Udon Thani province (Thai/, , ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (changwat) which lies in upper northeastern Thailand, also called Isan. It is bordered by the provinces of Nong Khai to the north, Sakon Nakhon to the east, Kalasin province to the southeast, Khon Kaen to the south, and Loei and Nong Bua Lamphu to the west. It occupies an area of . The total forest area is or 10.2 percent of provincial area. The provincial capital is Udon Thani, the major city in the province.
Toponymy Udon Thani is said to mean 'northern city'. Udon is derived from utara in Sanskrit, meaning 'northern direction', as Udon Thani is northeast of Bangkok. Thani means 'city'.
History
Three groups of Dvaravati-period sema stones, Buddhist boundary markers, are recorded in the province. The inscribed stone K 981 from Wat Si Dhat, in Sanskrit and Pallava script, was recovered during the archaeological salvage programme of W. G. Solheim II and Chester Gorman and dated by Cœdès to the late 7th or early 8th century. Its text states that the stone was fixed as a boundary, which makes it the clearest epigraphic statement of what such stones were for. A revised reading by Peter Skilling has Brahmins present at the consecration rather than performing it. At Phu Phra Bat in Ban Phue district prehistoric rock shelters were ringed with such stones, usually eight to a shelter. More than sixteen shelters are recorded and most of them are ringed, which Stephen Murphy reads as the conversion of a pre-Buddhist site to Buddhist use. Excavations by the Fine Arts Department at Ban Nong Kluem and Ban Pailom in the same district in 1998 found settings of twenty-two and twenty-four stones. The second stood in three concentric rectangles, and neither setting had a structure at its centre.
Udon Thani first came to historical notice in the Rattanakosin era, when Anuwong of Vientiane staged a rebellion against Thai rule and marched his army to Nakhon Ratchasima in 1826. He captured the city by a ruse, but the garrison he left to hold it unexpectedly met with fierce resistance from the disarmed local forces led by Lady Mo, the wife of Nakhon Ratchasima's governor. Anuwong advanced as far as Saraburi, but was forced to retreat. The Thai army pursued him, and the rival forces met in battle at Nong Bua Lamphu, a small city near today's Udon Thani. After two days of fierce fighting, Anuwong's army was defeated and fled back to Laos.Udon Thani Provincial Office (1985), Udon Thani: A History of a Provincial Administration, Bangkok: Amarin Printing.
Once known as Ban Mak-kaeng, Udon Thani was originally settled as a military base established by Prince Prachaksinlapakhom to suppress an uprising in the northeastern city of Lao Puan. Ban Mak-kaeng grew slowly from a small rural town to become what is now the city of Udon Thani. He founded Udon Thani town in 1893, established the civil administration and served important official duties for the region.
The province is best known for the prehistoric archaeological site at Ban Chiang and its Bronze Age relics, in a hamlet about east of Udon Thani. Udon Thani is one of the more bustling markets for agricultural goods in the relatively dry northeast of Thailand.
Udon Thani received its biggest economic boost in the 1960s when the United States built the Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base as a joint-force military base during the Vietnam War. The Mel Gibson film Air America depicts Udon and includes scenes of Udon's air base. Udon Thani was also the largest base in the region for the CIA's anti-communism campaign in Thailand and Laos. The United States turned the base over to the Royal Thai Air Force in 1976, but its presence left three residual effects on Udon. First, a large number of locals had been paid comparatively well and had learned basic conversational English. This made them more marketable to the outside world, and a significant number went to work in Middle East oilfields. Second, the base created long-standing ties with the United States, including a US consulate in Udon (closed in 1995), and a US Veterans of Foreign Wars post. But most importantly, the base and the consulate made the city into a regional hub for the northeast, and this continues today.
In recent years Udon received international attention because of the discovery of large potash deposits. Some anticipate the region would become a major exporter of the mineral. However, granting the necessary approvals has been substantially delayed due to public opposition to mining. Many villagers living near the proposed mine site fear that the mining company's environmental impact assessment (EIA) did not adequately address the problems of salinization of the groundwater and soil, as well as probability of land subsidence. Either of these would seriously threaten the economic stability of local communities that depend on rice farming for income. An existing potash mine, Udon North mine has attracted local opposition.
Black site
The province has been named as the locale of a US CIA "black site" used to interrogate suspected terrorists by the United States. Suspected locations include Ramasun Station, dominated by a large wullenweber array, also known as the 7th Radio Research Field Station, in Tambon Non Sung of Mueang Udon Thani District; the 13th Artillery Battalion encampment (Camp Yutthasilpprasit) 13 km distant from Ramasun; Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base; and a Voice of America (VOA) broadcasting station in Ban Dung District.
Symbols The provincial seal shows the tutelary Vaiśravaṇa, also known locally as Thao Wessuwan. This is in line with the name of the province, which means "northern city", and on the account, Vaiśravaṇa is the one of Four Heavenly Kings of the northern direction.
The provincial tree is the Shorea obtusa, and the provincial flower is the Butea monosperma.
The provincial aquatic lifeform is the small edible carp Labiobarbus siamensis.
Geography National parks There are two national parks, along with five other national parks, make up region 10 (Udon Thani) of Thailand's protected areas.(Visitors in fiscal year 2024) Na Yung–Nam Som National Park (9,520)Phu Hin Chom That–Phu Phra Bat National Park (25,865)
The Eco-park Phu Foi Lom is also located in Udon Thai province.
