Ko Lipe

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Ko Lipe

Ko Lipe beach
Geography
Location	Southeast Asia
Coordinates	6°29′21.8″N 99°18′6.4″E / 6.489389°N 99.301778°E / 6.489389; 99.301778
Adjacent to	Strait of Malacca
Area	2 km2 (0.77 sq mi)
Administration
Thailand
Province	Satun
District	Mueang Satun
Subdistrict	Ko Sarai

Ko Lipe (Thai: เกาะหลีเป๊ะ, pronounced [kɔ̀ʔ lǐːpéʔ]) is a small island in the Adang-Rawi Archipelago of the Strait of Malacca, in Satun Province of southwest Thailand, close to the Malaysian border. Its Thai name, the corrupted form of the original Malay name, Pulau Nipis ('thin island') is transliterated in many different ways into English. The most common names are "Koh Lipe", "Koh Lipeh", "Ko Lipey", and "Ko Lipe".^[1]

Ko Lipe is on the border of the Tarutao National Marine Park and is directly south of the larger islands Ko Adang and Ko Rawi, and about 50 km from the island of Ko Tarutao.^[2] It was originally settled by a group of Malayic-speaking people, sea gypsies (chao leh in Thai and 'orang laut' in Malay), known as the Urak Lawoi’ people.

The islands economy is largely centered around tourism, especially because of its white sandy beaches and scuba diving.