Nan น่าน ᨶᩣ᩠᩵ᨶ | |
|---|---|
| จังหวัดน่าน ·ᨧᩢ᩠ᨦᩉ᩠ᩅᩢᨶᩣ᩠᩵ᨶ | |
 (from top left, clockwise) –"Kra Sib Ruk" murals inWat Phumin, Quadra-façadeUbosot ofWat Phumin, Wat Phra That Chang Kham, Wat Phra That Chae Haeng,Sirikit Dam,Si Nan National Park, National Museum of Nan,Leela Buddha of Wat Phra That Khao Noi | |
 Flag .svg) Seal | |
| Motto(s): แข่งเรือลือเลื่อง เมืองงาช้างดำ จิตรกรรมวัดภูมินทร์ แดนดินส้มสีทอง เรืองรองพระธาตุแช่แห้ง ("Famous boat racing. City of black ivory. Wat Phumin's paintings. Land of the golden oranges. Brilliant Phra That Chae Haeng.") | |
 Map of Thailand highlighting Nan province | |
| Country | Thailand |
| Capital | Nan (town) |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Chainarong Wongyai (since 2023) |
| • PAO President | Nopparat Thawong (since 2020) |
| Area | |
• Total | 12,130 km2 (4,680 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 11th |
| Population (2024)[2] | |
• Total |  470,507 |
| • Rank | 58th |
| • Density | 39/km2 (100/sq mi) |
| • Rank | 76th |
| Human Achievement Index | |
| • HAI (2022) | 0.6496 "somewhat high" Ranked 26th |
| GDP | |
| • Total | baht 31 billion (US$1.1 billion) (2019) |
| Time zone | UTC+7 (ICT) |
| Postal code | 55xxx |
| Calling code | 054 |
| ISO 3166 code | TH-55 |
| Website | nan |
Nan (Thai:น่าน,pronounced[nâːn];Northern Thai:ᨶᩣ᩠᩵ᨶ) is one of Thailand's seventy-sixprovinces (changwat), and lies inupper northern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from south clockwise):Uttaradit,Phrae, andPhayao. To the north and east it bordersSainyabuli ofLaos.
| Nan province | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Thai name | |
| Thai | น่าน |
| RTGS | Nan |
| Northern Thai name | |
| Northern Thai | ᨶᩣ᩠᩵ᨶ (Nan) |
The province is in the remoteNan River valley, surrounded by forested mountains, thePhlueng Range in the western part and theLuang Prabang Range in the east.[5] The highest mountain is the 2,079 meter highPhu Khe inBo Kluea District, northeast of thecity of Nan towards the border with Laos.[6] The total forest area is 7,436 km2 (2,871 sq mi) or 61.3 percent of provincial area.[1]
There are seven national parks, along with three other national parks, make upregion 13 (Phrae) of Thailand's protected areas.
Nan province has atropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classificationAw). Winters are quite dry and very warm. Temperatures rise until April, which is very hot with the average daily maximum at 37.0 °C (98.6 °F). Themonsoon season runs from late April through October, with heavy rain and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day, although nights remain warm.
For centuries Nan was an independent kingdom but, due to its remoteness, had few connections to the other kingdoms. The first kingdom around the cityMueang Pua (also known asWoranakorn) was created in the late-13th century. Its rulers, thePhukha Dynasty, were related to the founders ofVientiane,[citation needed] however it became associated with theSukhothai 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 atNan.
In the 15th century, when Sukhothai declined in power, it became vassal of the kingdom ofLannathai. In 1443 KingInthakanthao ofNan Kingdom plotted to capture neighboring Phayao by asking KingTilokaraj to help him fight againstVietnamese 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 byBurma many times. Nan was also the 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 thePaknam crisis Siam had to give a big part of eastern Nan toFrench Indochina. In 1899mueang Nan became part of the circle (Monthon)Tawan Tok Chiang Nuea (northwestern circle).[9] In 1916 the northwestern circle was split and Nan was assigned to the circleMaharat.[10] When the circles were abolished in 1932, the provinces including Nan became top-level subdivisions of Siam.
Before the early-1980s, bandits as well asPeople'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.[11]
Agriculture is the province's main industry,[citation needed] but tourism in 2016 contributed an estimated 30% to the provincialGDP. 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 billionbaht. TheTourism 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.[12] 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%.[13] According to theBangkok Post, the top two attractions in Nan province are Doi Samer Dao and Wat Phumin, a temple with many "local art masterpieces".[12]
Nan and government forestry officials are concerned about deforestation after hill tribes turned 1.5 millionrai 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."[12]
Theprovincial seal shows a Usuparatch bull carrying thestupa of Phrathat 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.
Theprovincial tree and provincial flower is theOrchid 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.[14]
Hill tribes constitute 10.5 percent of the population.[citation needed] Inhabitants known as the T'in orMal people speak a NorthernMon-Khmer orKhmuic language,T'in, an unknown language whenGérard Diffloth's classifications were widely cited in a 1974Encyclopædia Britannica article.[citation needed]
The province is divided into 15 districts(amphoe). These are further divided into 99 subdistricts (tambons) and 848 villages (mubans).
As of 26 November 2019 there are:[15] one Nan Provincial Administration Organisation (ongkan borihan suan changwat) 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).
| Health | Education | Employment | Income |
 |  |  |  |
| 74 | 50 | 40 | 59 |
| Housing | Family | Transport | Participation |
 |  |  | .png) |
| 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 theHuman 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.[3]
| Rank | Classification |
| 1 – 13 | "high" |
| 14–29 | "somewhat high" |
| 30–45 | "average" |
| 46–61 | "somewhat low" |
| 62–77 | "low" |
| Map with provinces and HAI 2022 rankings |
 |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)25 Nan: 1 PAO, 1 Town mun., 18 Subdistrict mun., 80 SAO.
Nan travel guide from WikivoyagePlaces adjacent to Nan province | |
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| National | |
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18°46′04.07″N100°46′56.74″E / 18.7677972°N 100.7824278°E /18.7677972; 100.7824278
