Ranong () is a town (''

thesaban mueang Thesaban (, , , Pali: desapāla (protector of region) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' ...

'') in southern

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, capital of the Ranong Province and the Mueang Ranong District. The town covers completely the area of the ''

tambon ''Tambon'' (, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and province ('' changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 ''khwaeng'' of Bangkok, whi ...

'' Khao Niwet (เขานิเวศน์). As of 2024, it had a population of 16,909. Ranong lies south-southwest of Bangkok by road.

Geography

Ranong is on the estuary of the Pak Chan (or Kraburi) River, opposite

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

's Kawthaung (formerly Victoria Point). The

Tenasserim Hills The Tenasserim Hills or Tenasserim Range (, ; , , ; ) is the geographical name of a roughly 1,700 km long mountain chain, part of the Indo-Malayan mountain system in Southeast Asia. Despite their relatively scant altitude these mo ...

rise directly to the east of Ranong, and another small ridge runs along the edge of the estuary to the town's north. Neighboring subdistricts are (from north clockwise) Bang Non, Hat Som Paen, Bang Rin and Pak Nam.

History

On 14 March 1936 Ranong sanitary district was elevated to subdistrict municipality.

Administration

Central government

The administration of Ranong town is responsible for Khao Niwet subdistrict (''

'') with and 16,909 people of 8,333 households. Khao Niwet subdistrict is not divided into villages (''

muban Muban (; , ) is the lowest Administrative divisions of Thailand, administrative sub-division of Thailand. Usually translated as 'village' and sometimes as 'hamlet (place), hamlet', they are a subdivision of a tambon (subdistrict). , there were 74 ...

s'').

Local government

Ranong town municipality (''

'') covers the whole Khao Niwet subdistrict.

Healthcare

Hospital

There is

general hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

in Ranong with 300 beds.

Health promoting hospital

There is no health-promoting hospital in the town.

Education

There are two schools in the town: * Ban Khao Niwet municipal school. * Wat Upanantharam municipal school.

Religion

There are two active temples, where

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' ( anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or '' Dhamma'' in ...

is practised by local residents:

Climate

Ranong has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Am''). There is little variation in the temperature throughout the year, although the pre-monsoon months (February to April) are somewhat hotter in the day. However, Ranong's position to the west of the Tenasserim Hills means that the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

season's rains are greatly amplified, resulting in torrential rains from May until October, and significant rainfall in the transition months of April and November.

Transportation

Phet Kasem Road Phet Kasem Road (, , ) or Highway 4 (, ) is one of the four primary highways in Thailand, along with Phahonyothin Road (Highway 1), Mittraphap Road (Highway 2), and Sukhumvit Road (Highway 3). At 1,310.554 km, route 4 is the longest highway ...

(Thailand Route 4) runs through the city. Ranong Airport is about south of town. The Port Authority of Thailand operates the Ranong Port, which is Thailand's principal

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

port. In 2008, the Ranong human-smuggling incident resulted in 54 deaths. Several ferries are connecting to Kawthaung, Myanmar, which can be accessed by foreigners without visa. There also is a boat from Ranong to the Burmese resort island Thahtay Kyun.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Ranong province Myanmar–Thailand border crossings Ports and harbours of the Indian Ocean Cities and towns in Thailand