Sukhothai province

The modern-day province of Sukhothai was named after the Sukhothai Kingdom, which its capital city of the same name is located in the province. The kingdom's name comes from Sanskrit sukha (सुख 'happiness') + udaya (उदय 'rise', 'emergence'), meaning 'dawn of happiness'.

Earliest evidence of human settlement in modern-day Sukhothai province can be dated back to the late Iron Age with iron smelting as a main drive.^[5] By the 9th century CE, the settlement expanded to the hillside of the Khao Luang mountain range and grew into bigger towns with Dvaravati cultural influences. The area came under cultural sphere of Khmer Empire by the 12th century CE, as evidenced by the construction of a Prang on Khao Pu Cha (Khiri Mat district) and Prasat Ta Pha Daeng [th] (Sukhothai Historical Park). The city of Sukhothai itself can be traced back to the 12-th century CE, during the reign of Jayavarman VII of Khmer. At the time the city was built centered around the Wat Phra Phai Luang [th] (Sukhothai Historical Park).^[5]

Sukhothai was a town founded in the 13th century on the fringe of the Khmer empire. The exact year is unknown, but according to the Fine Arts Office it was between 1238 and 1257. Founded by Phokhun Si Intharathit, it was the first truly independent Thai (Siamese) Kingdom after defeating the Khmers. Sukhothai enjoyed a golden age under their third king, King Ramkhamhaeng, who was credited with creating the Khmer-derived Thai alphabet which is essentially the same as that in use today.^[11] He also laid the foundation for politics, the monarchy and religion, as well as expanding its circle of influence. Sukhothai was later ruled by many kings. The province is most known for the historic city of Sukhothai, the capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom. It is about 12 km from the modern New Sukhothai city. Not far from Sukhothai are the Si Satchanalai Historical Park and the Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park. Both were cities in the former Sukhothai kingdom and at the same time period. Sukhothai Kingdom was merged into Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1438.

The province was at first known as Sawankhalok; it was renamed to Sukhothai in 1939.^[12]

Sukhothai is located in lower Northern Thailand and shares its borders with; clockwise from north, Phrae, Uttaradit, Phitsanulok, Kamphaeng Phet, and Lampang. The provincial capital, Sukhothai Thani is 427 kilometres (265 mi) north of Bangkok and 300 kilometres (190 mi) south of Chiang Mai. The province covers 6,671 km² (2,576 sq mi) and the total forest area is 1,975 km² (763 sq mi) or 29.6 percent of provincial area.^[1] The province is characterized by mostly mountainous and hilly topography at 59% of the area, while the remaining 39% are lowland plains.^[13] The highest point is Khao Luang range in the Ramkhamhaeng National Park at approximately 1,200 meters above sea level.^[14] The range has four main peaks: Khao Phu Kha, Khao Phra Mae Ya, Khao Chedi, and Pha Narai.^[15]

Most of the province lies within the basin of the Yom, its main river, while some eastern parts of Si Satchanalai and Si Nakhon belong to the Nan basin.^[13] The Yom flows for 170 kilometres (110 mi) through five of the province's nine districts from its source northward in Phayao, southward to Bang Rakam in Phitsanulok. The river overflows yearly causing floods during the monsoon season with only one sluice at Ban Hat Saphan Chan in Sawankhalok district being incapable of handling the massive water flow during the peak monsoon. During the monsoon season, water level in flood-prone areas can reach up to 1.20 meters, lasting 4 months.^[16] Many canals and streams arise from the Yom supplying most of the province, the majority of which are on the west bank of the river. The most important of which include the Mae Ramphan, Sarabop, Sam Phuang, and Mae Rak.^[13]

The province has a tropical savanna climate with three seasons; summer (February to May), monsoon season (Mau to October), and Winter (November to January).^[13]

Per 2020 census, Sukhothai province has a population of 587,883; consisting of 284,949 male and 302,934 female. Mueang is the biggest district making up approximately 17.5% of the population, while Si Nakhon is the least populous district comprising approximately 4% of the province.^[19] Per a 2025 report, 460 Thai citizens from Sukhothai province are working or have applied for a working visa abroad. The majority of which, 211, are in Taiwan.^[20]

In 2016, approximately 2,300 inhabitants are registered ethnic minorities, consisting of Hmong (33.9%), Karen (33.6%), Mien (27.5%), and Lisu (4.9%). All of them reside in Si Satchanalai district^[21]