Administrative divisions
Provincial government
Since 1993 when five districts were split from Udon Thani to become the new province of Nong Bua Lam Phu, the province consists of twenty districts (amphoe). The districts are further subdivided into 155 sub-districts (tambon) and 1682 villages (muban): Mueang Udon Thani Kut Chap Nong Wua So Kumphawapi Non Sa-at Nong Han Thung Fon Chai Wan Si That Wang Sam Mo Ban Dung<li>Ban Phue <li>Nam Som <li>Phen <li>Sang Khom <li>Nong Saeng <li>Na Yung <li>Phibun Rak <li>Ku Kaeo <li>Prachaksinlapakhom
Local government As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Udon Thani Provincial Administrative Organization – PAO () and 71 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. The capital Udon Thani has city (thesaban nakhon) status. Further Ban Dung, Nam Kham-Nong Sung and Nong Samrong have town (thesaban mueang) status and 67 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon). The non-municipal areas are administered by 109 Subdistrict Administrative Organizations – SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).
Population and demographics Udon Thani's geographic position in the north of northeastern Thailand and its proximity to the Laotian capital, Vientiane, has contributed to the province's rapid development as a transport and industrial hub. This has created jobs and attracted migrants from other states as well as from overseas, particularly from Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and China. In recent decades, the influx of illegal immigrants, particularly from Vietnam, has further swelled Udon Thani's population. Udon Thani had a population of 1,562,520 as of 2023. The province's ethnic composition consists of Lao, Chinese, and other ethnic groups. The population in each of the districts is as follows:
RankDistrictsPopulation 20231Mueang Udon Thani185,7552Ban Dung111,7553Ban Phue101,9884Phen96,5785Nong Han88,7436Kumphawapi73,9487Non Sa-at45,1338Nong Wua So45,0399Kut Chap43,64110Nam Som41,096 RankDistrictsPopulation 202311Wang Sam Mo31,22612Na Yung28,66413Prachaksinlapakhom25,44414Thung Fon25,02815Phibun Rak24,66916Chai Wan23,86017Si That23,69618Nong Saeng23,17819Ku Kaeo22,06420Sang Khom21,944
Transportation
Udon Thani is linked to the rest of Thailand by comprehensive air, road and rail connections. Most of the major highways that run through the northeastern Thailand, including Mittraphap Road, serve Udon Thani as well.
Air Udon Thani International Airport, the province's primary airport, is in the district of Mueang Udon Thani near the border with Nong Khai province. Between them, several airlines operate over 160 flights per week (as of August 2017) to Bangkok.
Rail Udon Thani railway station is the main railway station in Udon Thani.
Education Udon Thani has several tertiary education institutions, and is also home to an international school. Most of these academic centers are concentrated in major towns and cities in Udon Thani:
Public universities NameAcronymFoundedLocationUdon Thani Rajabhat UniversityUDRU1923Mueang Udon Thani
Private universities and university colleges NameAcronymFoundedLocationSantapol CollegeSTU1998Mueang Udon Thani
International schools NameAcronymFoundedLocationUdon Thani International SchoolUDIS2013Mueang Udon Thani
Secondary schools NameAcronymFoundedLocationUdonpittayanukoon SchoolUdonpit1902Mueang Udon Thani
Healthcare Notable hospitals in Udon Thani are listed below:
Public Hospitals Udon Thani Hospital Fort Prachaksilapakhom Hospital Royal Thai Air Force Wing 23 Hospital Udon Thani Cancer CenterPrivate Hospitals Aek Udon International Hospital North Eastern Wattana Hospital Bangkok Hospital (Udon Thani branch)
Human achievement index 2022 Health Education Employment Income 40 38 50 53 Housing Family Transport Participation 17 29 20 65 Province Udon Thani, with an HAI 2022 value of 0.6407 is "average", occupies place 40 in the ranking. Since 2003, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using the Human 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. RankClassification 1 - 13"high"14 - 29"somewhat high"30 - 45"average"46 - 61"somewhat low"62 - 77"low" Map with provinces and HAI 2022 rankings
Media Television Television in Udon Thani consists of thirteen free-to-air stations, one satellite television network, and two Internet television services. Seven of the thirteen free-to-air stations are broadcast from Laos (with four foreign relay stations). All of Thai stations are broadcast from Bangkok, except for NBT which has two hours of local programming.
Free-to-air MCOT Modernine TV TV3 National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) NBT Royal Thai Army TV5 TV7 Public Thai PBS Lao National Television LNTV 1 LNTV 3 MV Lao Vietnam Television VTV3/VTV4 China Central Television CCTV 4 CCTV News
Satellite television TrueVisions
Internet television UDTV Nation Channel (Alternative News Network)
Radio Radio stations in Udon Thani are available on FM frequencies.
Commercial radio stations available in Udon Thani include Radio One (88.5), New Music (89.0), Cool FM (89.3), SR Radio (89.9), UFM (90.25), Kiss FM (90.75), NN Radio (91.75), Big FM (92.5), Udon FM (97.0), Nice FM (97.25), Live Hits (98.0), WOW FM (98.25), Sayamchai FM (98.5), OK Love (100.0), P Radio (104.4), Mittaphap FM (104.75), Isama Radio (105.25), Wansabai Radio (106.5), and Hit FM (107.0). Commercial radio stations are operated by a few media companies.