Districts of Thailand

An amphoe (sometimes also amphur, Thai: อำเภอ, pronounced [ʔām.pʰɤ̄ː])—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand.

Groups of amphoe or districts make up the provinces, and are analogous to counties.

Umphang (Tak province) at 4,325.4 km2 is the largest and also has the lowest population density.

The notable exception, however, is the name Amphoe Chaloem Phra Kiat, which was given to five districts created in 1996 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's accession to the throne.

Chaloem Phra Kiat (เฉลิมพระเกียรติ) means 'in commemoration of' or 'in honour of' a royal family member.

The district which contains the administrative office of the province is the amphoe mueang (lit.

Thung Wa lost a lot of its population to neighboring La-ngu minor district, so finally La-ngu was upgraded and Thung Wa downgraded.

A minor district is led by a chief officer (Hua Na King Amphoe, หัวหน้ากิ่งอำเภอ).

The office is usually in the largest settlement of the district, to make it easily accessible to the majority of the population —one of the tasks of the amphoe is the civil registry, which makes the district the most important of the administrative levels for the Thai public.