There are nine municipal (thesaban) areas within the province. The capital Phuket has city (thesaban nakhon) status. Patong and Kathu have town (thesaban mueang) status. There are further six sub-district municipalities (thesaban tambon)—Karon, Thep Krasattri, Choeng Thale, Ratsada, Rawai, and Wichit. The non-municipal areas are administered by nine tambon administrative organizations (TAO).