Thai Malays
ไทยเชื้อสายมลายู ملايو تاي Orang Melayu Thailand Oré Jawi Bangso Yawi Oghae Nayu | |
|---|---|
Thai Malay boys in Songkhla | |
| Total population | |
| 1.5 million (2018, est.) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Thailand Malaysia | |
| Languages | |
Malayic languages
| |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam, with small minorities adhering to Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Malays |
Thai Malays (Standard Malay: Orang Melayu Thailand/Siam, Thai: ไทยเชื้อสายมลายู: Jawi: ملايو تاي; Pattani Malay: Oré Nayu Siae, Bangso Yawi; Bangkok Malay: Oghae Nayu Thai), with officially recognised terms including 'Malayu-descended Thais' and 'Malay', is a term used to refer to ethnic Malay citizens of Thailand, the sixth largest ethnic group in Thailand. Thailand is home to the third largest ethnic Malay population after Malaysia and Indonesia. Most Malays live primarily in the four southernmost provinces of Yala, Narathiwat, Satun and Pattani. They live in one of the country’s poorest regions. They also live in Songkhla, Phuket and Ranong. Trang province, home to a sizeable Muslim population, also has many people who are of Malay descent. Some live in Thailand's capital, Bangkok. They are descended from migrants or deportees who were relocated from the South from the 13th century onwards.