17 Facts About Isan

Isan is Thailand's largest region, located on the Khorat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River to the north and east, by Cambodia to the southeast and the Sankamphaeng Range south of Nakhon Ratchasima.

Lao Isan people are aware of their Lao ethnic origin, but Isan has been incorporated as a territory into the modern Thai state through over one hundred years of administrative and bureaucratic reforms, educational policy, and government media.

Isan has a number of important Bronze Age sites, with prehistoric art in the form of cliff paintings, artifacts and early evidence of rice cultivation.

Isan is roughly coterminous with the Khorat Plateau, which tilts gently from its northwestern corner where it is about 213 m above sea level to the southeast where the elevation is only about 62 metres .

The other main river in Isan is the Chi River, which flows through central Isan before turning south to meet the Mun in Sisaket Province.

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Isan is home to one-third of Thailand's population of 67 million, but contributes only ten per cent to the national GDP.

Many Isan people seek higher-paying work outside the region, particularly in Bangkok.

The Khmer-speaking minority and the Kuy people, who live in the south of Isan, speak Austroasiatic languages and follow customs more similar to those of Cambodia than to those of the Thai and Lao, who are Tai peoples.

Currently written with the Thai alphabet, Isan belongs to the Chiang Saeng and Lao–Phutai language groups, which along with Thai are members of the Tai languages of the Kra–Dai language family.

Isan is home to many speakers of Austroasiatic languages, with one and one-half million speakers of the Northern Khmer dialect and one-half million speakers of the Kuy language, both of which are found in the southernmost provinces of Isan.

Isan's culture is predominantly Lao, and has much in common with that of the neighbouring country of Laos.

Isan food has elements most in common with Laos and is somewhat distinct from central Thai cuisine.

One of the best-known types of Isan silk is mut-mee, which is tie-dyed to produce geometric patterns on the thread.

People of Isan celebrate many traditional festivals, such as the Bun Bungfai Rocket Festival.

Isan is known for producing a large number of muay Thai boxers.

Process of Thaification, resulting from central Thais' perceived threat of Lao cultural dominance in the Isan region, has diluted somewhat the distinctive character of Isan culture, particularly in the cities and in provinces, such as Khorat, which are closest to the central Thai heartlands and which have been under Thai rule the longest.

Isan is divided into 20 provinces, grouped into three statistical subregions.