King Amphoe

[phetaroi]

I am curious, mostly I see particular Thai locations listed as "Amphoe". Occasionally I see certain areas listed as "King Amphoe". What is the difference.

I know...boring question!

[p_brownstone]

I am curious, mostly I see particular Thai locations listed as "Amphoe". Occasionally I see certain areas listed as "King Amphoe". What is the difference.

I know...boring question!

"King" means "branch" - i.e. it's not the main Office.

Patrick

[Rikker]

I'll go over this for clarity (I hope I'm not being pedantic). An อำเภอ 'amphoe' (usually translated 'district') is the administrative subdivision smaller than จังหวัด 'changwat' (province). Smaller than an 'amphoe' is a ตำบล 'tambon' (usually translated as 'sub-district' or 'commune').

As areas develop and grow, their status is upgraded. A กิ่งอำเภอ 'king amphoe' (usually translated 'minor district', literally 'branch district') is somewhere between an tambon and an amphoe. It is still subordinate to its mother amphoe, but is separated to relieve administrative pressure on the rest of the amphoe.

A king amphoe can get upgraded to a full amphoe eventually if it's large enough, sometimes decades later. Not every amphoe was once a king amphoe, though.

Now here's the kicker, courtesy of Wikipedia:

"On May 15 2007 the Thai government decided to upgrade all remaining 81 minor district to full districts in order to facilitate the administration. With the publishing in the Royal Gazette on August 24 the upgrade became official."

So apparently there aren't any right now? I don't know if that means there never will be any more, though.

Edited July 19, 2008 by Rikker