The national census on population and housing was conducted in April, with all people living in Phuket urged to take part in the poll.
Foreign residents who have lived in Phuket for three months or more, as of Apr 1 [or since Jan 1, 2025 or earlier], were also required to take part in the census in the hope that officials would finally have a more accurate understanding of the actual number of people living on the island.
NSO Phuket gives Phuket’s current population as 429,583, while the latest estimates by key Phuket figures is that the island is currently home to about 2 million people.
The official population is a crucial factor in the central government determining budgets for Phuket, including major development projects such as those for traffic, drains for flood prevention and government support services.
For decades the central government has been allocating budgets for Phuket based on a much lower number of residents than in reality. The census earlier this year was seen as an opportunity to correct that ignorance.
However, NSO Phuket Director Hasanah Lekhim told The Phuket News that the figures remain unavailable because the processing at the central NSO office is not yet complete, and the data cannot be released until the central NSO office is finished.
The final report is expected in early March next year.
Ms Hasanah explained that the delay is due to the extensive procedures required. “Once data collection is finished, all information is sent to the NSO headquarters. The NSO then analyses and combines the data with information gathered by our officers to produce a complete provincial overview,” she said.
She noted that the last full census in Phuket, carried out 15 years ago, covered 982 areas and recorded 184,795 buildings and 209,235 households. “These figures are from 2010, and we know the real numbers are now higher,” she said.