Narathiwat (, ; Malay: Menara) is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from west clockwise) Yala and Pattani. To the south it borders the Malaysian states of Kelantan and Perak. The southern railway line ends in this province, which is one of the nation's four provinces that border Malaysia. The province features a range of cultures as well as natural resources, and is relatively fertile. Narathiwat is about 1,140 kilometers south of Bangkok and has an area of . Seventy-five percent of the area is jungle and mountains and has a tropical climate.
Toponymy
The former name of Narathiwat was Menara (Jawi: ), meaning 'minaret' or 'tower' in Malay, the pre-Islamic name is unknown. This became Bang Nara () or Bang Nak () in Thai, but was changed to Narathiwat by King Rama VI in 1915. "Narathiwat", from the Sanskrit (Nara+adhivāsa), means the residence of wise people.
History
Historically, Narathiwat was the part of the semi-independent Malay Sultanate of Patani, paying tribute to the Thai kingdoms of Sukhothai and Siamese Ayutthaya Kingdom. After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, the Sultanate of Patani gained full independence but returned under Thai control during the reign of King Rama I (r. 1782–1809), 18 years later, and in the early–1800s was divided into seven smaller kingdoms.
In 1909, Narathiwat was fully integrated into Siam as part of Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 negotiated with the British Empire. Along with Yala, Narathiwat was then part of Monthon Pattani.
Geography
Narathiwat province is on the Gulf of Thailand, on the Malay Peninsula. The Bang Nara is the main river and enters the Gulf of Thailand at the town of Narathiwat. Narathat Beach, the most popular in the province, is near the estuary. The total forest area is or 26.6 percent of provincial area.
The inhabitants of Narathiwat are largely farmers and fishermen. Narathiwat is an area with various religious places of historical significance.
Symbols
The provincial seal shows a sailing boat with a white elephant on the sail. A white elephant is a royal symbol, and was put on the seal to commemorate the white elephant Phra Sri Nararat Rajakarini which was caught here and presented to the king.
The provincial symbol is the longkong fruit (Lansium parasiticum). The provincial tree is the Chengal (Neobalanocarpus heimii), and the provincial flower is the Odontadenia macrantha. The ornamental fish harlequin rasbora (Trigonostigma heteromorpha), are fish that live in swampy water conditions. In Thailand, they are found only in Narathiwat's Pa Phru To Daeng, and on the ground, this species of cyprinid is the provincial aquatic life.
Administrative divisions
Provincial government
Narathiwat is divided into 13 districts (amphoe), which are further divided into 77 subdistricts (tambon) and 551 villages (muban).
thumb|300px|Map of thirteen districts
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;"
|-
! No.
! Name
! Thai
! Jawi
! Malay
|-
|1||Mueang Narathiwat||
||منارا||Menara
|-
|2||Tak Bai||
||تابا||Taba
|-
|3||Bacho ||
||باچك||Bahcok
|-
|4||Yi-ngo||
||جريڠ||Jeringo
|-
|5||Ra-ngae||
||ليگيه||Legeh
|-
|6||Rueso||
||روسو،جابا||Ruso, Jaba
|-
|7||Si Sakhon||
||ساكا، كوال كاواي||Saka, Kuala Kaway
|-
|8||Waeng||
||رأويڠ||Raweang
|-
|9||Sukhirin||
||فاجاك||Pajak
|-
|10||Su-ngai Kolok||
||سوڠاي گولوك||Sungai Golok
|-
|11||Su-ngai Padi||
||سوڠاي فادي||Sungai Padi
|-
|12||Chanae||
||چيني||Cene
|-
|13||Cho-airong||
||جوك ايروڠ||Jok Irong
|}
Local government
300px|thumb|Princess of Naradhiwas University
As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Narathiwat Provincial Administration Organisation (') and 16 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. Narathiwat, Sungai Kolok and Tak Bai have town (thesaban mueang) status. Further 13 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon). The non-municipal areas are administered by 72 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations – SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).
Education Systems
Narathiwat has many schools which classified as primary school, elementary school, high school and university.
Princess of Naradhiwas University is a university in Narathiwat province which aims to distribute the equality, equity, and opportunity to local citizen by merging all educational institutions in the province. Those institutions are Narathiwat Technical College, Narathiwat Agricultural & Technology College, Takbai Vocational College, and Boromarjonani College of Nursing, Narathiwat
Transportation
Air
As of January 2026 Narathiwat Airport (Code: NAW) has two direct flights from and to Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport (DMK) daily, as well as one direct flight from and to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK). All three flights arrive at and depart from NAW between the late morning to early afternoon hours. These are all operated by Air Asia, the only airline currently offering flights to and from Narathiwat.
Rail
Although there is no direct access to Mueang Narathiwat District, Narathiwat's main railway station and nearest to Mueang District is Tanyong Mat Railway Station, on the Southern Line, in Ra-ngae District. Other major stations along the line in Narathiwat include Rueso, Su-ngai Kolok, Su-ngai Padi and Cho-airong. Distance to Narathiwat by rail is roughly 1100 kilometres from Bangkok Railway Station.
Road
Highway 42 is considered as main highway in Narathiwat and its terminus, Su-ngai Kolok.
Health
Narathiwat is mostly served by public hospitals. Its main hospital is Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra Hospital and the province has one university hospital which is Galyanivadhanakarun Hospital of the Faculty of Medicine, Princess of Naradhiwas University.
Human achievement index 2022
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="width:400px;"
|-
| style="text-align:center; width:100px; background:black; color:white;"| Health
| style="text-align:center; width:100px; background:black; color:white;"| Education
| style="text-align:center; width:100px; background:black; color:white;"| Employment
| style="text-align:center; width:100px; background:black; color:white;"| Income
|-
| 95px
| 100px
| 100px
| 100px
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:black; color:white;"| 26
| style="text-align:center; background:black; color:white;"| 75
| style="text-align:center; background:black; color:white;"| 54
| style="text-align:center; background:black; color:white;"| 42
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:black; color:white;"| Housing
| style="text-align:center; background:black; color:white;"| Family
| style="text-align:center; background:black; color:white;"| Transport
| style="text-align:center; background:black; color:white;"| Participation
|-
| style="height:100px;"| 100px
| center|85px
| 100px
| 90px
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:black; color:white;"| 56
| style="text-align:center; background:black; color:white;"| 1
| style="text-align:center; background:black; color:white;"| 38
| style="text-align:center; background:black; color:white;"| 59
|-
| colspan="4"; style="background:black; color:white;"| Province Narathiwat, with an HAI 2022 value of 0.6233 is "low", occupies place 64 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.
Khao Kong Buddhist Park
A minority of the people in Narathiwat are Buddhist. Although a minority, there are Buddhist temples in the same amphoe as the mosque. These include Khao Kong Buddhist Park, which occupies an area of 142 rai () in Tambon Lamphu about nine kilometers from town on the Narathiwat-Rangae Road.