ภูทอกแหล่งพระธรรม ค่าล้ำยางพารา งามตาแก่งอาฮง บึงโขงหลงเพลินใจ น้ำตกใสเจ็ดสี ประเพณีแข่งเรือ เหนือสุดแดนอีสาน นมัสการหลวงพ่อใหญ่ ศูนย์รวมใจศาลสองนาง ("Phu Thok, the source of Dharma. Valuable rubber. Beautiful A Hong Rapids. Fascnating Bueng Khong Long. Clear seven-coloured waterfalls. Boat race traditions. Northernmost of the northeast. Worship Luang Pho Yai. United by Song Nang Shrine.")
The province is in the northeastern corner of Thailand. It borders, from the south clockwise, Nakhon Phanom, Sakon Nakhon, and Nong Khai province. To the north and east it borders Bolikhamsai province of Laos, with the Mekong River forming the boundary.
Hin Sam Wan (which translates into English as Three Whale Rock) is a 75-million-year-old rock formation protruding out of the mountains. It is so named because, from certain angles, the rocks look like a family of whales.[8]
The total forest area is 280 km2 (110 sq mi), or 7% of the total provincial area.[1]
National park
There is one national park, along with six other national parks, making region 10 (Udon Thani) of Thailand's protected areas.
In 1994, Sumet Phromphanhao, a member of the House of Representatives from Nong Khai province, proposed that the province of Bueng Kan be established by consolidating the Bueng Kan, Seka, So Phisai, Bung Khla, Bueng Khong Long, Pak Khat, Phon Charoen, and Si Wilai Districts of Nong Khai province as a new province. The new province, if created, would be 4,305 km2,[11] with a population of about 390,000 inhabitants.[12] At that time, the Ministry of Interior replied that creating a new province would load a heavy burden to the state budget and was contrary to the resolution of the Council of Ministers.[13]
The proposal to create Bueng Kan province was tabled for about 20 years, until 2010 when the Ministry of Interior renewed the project and made a proposal to the Council of Ministers to have a "Bill Establishing Changwat Bueng Kan, BE..." (Thai: ร่างพระราชบัญญัติจัดตั้งจังหวัดบึงกาฬ พ.ศ....) considered.[12] In a poll at the time, 99 percent of the inhabitants of Nong Khai province supported the proposal.[12] On 3 August 2010, the Council of Ministers resolved to present the bill to the National Assembly,[14][15] citing that the proposal met its criteria for approval.[16]
Bueng Kan's climate consists of a wet season and a dry season (between December and January). The temperature decreases during November and is at its lowest in December and January. The temperature quickly increases in March, and peaks in April.[21]
Administrative divisions
Provincial government
The province is divided into eight districts (amphoe). The districts are further divided into 53 subdistricts (tambon) and 615 villages (muban).
As of 5 August 2020, there is one Bueng Kan Provincial Administrative Organization, also known as PAO (ongkan borihan suan changwat); there are also eighteen municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. The capital Bueng Kan has town (thesaban mueang) status and seventeen subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon).[22]
The non-municipal areas are administered by 39 Subdistrict Administrative
Organizations (SAO) (ongkan borihan suan tambon).[30]
Human achievement index 2022
Health
Education
Employment
Income
32
53
39
52
Housing
Family
Transport
Participation
7
24
43
54
Province Bueng Kan, with an HAI 2022 value of 0.6440 is "average", occupies place 34 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]
^รายงานสถิติจำนวนประชากรและบ้านประจำปี พ.ส.2562 [Statistics, population and house statistics for the year 2019]. Registration Office Department of the Interior, Ministry of the Interior. stat.bora.dopa.go.th (in Thai). 31 December 2019. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
^ ab"ข้อมูลสถิติดัชนีความก้าวหน้าของคน ปี 2565 (PDF)" [Human Achievement Index Databook year 2022 (PDF)]. Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) (in Thai). p. 40. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
^"ตาราง 5 พื้นที่เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่า พ.ศ. 2562" [Table 5 Wildlife Sanctuary Areas in 2019] (PDF). Department of National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Plant Conservation (in Thai). 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
^"สถิติทางการทะเบียน" [Registration statistics]. bora.dopa.go.th. Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA). December 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2020. Download จำนวนประชากร ปี พ.ศ.2562 - Download population year 2019
^"ประวัติความเป็นมา" [History]. sophisai.go.th (in Thai). 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020. So Phisai subdistrict municipality has been changed from sanitation district on 25 May 1999.
^"Number of local government organizations: Summary elevating local authorities". dla.go.th. Department of Local Administration (DLA). 12 September 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2020. No.4.31 Established Sang Subdistrict Administrative Organization (SAO), Seka district, Bueng Kan province is Sang subdistrict municipality.
^"Number of local government organizations: Summary elevating local authorities". dla.go.th. Department of Local Administration (DLA). 4 April 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2020. No.4.35 Established Bueng Khong Long Subdistrict Administrative Organization (SAO), Bueng Khong Long district, Bueng Kan province is Bueng Ngam subdistrict municipality, outside Bueng Khong Long subdistrict municipality, effectively 7 April 2012.
^"Number of local government organizations: Summary elevating local authorities". dla.go.th. Department of Local Administration (DLA). 27 August 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2020. No.4.122 Established Nong Loeng Subdistrict Administrative Organization (SAO), Mueang district, Bueng Kan province is Nong Loeng subdistrict municipality, effectively 29 August 2012.
^"Number of local government organizations: Summary elevating local authorities". dla.go.th. Department of Local Administration (DLA). 27 October 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2020. No.3.272 Established Khai Si Subdistrict Administrative Organization (SAO), Mueang district, Bueng Kan province is Khai Si subdistrict municipality.
^"Number of local government organizations: Summary elevating local authorities". dla.go.th. Department of Local Administration (DLA). 27 October 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2020. No.3.271 Established Khok Kong Subdistrict Administrative Organization (SAO), Mueang district, Bueng Kan province is Khok Kong subdistrict municipality.
^Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA), List of 5,324 SAO's information as of date 20 December 2019, 39 SAO's (no.1929-1969) were established in 1995 (1), in 1996 (15), in 1997 (17) and in 1999 (6).