hat Yai resembles Bangkok but without the train system and so much traffic.

Really?

Seems like it would be even more humid than Bangkok and fewer people would walk...?!?

==============================

Thailand Population (by metro area, per Google)

==============================

Bangkok 14,626,225

Chiang Mai 1,229,000

Hat Yai. 800,000

Chiang Rai. 557,000

Khon Kaen. 509,000

Surat Thani. 503,000

Phuket. 455,000

Udon Thani. 430,000

Ubon Rat. 200,000

Nakhon Si T. 102,152

Koh Samui 70,000

Pai. 27,370

Koh Phagnan. 14,000

Koh Chang. 5,000

Edited January 25 by SiSePuede419

SiSePuede419 · January 25

39 minutes ago, Crossy said:

It's certainly bigger than some on your list.

You asked if anyone thought you had missed any, I made a suggestion, ok if it doesn't fit your criteria. No harm, no foul.

It's not "my" criteria. I didn't write the definition of metropolitan area.

BTW, I did meet a Thai from Ayutthaya who now lives in BKK.

Nothing much to say about Ayutthaya.

It's more a suburb of Bangkok and a history site.

Woof999 · January 25

1 hour ago, SiSePuede419 said:

This is why Pattaya would be considered a "satellite city" or suburb of the Bangkok metro area included in that population total and not a separate city/metro area.

Pattaya is too far away (with non-developed areas in between) from Bangkok to be considered a part of it, whether Metropolitan or Satellite. There are also areas between Bangkok and Pattaya that are definitely not part of the wider Bangkok area (such as ChonBuri, Si Racha and Laem Chabang).

The wider Pattaya area (Bang Lamung I would say) would certainly beat quite a few on your list in terms of size, infrastructure, population and income.

FritsSikkink · January 25

Including Pattaya in the Bangkok area is laughable. Different provinces.

Edited January 25 by FritsSikkink

Stocky · January 25

1 hour ago, SiSePuede419 said:

Yeah, never been there but heard Hat Yai resembles Bangkok but without the train system and so much traffic.

Really?

Seems like it would be even more humid than Bangkok and fewer people would walk...?!?

No, very little resemblance to Bangkok.

Hat Yai's a new town, just 100 years old, it sprung up with the building of the railway, the city is fairly low rise and laid out on a grid pattern, so quite easy to navigate. But it sprawls extending from Kho Hong in the east where Prince of Songkhla University campus and university hospital sit, across to Khuan Lang in the west and the airport, and north to Khlong Hae and the road to Songkhla town.

Yes it's humid down south, but it's easy to walk around the central city area, there are good pavements and the buildings, like many towns in Malaysia, are built with an overhanging storey to provide some shade and to give cover during the monsoon season.

Stocky · January 25

I don't think Chiang Rai is anywhere near that big, the total population for the province is only 1.2 million, I don't think the Chiang Rai 'metropolitan area' is more than 250k.

Ditto Surat Thani, that's probably about the same size or smaller.

NorthernRyland · January 25

This list makes no sense. Pai has more people than Lampang, Lampun, Chiang Dao etc...? No way that's true. Missing tons of other cities also which are metros of their province.

uttradit · January 25

10 hours ago, SiSePuede419 said:

OK, I'm increasing the population of Hat Yai to 800K, which Goggle says is on the greater urban area.

Yeah, never been there but heard Hat Yai resembles Bangkok but without the train system and so much traffic.

Really?

Seems like it would be even more humid than Bangkok and fewer people would walk...?!?

==============================

Thailand Population (by metro area, per Google)

==============================

Bangkok 14,626,225

Chiang Mai 1,229,000

Hat Yai. 800,000

Chiang Rai. 557,000

Khon Kaen. 509,000

Surat Thani. 503,000

Phuket. 455,000

Udon Thani. 430,000

Ubon Rat. 200,000

Nakhon Si T. 102,152

Koh Samui 70,000

Pai. 27,370

Koh Phagnan. 14,000

Koh Chang. 5,000

Hat Yai is smaller than Surat but bigger than Chiang Rai. Traffic in Hat Yai isn't bad. Surat is the biggest city in the south based on experience. I don't believe any of the population numbers.

