Krabi ( ) is a province (changwat) of southern Thailand, on the shore of the Andaman Sea. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Phang Nga, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and Trang. Phuket province lies to the west across Phang Nga Bay. Krabi town is the seat of the provincial government.
The province is one of Thailand's principal tourist destinations, ranking fifth in tourism revenue and receiving about six million visitors a year, most of them between November and April. Its coast and islands, among them Ko Lanta and Ko Phi Phi, carry rock art and rockshelter deposits reaching back tens of thousands of years.
Geography
The region of Krabi is characterized by distinctive limestone formations known as mogotes, which are scattered both inland and along the coast. These geological features attract rock climbers globally, particularly to Ton Sai Beach and Railay Beach on the Phra Nang Peninsula. Among Krabi's 154 islands, Ko Phi Phi Le stands out for its recognition as a filming location for the movie The Beach. Other significant islands include Ko Phi Phi Don, a part of the Phi Phi Islands, and Ko Lanta, a larger island situated to the south. The coastal area of Krabi suffered extensive damage during the tsunami on 26 December 2004.
Krabi's mogotes are home to numerous caves, many of which feature speleothems such as stalactites and stalagmites. Notably, the caves of Tham Chao Le and Tham Phi Hua To in the Ao Luek District house prehistoric rock paintings that depict humans, animals, and geometric shapes. In 1986, the Lang Rong Rien cave yielded 40,000-year-old human artifacts, including stone tools, pottery, and bones, marking one of the earliest known human settlements in Southeast Asia. Additionally, these caves are a primary source for the nests of the edible-nest swiftlet, which are used in the preparation of bird's nest soup.
Agriculture in Krabi is predominantly focused on rubber and palm oil production. Palm oil plantations alone cover approximately , accounting for 52 percent of the province's agricultural land. Combined, palm oil and rubber plantations constitute 95 percent of Krabi's cultivated land, with a mix of smallholder farms and larger industrial plantations. The total forested area in Krabi is around , representing 17.2 percent of the province's total area.
History The province has a long prehistory. The rockshelter of Lang Rongrien has yielded deposits dated between 37,000 and 27,000 years before the present. Twenty-eight rock-art sites have been recorded in Krabi and neighbouring Phang Nga, among more than 155 known in Thailand. Shell specimens place the paintings of Phang Nga Bay between about 5,000 and 3,000 years ago. A bronze seal from Khuan Luk Pat is engraved with a two-masted ship and dated to the 2nd century CE.
Historically, Krabi remained under the administrative jurisdiction of Nakhon Si Thammarat, a practice that continued even after 1872, when King Chulalongkorn elevated Krabi to town status. In 1875, Krabi underwent a significant administrative change, transitioning to a direct subordinate of Bangkok, marking its evolution into a province. The administrative seat of the province was initially located at Ban Talad Kao. However, in 1900, the governor relocated it to its current position at the mouth of the Krabi River, establishing the modern provincial structure.
Symbols The seal of the province shows two ancient crossed swords in front of the Indian Ocean and Khao Phanom Bencha mountain. Krabi is a word for an ancient Siamese sword, and the mountain, at above sea level, is the highest in the province.
The provincial slogan is, "Krabi, the liveable city, friendly people."
The provincial tree is the blue sky (Thai: thung-fa ทุ้งฟ้า) or Alstonia macrophylla. The provincial aquatic life the edible sea snail (Thai: hoi-chak-teen หอยชักตีน) or Laevistrombus canarium because it is the local delicacy.
Administrative divisions Provincial government Krabi is subdivided into eight districts (amphoe), which are further divided into 53 subdistricts (tambon) and 374 villages (muban). Map Number Name Thai Malay Jawi1Mueang Krabi เมืองกระบี่ Bandaraya Kerambit بنداراي کرمبيت2Khao Phanom เขาพนม Gunung Beras ݢونوڠ برس3Ko Lanta เกาะลันตา Pulau Satak ڤولاو ساتق4Khlong Thom คลองท่อม Terusan Tumbuhan تروسن تومبوهن5Ao Luek อ่าวลึก Teluk Dalam تلوق دالم6Plai Phraya ปลายพระยา Seri Ujong سري هوجوڠ7Lam Thap ลำทับ Teratak Tubir Sungai تراتق توبير سوڠاي8Nuea Khlong เหนือคลอง Terusan Paksina تروسن ڤقسينا
Local government As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Krabi Provincial Administration Organisation () and 13 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. Krabi has town (thesaban mueang) status. Further 12 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon). The non-municipal areas are administered by 48 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations – SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).
