Amphoe

An amphoe (sometimes also amphur, Thai: อำเภอ, ) is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Usually translated as district, amphoe make up the provinces, and are analogous to a county. Amphoe are further subdivided into tambon.

Altogether Thailand has 878 districts, not including the 50 districts of Bangkok which are called khet (เขต) since the Bangkok administration reform in 1972. The number of amphoe in a province differs, from only 3 in the smallest provinces up to the 50 urban districts of Bangkok. Also the sizes and population of the amphoe differs greatly, the lowest population being in Ko Kut (Trat Province) with just 2,042 citizens, while Mueang Samut Prakan (Samut Prakan Province) has 509,262 citizens. The khet of Bangkok have the smallest areas – Khet Samphanthawong is the smallest with only 1.4 km² – while the amphoe of the sparsely populated mountain regions are bigger than some provinces – Umphang (Tak Province) with 4,325.4 km² is the largest and also has the lowest population density.

The names of the Amphoe are usually unique, but in a few cases different Thai names have the same form in English due to the flaws of the romanization system. 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 (Thai: เฉลิมพระเกียรติ) is an honorific way of addressing a member of the royal family.

Each district is led by a District Chief Officer (Nai Amphoe, นายอำเภอ), who is appointed by the Ministry of the Interior. The officer is a subordinate of the provincial governor.