Administrative divisions of Thailand
Thailand is a unitary state in Southeast Asia. The administrative services of the executive branch of the government are regulated by the National Government Organisation Act, BE 2534 (1991) (พระราชบัญญัติระเบียบบริหารราชการแผ่นดิน พ.ศ. 2534). Under this Act, the services are divided into three levels: central, provincial and local.
The central government (ราชการส่วนกลาง) consists of ministries, bureaus, and departments (กระทรวงทบวงกรม krasuang tha-buang krom).
Each of the ministries (กระทรวง krasuang) and bureaus (ทบวง tha-buang) is led by a minister (รัฐมนตรี ratthamontri) who is a member of the Council of Ministers (คณะรัฐมนตรี Khana Ratthamontri). A bureau may be an independent agency with the same status as a ministry or may be subject to a ministry. Currently, there are no bureaus.
The ministries and bureaus are divided into departments (กรม krom), inter alia. Each department is led by a director general (อธิบดี athibodi).
There is a central government agency called Office of the Prime Minister (สำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี Samnak Nayok Ratthamontri). It is led by the prime minister (นายกรัฐมนตรี Nayok Ratthamontri) and bears ministerial status.
There are also independent central government agencies. These agencies are not under any ministry, bureau, or department, but are directly subject to the prime minister. They are:
The provincial government (ราชการส่วนภูมิภาค) consists of provinces (จังหวัด changwat). As of 2014, there were 76 provinces.
Each province is led by a governor (ผู้ว่าราชการจังหวัด phu wa ratchakan changwat) and is divided into districts (อำเภอ amphoe). As of 2010[update], there were 878 districts throughout the country. In each province, there is one capital district (อำเภอเมือง amphoe mueang). For example, the capital district of Chiang Mai Province is Mueang Chiang Mai District (อำเภอเมืองเชียงใหม่ Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai). The exception is Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province, where both the province and the capital district share the same name.
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