''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. Below

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

('' amphoe'') and

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

('' changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 '' khwaeng'' of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, which are set at the same administrative level, thus every

contains eight to ten tambon. ''Tambon'' is usually translated as "

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, ...

" or "subdistrict" in English — the latter is the recommended translation, though also often used for '' king amphoe'', the designation for a subdistrict acting as a branch (Thai: ''king'') of the parent district. Tambon are further subdivided into 69,307 villages ('' muban''), about ten per ''tambon''. ''Tambon'' within cities or towns are not subdivided into villages, but may have less formal communities called ''chumchon'' ( ชุมชน) that may be formed into

community association A community association is a nongovernmental association of participating members of a community, such as a neighborhood, village, condominium, cooperative, or group of homeowners or property owners in a delineated geographic area. Participatio ...

History

The ''tambon'' as a subdivision has a long history. It was the second-level subdivision of the area administered by a provincial town in the 19th century. The governor of the province was supposed to appoint a communal elder, '' kamnan'' or ''phan''. In the administrative reforms started in 1892 under Prince Damrong Rajanubhab, the first Thai Minister of the Interior, the three levels of subdivision of provinces were continued, i.e., starting from

to ''tambon'' to the lowest level called ''muban''.

Muban

The subdistricts are subdivided into administrative villages (muban, ) as the lowest administrative subdivision. Usually these are referred to much more often by the village number than the actual name, especially as an administrative village may contain more than one settlement, or a large settlement may be split into more than one administrative village. One of the elected village headmen is elected as the subdistrict headman ( Kamnan).

Subdistrict (Tambon) administrative organization (SAO/TAO)

With the ''Tambon Council and Tambon Administrative Authority Act BE 2537'' (1994) and later by the constitution of 1997, ''tambon'' were decentralized into local government units with an elected tambon council. Depending on its size and tax income a ''tambon'' may either be administered by a ''Subdistrict (Tambon) Administrative Organization'' (SAO or TAO, th, องค์การบริหารส่วนตำบล) or a ''Tambon Council'' (TC, th, สภาตำบล). However, since 2001 all of the Tambon Councils have been upgraded to Tambon Administrative Organizations. The TAO council consist of two representatives from each administrative village in the subdistrict, and one directly elected president. The subdistrict area which belongs to a municipality ('' thesaban'') is administered by the municipal council. In the event only part of the subdistrict is within a municipality, the remaining part is administrated by a TAO. Adjoining subdistricts of a single district can also have a joint TAO.

One Tambon One Product

In 2001, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra started a project in which every ''tambon'' would select a typical, distinctive local product. The project then aids in promoting the product, as well as assisting in modernizing production. Shops selling OTOP products are located in each provincial capital.

References

External links