Surat Thani
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Surat Thani สุราษฎร์ธานี |
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| City Municipality | |
| Surat Thani | |
Municipal office
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 Location in Thailand |
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| Coordinates: 12°36′31″N 102°16′14″E / 12.60861°N 102.27056°E | |
| Country |
 Thailand
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| Province | Surat Thani Province |
| District | Amphoe Mueang Surat Thani |
| Elevation | 30 ft (10 m) |
| Population (2009) | |
| • Total | 128,179 |
| Time zone | ICT (UTC+7) |
Surat Thani (Thai: สุราษฎร์ธานี, IPA: [surâːt tʰaːniː], Pronunciation) is a city in Amphoe Mueang Surat Thani, Surat Thani Province, southern Thailand. It lies 651 km south of Bangkok. It is the capital of the province Surat Thani. The city has a population of 128,179 (2009), and an area of 68.97 square kilometers. The city's population density is 1,858.47 inhabitants per km².
Surat Thani is near the mouth of the river Tapi on the Gulf of Thailand. The city offers no major tourist attractions in itself, and is thus mainly known to tourists as a transfer to the nearby popular Ko Samui and Ko Pha Ngan islands. It forms the regional commercial center, with a seaport dealing in the main products of the province, rubber and coconuts.
The city received its name, which means "city of good people", by King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) in 1915. The name was given to the city due to the intense devotion of the locals to Buddhism. Previously the city was known as Bandon, meaning "village on higher ground". The name of the city is taken from the Indian city Surat in Gujarat on the Indian river Tapi. King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) gave this name to his city as he was impressed with the Indian city.
On December 21, 1930 Surat Thani became a sanitary district (sukhaphiban), which was upgraded to a town (thesaban mueang) on December 7, 1935, with a municipal area of 2.67 km². The area of the municipality was enlarged to 6.95 km² on October 14, 1958, and on December 22, 1994 it was further enlarged to 68.97 km². On May 4, 2007, the town was upgraded to city status (thesaban nakhon).
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