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Thailand Country Guide

Explore Thailand in Asia

Thailand with the capital city Bangkok is located in Asia (Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand). It covers some 514,000 square kilometres (slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming) with 65,493,000 citizens.

Interactive map of Thailand

The landscape offers central plain with Khorat Plateau in the east and mountains elsewhere. The average density of population is approximately 127 per km². The notable climate conditions in Thailand can be described as tropical with rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September), dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March) and southern isthmus always hot and humid. Potential threats by nature are land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table or droughts.

To reach someone in Thailand dial +66 prior to a number. There are 7,024,000 installed telephones. And there are 83,057,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900/1800/1900/3G MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".th". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 220V - 50Hz.

About the flag and history of Thailand

Thailand Flag Icon

Five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double width), white, and red; the red color symbolizes the nation and the blood of life; white represents religion and the purity of Buddhism; blue stands for the monarchy note: similar to the flag of Costa Rica but with the blue and red colors reversed.


A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century. 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 treaty ally in 1954 after sending troops to Korea and later fighting alongside the United States in Vietnam. Thailand since 2005 has experienced several rounds of political turmoil including a military coup in 2006 that ousted then Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat, followed by large-scale street protests by competing political factions in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Demonstrations in 2010 culminated with clashes between security forces and pro-THAKSIN protesters, elements of which were armed, and resulted in at least 92 deaths and an estimated $1.5 billion in arson-related property losses. THAKSIN's youngest sister, YINGLAK Chinnawat, in 2011 led the Puea Thai Party to an electoral win and assumed control of the government. YINGLAK''s leadership was almost immediately challenged by historic flooding in late 2011 that had large swathes of the country underwater and threatened to inundate Bangkok itself. Throughout 2012 the Puea Thai-led government struggled with the opposition Democrat Party to fulfill some of its main election promises, including constitutional reform and political reconciliation. Since January 2004, thousands have been killed and wounded in violence associated with the ethno-nationalist insurgency in Thailand''s southern Malay-Muslim majority provinces.



Geography Quick-Facts

SummaryContinent: Asia
Neighbours: Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia
Capital: Bangkok
Size514,000 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 198,456 square miles (mi² or sqmi)
slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming
Population65,493,000
CurrencyName Baht, Currency Code:THB
Country Top Level Domain (cTLD).th
Telephone Country Prefix+66
Mobile Phone Connections83,057,000
Landline Phone Connections7,024,000

Country Position in World Rankings

Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).

Geography

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Area513,120 (sq km)51

People and Society

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Population67,448,120 20
Population growth rate0.52 (%)150
Birth rate12.66 (births/1,000 population)156
Death rate7.47 (deaths/1,000 population)115
Maternal mortality rate48.00 (deaths/100,000 live births)110
Infant mortality rate15.41 (deaths/1,000 live births)107
Life expectancy at birth74.05 (years)115
Total fertility rate1.66 (children born/woman)175
Health expenditures3.90 (% of GDP)169
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate1.30 (%)39
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS530,000 15
HIV/AIDS - deaths28,000 13
Obesity - adult prevalence rate8.80 (%)135
Children under the age of 5 years underweight7.00 (%)76
Education expenditures3.80 (% of GDP)119
Unemployment, youth ages 15-242.70 (%)140

Economy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
GDP (purchasing power parity)662,600,000,000 25
GDP - real growth rate6.40 (%)38
GDP - per capita (PPP)10,300 116
Labor force39,770,000 16
Unemployment rate0.60 (%)4
Distribution of family income - Gini index53.60 12
Investment (gross fixed)28.80 (% of GDP)25
Taxes and other revenues17.40 (% of GDP)181
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)-3.50 (% of GDP)123
Public debt43.30 (% of GDP)82
Inflation rate (consumer prices)3.00 (%)77
Central bank discount rate3.25 (%)100
Commercial bank prime lending rate7.25 (%)124
Stock of narrow money52,210,000,000 47
Stock of broad money488,700,000,000 22
Stock of domestic credit420,400,000,000 28
Market value of publicly traded shares230,900,000,000 32
Industrial production growth rate2.50 (%)105
Current account balance-2,728,000,000 147
Exports226,200,000,000 26
Imports213,700,000,000 25
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold181,600,000,000 15
Debt - external133,700,000,000 41
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home159,200,000,000 28
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad51,590,000,000 36

Energy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Electricity - production173,300,000,000 (kWh)25
Electricity - consumption169,400,000,000 (kWh)23
Electricity - exports1,535,000,000 (kWh)47
Electricity - imports9,575,000,000 (kWh)24
Electricity - installed generating capacity32,600,000 (kW)26
Electricity - from fossil fuels89.00 (% of total installed capacity)77
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants10.90 (% of total installed capacity)114
Electricity - from other renewable sources0.20 (% of total installed capacity)88
Crude oil - production213,000 (bbl/day)40
Crude oil - exports32,200 (bbl/day)51
Crude oil - imports793,900 (bbl/day)15
Crude oil - proved reserves442,000,000 (bbl)53
Refined petroleum products - production913,600 (bbl/day)24
Refined petroleum products - consumption721,100 (bbl/day)26
Refined petroleum products - exports192,400 (bbl/day)34
Refined petroleum products - imports41,700 (bbl/day)74
Natural gas - production28,210,000,000 (cu m)31
Natural gas - consumption45,080,000,000 (cu m)21
Natural gas - imports8,810,000,000 (cu m)27
Natural gas - proved reserves299,800,000,000 (cu m)40
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy278,500,000 (Mt)22

Communications

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Telephones - main lines in use6,661,000 28
Telephones - mobile cellular77,605,000 18
Internet hosts3,399,000 31
Internet users17,483,000 23

Transportation

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Airports103 55
Railways4,071 (km)42
Roadways180,053 (km)27
Waterways4,000 (km)27
Merchant marine363 28

Military

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Military expenditures1.80 (% of GDP)77

Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases

List of current world heritage sites

NameSince
Ban Chiang Archaeological Site
Ban Chiang is considered the most important prehistoric settlement so far discovered in South-East Asia. It marks an important stage in human cultural, social and technological evolution. The site presents the earliest evidence of farming in the regi ...
1992
Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex
The Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex spans 230 km between Ta Phraya National Park on the Cambodian border in the east, and Khao Yai National Park in the west. The site is home to more than 800 species of fauna, including 112 mammal species (amon ...
2005
Historic City of Ayutthaya
Founded c. 1350, Ayutthaya became the second Siamese capital after Sukhothai. It was destroyed by the Burmese in the 18th century. Its remains, characterized by the prang (reliquary towers) and gigantic monasteries, give an idea of its past splendour ...
1991
Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns
Sukhothai was the capital of the first Kingdom of Siam in the 13th and 14th centuries. It has a number of fine monuments, illustrating the beginnings of Thai architecture. The great civilization which evolved in the Kingdom of Sukhothai absorbed nume ...
1991
Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries
Stretching over more than 600,000 ha along the Myanmar border, the sanctuaries, which are relatively intact, contain examples of almost all the forest types of continental South-East Asia. They are home to a very diverse array of animals, including 7 ...
1991