People, Education & Language

Like much of the rest of Northern Thailand, Chiang Rai province is something of a geopolitical melting pot. Set between the former colonial empires of the French in Indochina, the British in Burma and the historic empire of China, there has been a tendency for many of the diverse ethnic groups of Southeast Asia to migrate here. National boundaries have had little effect on this movement of peoples - and the Thais themselves migrated to this rich and fertile land under pressure from the powerful Chinese Empire some 1200 years ago to build the Lanna Tai kingdom.

Chiang Rai province is the country's twelfth largest both in terms of physical area and in population size. Statistics for 1998 estimated the population to be 1,268,569. The majority of the populace lives in and around the provincial capital and in the towns of Phan and Mae Chan. The remainder residing in the many villages and smaller towns scattered throughout the province's thirteen districts and three sub-districts.

Like Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai is also home to a number of different hilltribe communities who can be found settled on the steep mountain slopes that surround much of the province.

In 1996 statistics reported that there were 818 schools with 8,262 classrooms and some 9,884 teachers for 206,182 students.

Although perhaps not as instantly recognizable as their neighbors from Chiang Mai, the local people of Chiang Ra also speak with a very different Thai accent and lilt. Most noticeable is the softness and speed of voice - which is a good deal slower compared to the rest of the country - especially when compared to Thai people from the south.

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