The Gross Provincial Product (GPP) as of 2022 valued at THB 53,021 million. Majority of Sukhothai province's economy is made up of agriculture sector at 50% of its GPP, following by service sector at 42%.^[22] Rice production is the most important part of its economy, valued at more than THB 7,000 million, followed by sugarcane production at over THB 3,200 million, durians at THB 828 million, and tangerines at THB 825 million as of 2020-2021.^[22]

Agriculture makes up 59% of the province's land use; nearly 57% of which are for growing rice. Its major agricultural products include rice, sugar canes, and cassavas, among others.^[13] The province has three agricultural products with geographical indication specific to Sukhothai:^[22]

• Mae Sin tangerine (ส้มแม่สิน; som mae sin): tangerines grown in Mae Sin, and Mae Sa subdistricts of Si Satchanalai district with 32,734 rai of production area as of 2023.
• Sukhothai sapodilla (ละมุดสุโขทัย; lamut sukhothai): sapodillas with extreme sweetness grown in Sawankhalok district (Tha Thong, Pak Nam, Khlong Krachong, and Mueang Bang Yom) and Si Samrong district (Sam Ruean, and Wat Ko) with 4,355 rai of production area as of 2023.
• Mae Ya plum mangoes (มะยงชิดแม่ย่า; mayong chit mae ya): mayong chit (plum mangoes) that are from trees budded or grafted from the mae ya tree, grown in Sawankhalok district, Si Samrong district, and Mueang Sukhothai district.

Sukhothai is considered one of the country's most important producers of sugarcanes owing to its climate and topography. More than 2.6 million tonnes of sugarcanes were produced in 2021-2022, making it the fourth biggest producer in Northern Thailand.^[23] Nam Oi Nuek is a local stye of brown sugar still produced in small scale in Ko Ta Liang, Si Samrong district. The production is labour-intensive and takes 5 months to make, making it a disappearing craft of the province.^[24]

Bananas are also considered an important economic crop of Sukhothai province with over 7,000 rai of Thai banana plantation throughout the province. The number is also on the rise. Nong Tum in Kong Krailat district is home to one of Thailand's biggest centers of banana processing, where its cooperative enterprise founded in 1996 generating more than THB 1 billion in 2021 from processed banana products.^[25] The biggest plantain plantation is located in Khlong Krachong, Sawankhalok district making up more than 7,000 rai. The locale is noted for its cooperative enterprise, manufacturing of container products from plantain leaves, exporting both domestically and internationally.^[26][27]

Fishery makes up another important part of the province's economy with over 5,000 tonnes of fish caught in 2022.^[22] Fishery has been historically significant with the local communities, with Yom River and its branches being the natural sources. The abundance of fish was associated with the local belief that "the Yom will never run out of fish". The number of fish in the wild has however decreased over the years. Kong Krailat district is an important fish processing hub, producing pla ra (fermented fish) and nam pla (fish sauce).^[28][29]

Sukhothai is home to the regional factory and office for lower Northern Thailand of the state enterprise Dairy Farming Promotion Organization of Thailand, located in Si Nakhon district. Dairy farming in the province began in 1995, however it faced a decline beginning in 2003 with 66 dairy farms remaining as of 2010.^[30]

18 products from Sukhothai province are listed OTOP.^[22]

Tourism

Tourism sector generated over THB 250 million for the province in 2024.^[31] In the same year, Sukhothai province received 1,043,697 visitors; more than 90% of which are Thai nationals. The number has yet to resume to its peak 1.5 million visitors in 2019; since when the percentage of foreign visitors had also not resumed to its pre-2019 level of more than 27% of all visitors to the province.^[9]

In the country's tourism, Sukhothai is considered one of the "minor destinations". Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) noted the province for its two historical parks (Sukhothai Historical Park and Si Satchanalai Historical Park), the preserved old town centre of Sawankhalok, as well as its many centres displaying the rich craftsmanship tradition including Sangkhalok ceramic ware, traditional pa tin chok weaving and pha mak khlon ("mud-fermented cloth") dyeing Si Satchanalai district. TAT also recommends two dishes; kuai tiao sukhothai (Sukhothai noodles), and khao poep; both unique to the province.^[32]

Loy Krathong is an annual festival celebrated all over the country with history dating back to the Sukhothai Kingdom, hence it is one of the province's most important event of the year. Sukhothai Historical Park hosts the event yearly with more than 50,000 visitors in a day and accumulated over 300,000 visitors across multiple days of the celebration in 2025.^[33]

Sukhothai province has 2,932 educational institutions as of 2025; of which none are universities.^[51]

Health	Education	Employment	Income
53	49	74	44
Housing	Family	Transport	Participation
32	47	49	21
Province Sukhothai, with an HAI 2022 value of 0.6292 is "somewhat low", occupies place 55 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