Pattaya is a long way from Bangkok. It's a separate city. Pattaya seems as big as Chiang Mai.

uttradit · January 25

Lampang has about 400,000.

2 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

This list makes no sense. Pai has more people than Lampang, Lampun, Chiang Dao etc...? No way that's true. Missing tons of other cities also which are metros of their province.

Be 25 cities bigger than Pai.

Stocky · January 26

10 hours ago, uttradit said:

Hat Yai is smaller than Surat but bigger than Chiang Rai. Traffic in Hat Yai isn't bad. Surat is the biggest city in the south based on experience. I don't believe any of the population numbers.

No. Hat Yai is the largest metropolitan area in the south.

Stocky · January 26

13 hours ago, uttradit said:

I don't believe any of the population numbers.

If you don't believe the population numbers just use Google Earth and the polygon tool to measure the size of the urban area for each. By that metric Chiang Rai covers some 3,000 hectares, Surat Thani 6,000 and Hat Yai about 10,000. By comparison the greater Bangkok area covers over 250,000 hectares.

newnative · January 27

On 1/25/2024 at 1:49 PM, Woof999 said:

Pattaya is too far away (with non-developed areas in between) from Bangkok to be considered a part of it, whether Metropolitan or Satellite. There are also areas between Bangkok and Pattaya that are definitely not part of the wider Bangkok area (such as ChonBuri, Si Racha and Laem Chabang).

The wider Pattaya area (Bang Lamung I would say) would certainly beat quite a few on your list in terms of size, infrastructure, population and income.

Totally agree. No way is Pattaya a suburb of Bangkok. Greater Pattaya has become its own metro area, with it's own satellites.

Stocky · January 27

3 hours ago, newnative said:

Totally agree. No way is Pattaya a suburb of Bangkok. Greater Pattaya has become its own metro area, with it's own satellites.

There's not many gaps left to fill between Bangkok, Bang Pakong, Amata Nakhon, Chonburi, Leam Chabang and Pattaya. And yes, if you measure the urban sprawl that is Pattaya it covers nearly 7,000 hectares, so bigger than Surat Thani.

Stocky · January 27

On 1/25/2024 at 1:32 PM, SiSePuede419 said:

==============================

Thailand Population (by metro area, per Google)

==============================

============================================

Thailand Metropolitan Areas by Size (per Google Earth)

============================================

Bangkok 250,000 hectares
Chiang Mai 15,000 hectares
Nakhon Ratchasima 12,000 hectares
Hat Yai 10,000 hectares
Pattaya 7,000 hectares
Phuket 6,500 hectares
Udon Thani 6,500 hectares
Khon Kaen 6,200 hectares
Surat Thani 6,000 hectares
Ubon Ratchathani 3,500 hectares
Chiang Rai 3,000 hectares
Ayutthaya 2,000 hectares
Nakhon Si Thammarat 2,000 hectares
Lampang 2,000 hectares
Songkhla 1,500 hectares
Trang 1,000 hectares
Pai 500 hectares (and that's being generous)

This is just the visual footprint, city densities vary considerably, Chiang Mai for example sprawls over a wide area, but much of it is low density, low rise.

uttradit · January 27

3 hours ago, Stocky said:

============================================

Thailand Metropolitan Areas by Size (per Google Earth)

============================================

Bangkok 250,000 hectares

Chiang Mai 15,000 hectares

Nakhon Ratchasima 12,000 hectares

Hat Yai 10,000 hectares

Pattaya 7,000 hectares

Phuket 6,500 hectares

Udon Thani 6,500 hectares

Khon Kaen 6,200 hectares

Surat Thani 6,000 hectares

Ubon Ratchathani 3,500 hectares

Chiang Rai 3,000 hectares

Ayutthaya 2,000 hectares

Nakhon Si Thammarat 2,000 hectares

Lampang 2,000 hectares

Songkhla 1,500 hectares

Trang 1,000 hectares

Pai 500 hectares (and that's being generous)

This is just the visual footprint, city densities vary considerably, Chiang Mai for example sprawls over a wide area, but much of it is low density, low rise.

Phitsanulok?

Mukdahan?

Nakhon Phanom?

Hua Hin?

Krabi?

Lamphun?

Chiang Dao?

Nan?

Uttradit?

Surin?

Burilam?

