of Thailand which have a Muslim majority: 76.77 percent are Muslim and 23.02 percent are Buddhists. Most of the Muslims have some ethnic-Malay ancestry, though only 9.9 percent of the present-day population claims to be ethnically Malay, a result of the effective language shift process from Malay to Thai amongst its populace. The majority language in Satun province is Southern Thai, while the Malay dialect used in Satun is distinctly different from Patani Malay and is much closer to the Kedah dialect of Malay. Since Satun had belonged to the Kedah Sultanate, which had a strong relationship for many centuries with both Ayutthaya and Siam under the Chakri dynasty, its Malay Muslims commonly intermarry with Thai Buddhists without serious religious hesitation. This custom has created a distinct social group known as samsam, meaning a mixed person. Most samsams, if not all, are Muslims. Unlike the other Muslim majority provinces in Thailand, Satun does not have a history of political confrontation with the central power in Bangkok or of tension with the Buddhist population which makes up the majority of Thailand as a country. Malay Muslims in Satun are substantially assimilated and rarely sympathise with separatism from Thailand, in contrast to the Malay Muslims in Pattani, Narathiwat, and Yala. Administrative divisions Provincial government Satun is divided into seven districts (amphoe). These are further divided into 36 subdistricts (tambon) and 277 villages (muban). Originally, the province was divided into two districts, Mambang and Thung Wa, and the minor district (king amphoe) La-ngu. Due to the decline of pepper production in Thung Wa District, in 1930 the government made Thung Wa a minor district and instead declared La-ngu a district. In 1939 Mambang was renamed to Mueang Satun. Khuan Kalong was split off from Mueang district in 1969, from which in turn Tha Pae was split in 1976 and Manang in 1996. In 1973 Thung Wa regained district status. Khuan Don was established in 1975 by splitting it from Mueang district. Local government As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Satun Provincial Administration Organisation () and 7 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. Satun has town (thesaban mueang) status. Further 6 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon). The non-municipal areas are administered by 34 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations - SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon). Economy According to a Satun Provincial Office spokesman, the province's tourism income rose from two to 6.3 billion baht from 2010