Bangkok recorded 8,305,218 residents in Thailand’s 2010 census, making it the country’s largest city.
The census figure counts Bangkok’s special local administrative area, which covers about 1,569 square kilometres. It does not represent the entire Bangkok Metropolitan Region, whose population also includes surrounding provinces and is considerably larger.
Bangkok grew from a trading settlement on the Chao Phraya River. King Taksin made nearby Thonburi the capital in 1767, and King Rama I established the Rattanakosin capital on the river’s eastern bank in 1782. The city is officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, commonly shortened to Krung Thep.
Population comparisons can be confusing because many people commute into Bangkok from neighboring provinces, while registration statistics may omit some migrants. Even so, Bangkok is unambiguously Thailand’s primate city: it dominates the country in population, administration, finance, transport, culture, and international business. The 2010 census number is historical; later estimates are higher.