Population and culture
Krabi Province is home to a diverse population comprising Buddhists, Thai-Chinese, Moken (commonly referred to as sea gypsies), and Muslims. The largest of the sea-people groups on this coast is the Urak Lawoi', settled on Ko Lanta about 80 km from Krabi town. Field reports of 2016 give between two and seven thousand people across Phuket, Phi Phi, Lanta, Bulon, Lipe and Adang. Their Ari Pajak ceremony sets adrift a boat about three metres long, in three compartments, carrying ancestral spirits towards Gunung Jerai in Kedah. Sorathach Rotchanarat, who reports both, states that about a thousand years of evidence are missing between the last makers of the rock art and the recorded ritual. He adds that no DNA comparison has been made between prehistoric skeletons from the area and the sea people, so the proposed relationship is not established. The population density varies significantly across the region. The coastal areas, particularly in Nuea Khlong District and Krabi City Districts, are the most densely populated, with densities exceeding 150 people per square kilometer. In contrast, the least densely populated area is the inland mountainous region of Khao Phanom District, where the density is approximately 61 persons per square kilometer.
In terms of religious practices, Buddhism is the predominant faith, observed by around 65 percent of the population. Islam follows closely, with approximately 34 percent adherence among residents. Historically, the inhabitants of Krabi have been engaged in agriculture, leveraging the province's richness in natural resources such as rubber, palm oil, and oranges. In recent years, however, tourism has emerged as a significant source of income for the region.
Economy In Krabi Province, the economy is predominantly supported by agriculture, tourism, and, to a lesser extent, fisheries. Rubber cultivation stands as the leading cash crop in the region, followed closely by palm oil production. Univanich Palm Oil PCL, Thailand's largest palm oil producer, is headquartered in Krabi. This corporation directly employs approximately 1,000 individuals and additionally engages with around 2,000 local small and medium-sized growers for feedstock procurement.
Tourism
Krabi ranks fifth in Thailand in terms of tourism revenue, following Bangkok, Phuket, Chonburi, and Chiang Mai. The province witnesses around six million tourists annually, with the peak season spanning from November to April. However, the influx of tourists during the high season has raised environmental concerns. To address this, local authorities have implemented the "Krabi 365 Days" initiative, aiming to redistribute tourist visits throughout the year, including during the off-season or "green season" (May to October), a period characterized by seasonal rainfall. Tourism revenue in Krabi has been experiencing an average annual growth of eight percent. In 2018, the revenue from tourism was projected to reach 100 billion baht, an increase from the 96 billion baht recorded in 2017. The majority of visitors to Krabi are from China and Malaysia, with Scandinavian tourists also featuring prominently among international arrivals. According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), , the province hosts approximately 460 hotels, with an additional 200 hotels undergoing licensing procedures and another 200 in preliminary planning stages.
Transport Since 1999 the province has been served by the international Krabi International Airport.
Phetkasem Road (Highway 4) passes through the province.
Human achievement index 2022 Health Education Employment Income 29 31 65 60 Housing Family Transport Participation 40 76 26 66 Province Krabi, with an HAI 2022 value of 0.6160 is "low", occupies place 69 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
Environment
In mid-2015, the Thai government's proposal to construct an 800-megawatt coal-fired electricity generating station in Tambon Pakasai, Amphoe Nuea Khlong, drew significant public opposition. Critics of the project, including those engaging in protests and hunger strikes, expressed concerns about the potential environmental impact on Krabi's relatively unspoiled ecosystem. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) proceeded with the development plans, intending to initiate the bidding process without a comprehensive environmental assessment, citing time-saving measures. This plant in Krabi is part of a broader strategy to build nine coal-fired power plants across southern Thailand over the next two decades. This initiative aims to compensate for the declining natural gas reserves in the Gulf of Thailand. However, the opposition, advocating for a three-year delay to explore the feasibility of achieving 100 percent renewable energy in the province, claims their concerns have been disregarded.
The decision to advance with the Krabi coal-fired power station, a significant project valued at 48 billion baht and designed to generate 315 MWe, poses environmental challenges. Coal is a known source of mercury contamination, as evidenced in Tha Thum in Prachinburi province, where mercury levels up to 12 times higher than acceptable limits have been detected. Potential sources of contamination include fly ash from coal power plants, coal dust from storage areas, or the use of coal ash as fertilizer. These factors raise concerns about similar risks in Krabi. Current coal pollution mitigation technologies, often referred to as "clean coal," are in the early stages of development and primarily address pollutants like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulates. The more complex and costly process of carbon dioxide sequestration remains a significant challenge. Two academics have critically addressed the general efficacy of coal pollution mitigation, stating that "So-called 'clean coal' is expensive, untested, unwieldy, and unworkable, yet it is often presented as a comprehensive solution.