It seems to be largely accepted that Chiang Mai is the second biggest city in Thailand in terms of population. (well at least most foreigners have this perception)
But the city proper has a population which wouldn’t qualify Chiang Mai for the top 10 of most populous cities in Thailand…
For example, Hat Yai is more populated than Chiang Mai with an area twice as small as Chiang Mai…
Even if we take the all district of Chiang Mai, you still have tons of districts more populated…
The metropolitan area of chiang Mai is supposed to be the second metropolitan area in Thailand with over 1.2 million inhabitants… (while the province itself (one of the largest in terms of area) has only 1.8 million people… )
even by adding the population of all neighboring districts and reaching an area of 1450km2… I can only find a population of 650.000 people… and a population density very low (less than 500/km2)…
Which is way smaller than the metropolitan area of Chonburi-Si Racha-Pattaya (3 districts, 1500km2 and over a million people)
It’s hardly the second largest city of Thailand, is it just simply because many foreigners travel / live there compared to less famous cities such as Hat Yai, Korat, muang Chonburi, Si racha etc… ?
