Ko Lanta Noi is where the district is run from: six villages, a government centre, and the island you cross to reach Lanta
Most visitors cross Ko Lanta Noi without stopping. It holds six villages and, since 1999, the Ko Lanta district office. Registered population figures differ between sources, and the year the office moved is given as both 1998 and 1999.
Almost everyone who reaches Koh Lanta by road crosses Ko Lanta Noi first, usually without noticing. It is the smaller of the two islands, the one between the mainland and the island with the beaches. It is also where the district's government sits.
The district office moved here at the end of the 1990s
The Ko Lanta district office is at Moo 1, Ko Lanta Noi subdistrict, according to the government's official information centre. Thai Wikipedia, quoting the subdistrict authority's own history, says the reason was distance. People in Ko Klang and Khlong Yang subdistricts faced a journey of more than 30 km to the district office, which was then at Ban Si Raya (Old Town) on Ko Lanta Yai and involved roads and a vehicle ferry. The office moved to Ban Lang Sot, Moo 1, Ko Lanta Noi.
Sources disagree on the year. Thai Wikipedia's article on the district says the move was in June 1998. Its article on the subdistrict, quoting the subdistrict authority, says the office began operating on 13 May 1999. A government cultural-environment database also gives 1998. We found no gazette notice, so we give both years.
The same subdistrict history says the joint government centre also houses the public health office and the new Ko Lanta hospital. We read that as quoted on Thai Wikipedia and could not confirm it from a health ministry source, so we are not printing a hospital address. Earlier we found hospital listings that disagree on which subdistrict it is in.
Six villages
Ko Lanta Noi subdistrict has six villages, according to Thai Wikipedia's list:
- Moo 1: Ban Lang Sot
- Moo 2: Ban Khlong Mak
- Moo 3: Ban Thung
- Moo 4: Ban Lo Yai
- Moo 5: Ban Khlong Tanot
- Moo 6: Ban Thon Libong
The subdistrict borders Ko Klang to the north and Sala Dan to the south, with the Andaman Sea on its east and west sides, according to the 1998 boundary announcement as cited there.
How many people, and why the figures differ
- 6,297 registered residents in December 2024, according to Thai Wikipedia, which cites the Department of Provincial Administration.
- 6,305 in December 2022, in the district article's table citing the same department (the link it gives is dead).
- 4,345 (2,208 men and 2,137 women) on a government directory page that gives no date.
The 4,345 figure is far lower and looks older, but the page does not say. Registered population counts people on the household register, which is not the same as people living there, and we have not found a census breakdown for the subdistrict alone.
Size
The subdistrict authority gives the subdistrict as 90.41 sq km. The district article lists the island of Ko Lanta Noi at about 72.87 sq km and Ko Lanta Yai at about 78.27 sq km, which would make the two islands similar in size. The gap between 90.41 and 72.87 may be because the subdistrict includes other islets or water, but we have not confirmed that.
What we could not find
- A census or official count of the subdistrict's religion or ethnic groups. Our piece on the island's Muslim majority covers the district.
- Population by village.
- A dated history of the village names or of when the first settlers arrived.
If you live in Ko Lanta Noi and can tell us about your village, write to us.
For the crossing itself, see our piece on driving to Koh Lanta and what the bridge has to cross. For the old district seat, see Lanta Old Town.
Sources: Ko Lanta district information centre (infocenter.oic.go.th); Thai Wikipedia articles on the district and on Ko Lanta Noi subdistrict, which cite the Department of Provincial Administration and the subdistrict authority; the government directory page for the subdistrict authority. All are in Thai and were read through our own translation.
