The town of Maha Sarakham is the provincial capital. It is the home of Mahasarakham University, one of the largest universities in northeast Thailand with 41,000 students (2017),[5] and Rajabhat Mahasarakham University.
Geography
The province is mostly a plain covered with rice fields. Only in the north and east are there small hills. The province is between 130 and 230 m above sea level. The main river is the Chi. The total forest area is 214 km2 (83 sq mi) or 3.8 percent of provincial area.[1]
History
From the 8th to 10th centuries, several Buddhist relics originated from the ancient town of Champasi which is now in Amphoe Na Dun. Such relics, such as the Relic of Lord Buddha has led spectulation of an kingdom being located in the province. During this time and after, the province continued as a Buddhist center in Isan.[6]
Maha Sarakham was originally a satellite town of Roi Et, founded in 1865. The governor of Roi Et sent 9,000 people to populate the new town, and one of his cousins as its governor. In 1868 the central government in Bangkok declared Maha Sarakham a province of its own under the supervision of Bangkok. One of the reasons was that this step weakened the power of Roi Et.[citation needed]
On April 3, 2023, provincial police arrested a 38-year-old man who they seized 322,000 methamphetamine tablets from him. He had been selling these in Ubon Ratchathani province and several other nearby provinces.[7]
Symbols
The provincial seal shows a tree in front of rice fields, symbolizing the richness of resources in the province.
The provincial flag shows the seal in the middle, in a brown horizontal strip. Above and below is a yellow strip. The brown color symbolizes the strength and the perseverance of the people in the province, who live in the rather dry climate; the yellow color symbolizes the robes of Buddhist monks as evidence of the faith of the people.
As of 26 November 2019 there are:[8] one Maha Sarakham Provincial Administration Organisation (ongkan borihan suan changwat) and 19 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. Maha Sarakham has town (thesaban mueang) status. Further 18 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon). The non-municipal areas are administered by 123 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations - SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).[2]
Human achievement index 2017
Health
Education
Employment
Income
12
40
45
62
Housing
Family
Transport
Participation
26
29
60
21
Province Maha Sarakham, with an HAI 2017 value of 0.5937 is "average", occupies place 33 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]
Rank
Classification
1 - 15
"high"
16 - 30
"somewhat high"
31 - 45
"average"
45 - 60
"somewhat low"
61 - 77
"low"
Map with provinces and HAI 2017 rankings
Rice maturing in the paddy in rural Maha Sarakham province.
References
^ ab"ตารางที่ 2 พี้นที่ป่าไม้ แยกรายจังหวัด พ.ศ.2562" [Table 2 Forest area Separate province year 2019]. Royal Forest Department (in Thai). 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2021, information, Forest statistics Year 2019, Thailand boundary from Department of Provincial Administration in 2013((cite web)): CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^ abรายงานสถิติจำนวนประชากรและบ้านประจำปี 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. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
^"Number of local government organizations by province". dla.go.th. Department of Local Administration (DLA). 26 November 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019. 42 Maha Sarakham: 1 PAO, 1 Town mun., 18 Subdistrict mun., 123 SAO.
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