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Thailand | |
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| Thailand | Introduction | Top of Page |
| Background: | A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century; it was known as Siam until 1939. Thailand is the only southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US ally following the conflict. |
| Thailand | Geography | Top of Page |
| Location: | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma |
| Geographic coordinates: | 15 00 N, 100 00 E |
| Map references: | Southeast Asia |
| Area: |
total:
514,000 sq km
land: 511,770 sq km water: 2,230 sq km |
| Area - comparative: | slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming |
| Land boundaries: |
total:
4,863 km
border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km |
| Coastline: | 3,219 km |
| Maritime claims: |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: | tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid |
| Terrain: | central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere |
| Elevation extremes: |
lowest point:
Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m |
| Natural resources: | tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land |
| Land use: |
arable land:
34%
permanent crops: 6% permanent pastures: 2% forests and woodland: 26% other: 32% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated land: | 44,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Natural hazards: | land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts |
| Environment - current issues: | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from organic and factory wastes; deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by illegal hunting |
| Environment - international agreements: |
party to:
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea |
| Geography - note: | controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore |
| Thailand | People | Top of Page |
| Population: |
61,797,751
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years:
23.43% (male 7,380,273; female 7,099,506)
15-64 years: 69.95% (male 21,304,051; female 21,921,383) 65 years and over: 6.62% (male 1,796,325; female 2,296,213) (2001 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 0.91% (2001 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 16.63 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death rate: | 7.54 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Sex ratio: |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | 30.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: |
total population:
68.86 years
male: 65.64 years female: 72.24 years (2001 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 1.87 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 2.15% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 755,000 (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 66,000 (1999 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun:
Thai (singular and plural)
adjective: Thai |
| Ethnic groups: | Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11% |
| Religions: | Buddhism 95%, Muslim 3.8%, Christianity 0.5%, Hinduism 0.1%, other 0.6% (1991) |
| Languages: | Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.8% male: 96% female: 91.6% (1995 est.) |
| Thailand | Government | Top of Page |
| Country name: |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Thailand
conventional short form: Thailand former: Siam |
| Government type: | constitutional monarchy |
| Capital: | Bangkok |
| Administrative divisions: | 76 provinces (changwat, singular and plural); Amnat Charoen, Ang Thong, Buriram, Chachoengsao, Chai Nat, Chaiyaphum, Chanthaburi, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Chon Buri, Chumphon, Kalasin, Kamphaeng Phet, Kanchanaburi, Khon Kaen, Krabi, Krung Thep Mahanakhon (Bangkok), Lampang, Lamphun, Loei, Lop Buri, Mae Hong Son, Maha Sarakham, Mukdahan, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Sawan, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nan, Narathiwat, Nong Bua Lamphu, Nong Khai, Nonthaburi, Pa |