Stocky · January 28

16 hours ago, uttradit said:

Phitsanulok?

Mukdahan?

Nakhon Phanom?

Hua Hin?

Krabi?

Lamphun?

Chiang Dao?

Nan?

Uttradit?

Surin?

Burilam?

Google Earth is free to use, I'm not about to chase them all up, but would suggest they all lie in the 1000 to 2000 hectare range.

mikebike · January 28

On 1/25/2024 at 7:16 PM, Stocky said:

I don't think Chiang Rai is anywhere near that big, the total population for the province is only 1.2 million, I don't think the Chiang Rai 'metropolitan area' is more than 250k.

Ditto Surat Thani, that's probably about the same size or smaller.

No, the number for Surat metro area is about right. The one I question is NST. The metro area is WAY more than 100k.

uttradit · January 28

1 hour ago, Stocky said:

Google Earth is free to use, I'm not about to chase them all up, but would suggest they all lie in the 1000 to 2000 hectare range.

Phitsanulok looks about 6000sqm by 6,000 so 36,000.

Edited January 28 by uttradit

Stocky · January 28

45 minutes ago, mikebike said:

No, the number for Surat metro area is about right. The one I question is NST. The metro area is WAY more than 100k.

The issue is Thailand doesn't publish metro area population figures, indeed it doesn't define any metropolitan areas apart from Bangkok. So you either aggregate the population numbers for the various districts that comprise the Amphur yourself, or rely on sources like Google that already have. Even then the numbers can fail to properly represent reality because often the Amphur doesn't encompass the whole metropolitan area, because it's been broken up into several Amphur for easier administration (job creation). Google sometimes has a go at suggesting the total metropolitan area, but not always.

Looking at the size of NST on satellite images it covers an area of about 2,000 hectares. Based on population numbers given above and physical size of metropolitan areas I've measured, on average 1,000 hectares equates to 80,000 population for a city development. On that basis I would estimate NST has a population of about 160,000.

So using that formula I'd estimate populations as follows:

Bangkok 250,000 hectares = 20 million
Chiang Mai 15,000 hectares = 1.2 million
Nakhon Ratchasima 12,000 hectares = 960,000
Hat Yai 10,000 hectares = 800,000
Pattaya 7,000 hectares = 560,000
Phuket 6,500 hectares = 520,000
Udon Thani 6,500 hectares = 520,000
Khon Kaen 6,200 hectares = 496,000
Surat Thani 6,000 hectares = 480,000
Ubon Ratchathani 3,500 hectares = 280,000
Chiang Rai 3,000 hectares = 240,000
Ayutthaya 2,000 hectares = 160,000
Nakhon Si Thammarat 2,000 hectares = 160,000
Lampang 2,000 hectares = 160,000
Songkhla 1,500 hectares = 120,000
Trang 1,000 hectares = 80,000
Pai 500 hectares = 40,000

uttradit · January 28

1 hour ago, mikebike said:

No, the number for Surat metro area is about right. The one I question is NST. The metro area is WAY more than 100k.

Looks 20,000 by 1,500. Long skinny metro area.

Stocky · January 28

6 minutes ago, uttradit said:

Phitsanulok looks about 6000sqm

I'd agree with that, 6,000 hectares (not sqm), so a population of around half a million.

.

Edited January 28 by Stocky

Chris Daley · January 28

Bangkok and Nonthaburi. Nothing else exists.

Stocky · January 28

1 hour ago, uttradit said:

Phitsanulok looks about 6000sqm by 6,000 so 36,000.

There's a option in the menu for polygon, use that and you can trace an outline and get an accurate area.

Under style select outline only

Measurement gives you a selection of units

Stocky · January 28

The Phitsanulok conurbation is actually about 7,500 hectares.

So an estimated population of about 600,000.

Edited January 28 by Stocky

uttradit · January 28

4 hours ago, Stocky said:

The Phitsanulok conurbation is actually about 7,500 hectares.

So an estimated population of about 600,000.

Sounds about right

Sign In

Biggest Metro Areas in Thailand...?

Recommended Posts

Create an account or sign in to comment

Create an account

Sign in

Recently Browsing 0 members

Announcements

Topics

Latest posts...

Popular in The Pub

ASEANNOW

MORE INFO

POPULAR AREAS

CONTACT US