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Phuket Island

Phuket
ภูเก็ต
Province
Official seal of Phuket
Seal
Map of Thailand highlighting Phuket Province
Map of Thailand highlighting Phuket Province
Country Thailand
Capital Phuket City
Government
 • Governor Chokchai Det-amonthan (since October 2016)
Area
 • Total 576 km2 (222 sq mi)
Area rank Ranked 75th
Population (2015)
 • Total 386,605
 • Rank Ranked 68th
 • Density 1,042/km2 (2,700/sq mi)
 • Density rank Ranked 6th
Time zone ICT (UTC+7)
ISO 3166 code TH-83
Phuket
PhuketMap.png
Map of Phuket (beaches in brown)
Geography
Location Andaman Sea
Coordinates 7°53′24″N 98°23′54″E / 7.89000°N 98.39833°E / 7.89000; 98.39833
Area 576 km2 (222 sq mi)
Length 50 km (31 mi)
Width 20 km (12 mi)
Highest elevation 529 m (1,736 ft)
Highest point Khao Mai Thao Sip Song
Administration
Thailand
Demographics
Population 600,000 (2013)
Pop. density 1,042 /km2 (2,699 /sq mi)

Phuket (Thai: ภูเก็ต,  [pʰūː.kèt]) is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands off its coast. It lies off the west coast of Thailand in the Andaman Sea. Phuket Island is connected by the Sarasin Bridge to Phang Nga Province to the north. The next nearest province is Krabi, to the east across Phang Nga Bay.

Phuket Province has an area of 576 square kilometres (222 sq mi), somewhat less than that of Singapore, and is the second-smallest province of Thailand. It formerly derived its wealth from tin and rubber, and enjoys a rich and colorful history. The island was on one of the major trading routes between India and China, and was frequently mentioned in foreign ship logs of Portuguese, French, Dutch, and English traders. The region now derives much of its income from tourism.

The relatively recent name "Phuket" (of which the digraph ph represents an aspirated p) is apparently derived from the word bukit (Jawi: بوكيت) in Malay which means "hill", as this is what the island appears like from a distance. An alternative suggestion is that the name originates from two Thai words, "phu" (mountain) of "ket" (jewel), and this is said to be recorded in a Thai chronicle.

Phuket was formerly known as Thalang (ถลาง Tha-Laang), derived from the old Malay "telong" (Jawi: تلوڠ) which means "cape". The northern district of the province, which was the location of the old capital, still uses this name. In Western sources and navigation charts, it was known as Jung Ceylon or Junkceylon (a corruption of the Malay Tanjung Salang, i.e., "Cape Salang"),


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Wikipedia

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