Thai Malays

Thai Malays (Malay: Melayu Thai, Thai: ไทยเชื้อสายมลายู, Yawi: ملايو تاي) is a term used to refer to ethnic Malays in Thailand. Thailand hosts the third largest ethnic Malay population after Malaysia and Indonesia, and most Malays are concentrated in the Southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Songkhla and Satun.

Ethnic Malays in Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala and Songkhla due in part to cultural differences from the Thai people as well as past experiences of forced attempts to assimilate them into Thai mainstream culture after the eventual annexation of Pattani Kingdom by the Sukhothai Kingdom. On the other hand, ethnic Malays in Satun are less inclined towards separatism. Ethnic Malays in Satun are more proficient in Thai as compared to the Malays from the other states, and their dialect have strong affinities to those of Perlis.

People of mixed Thai and Malay ancestry are known as Samsam, which forms the bulk of Satun's population but also a significant minority in Phatthalung, Trang, Krabi, Phang Nga and Songkhla as well as in the Malaysian states of Kedah, Perak and Perlis. Samsams are generally adherents of Islam but culturally Thai, although Malay influences are co-dominant. Phuket and Ranong, home to a sizeable Muslim population, also has many people who are of Malay descent. A sizeable community also exists in Bangkok itself, having descended from migrants or prisoners who were relocated from the South from the 13th century onwards.