Nong Khai province

The province is in the valley of the Mae Nam Kong (Mekong River), which also forms the border with Laos. There are highlands to the south. The total forest area is 233 km² (90 sq mi) or 7.1 percent of provincial area.^[1] The Laotian capital, Vientiane, is only 25 kilometers (16 mi) from the provincial capital of Nong Khai. The First Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge, which connects the two countries, was built jointly by the governments of Thailand, Laos, and Australia, and was opened in 1994.^[5]

Nong Khai is the smallest province in the northeastern after Bueng Kan and other seven districts became Bueng Kan province in 2011.

Over the centuries, control of the province swung between the Thai Kingdom Ayutthaya, and the Laotian kingdom Lan Xang, as their respective powers ebbed and flowed in the region.^[6]

The Prap Ho Monument in front of the historic city hall (now a museum and cultural center) memorializes the war dead of the Haw wars.^[7]

In more recent years, Nong Khai has become a popular destination during the Buddhist Lent festival when mysterious balls of light, or Naga fireballs, rise from the Mekong River. The balls resemble an orange sun. They rise out of the river approximately 6–9 meters (20–30 feet) and disappear after three to five seconds. Although the fireballs can be seen at other times, most Thais travel to see them during the full moon in October when the incidence of them is considered to be much higher.^[8]

Nong Khai's main sight is Sala Keoku (alternatively spelled as Sala Kaew Ku, also known as Wat Khaek), a park of colossal sculptures, some over 20 m tall. The park is the handiwork of the mystic Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat, who bought the land in 1978 when he was exiled from his native Laos, where he had built a similar park in Vientiane in the 1950s. Synthesizing Buddhist and Hinduist ideologies, Buddhas, many-armed goddesses, a seven-headed Naga snake, and various human-animal hybrids dominate the site.^[9]

Notable figures from twentieth century Buddhist history have lived in Nong Khai—the world renowned Buddhist scholar and leading meditation teacher Ajahn Sumedho ordained in Wat Sisaket in Nong Khai.

The provincial seal shows a pond with a bamboo clump close to it. The bamboo symbolizes stability, glory, and continuity for the peaceful and fertile land.^[10]

The provincial tree is the tamalan or Burma pallisander (Dalbergia oliveri).

The provincial aquatic life is the seven-striped barb or Jullien's golden carp (Probarbus jullieni).

Health	Education	Employment	Income
22	33	48	40
Housing	Family	Transport	Participation
23	30	47	73
Province Nong Khai, with an HAI 2022 value of 0.6357 is "somewhat low", occupies place 46 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.^[3]

Map with provinces and HAI 2022 rankings