Background:
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| 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 following the conflict. A military coup in September 2006 ousted then Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat. The interim government held elections in December 2007 that saw the former pro-THAKSIN People's Power Party (PPP) emerge at the head of a coalition government. The anti-THAKSIN People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) in May 2008 began street demonstrations against the new government, eventually occupying the prime minister's office in August. Clashes in October 2008 between PAD protesters blocking parliament and police resulted in the death of at least two people. The PAD occupied Bangkok's international airports briefly, ending their protests in early December 2008 following a court ruling that dissolved the ruling PPP and two other coalition parties for election violations. The Democrat Party then formed a new coalition government with the support of some of THAKSIN's former political allies, and ABHISIT Wetchachiwa became prime minister. Since January 2004, thousands have been killed as separatists in Thailand's southern ethnic Malay-Muslim provinces increased the violence associated with their cause. |
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Location:
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| Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma
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Geographic coordinates:
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15 00 N, 100 00 E
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Map references:
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Area:
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total: 513,120 sq km
country comparison to the world: 57
land:
510,890 sq km
water:
2,230 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming
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Land boundaries:
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total: 4,863 km
border countries:
Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km
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Coastline:
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3,219 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
continental shelf:
200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
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Climate:
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tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid
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Terrain:
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central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point:
Doi Inthanon 2,576 m
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Natural resources:
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tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land
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Land use:
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arable land: 27.54%
permanent crops:
6.93%
other:
65.53% (2005)
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Irrigated land:
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49,860 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources:
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409.9 cu km (1999)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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total: 82.75 cu km/yr (2%/2%/95%)
per capita:
1,288 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards:
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land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts
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Environment - current issues:
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air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from organic and factory wastes; deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by illegal hunting
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
Law of the Sea
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Geography - note:
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controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore |
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Population:
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| 65,905,410
country comparison to the world: 21
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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2009 est.)
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 20.8% (male 7,009,845/female 6,691,470)
15-64 years:
70.5% (male 22,977,945/female 23,512,538)
65 years and over:
8.7% (male 2,594,387/female 3,119,225) (2009 est.)
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Median age:
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total: 33.3 years
male:
32.4 years
female:
34.2 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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0.615% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 148
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Birth rate:
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13.4 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 155
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Death rate:
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7.25 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 127
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Net migration rate:
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NA (2009 est.)
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Urbanization:
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urban population: 33% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization:
1.7% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.83 male(s)/female
total population:
0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 17.63 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 117
male:
18.9 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
16.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 73.1 years
country comparison to the world: 110
male:
70.77 years
female:
75.55 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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1.65 children born/woman (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 178
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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1.4% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 46
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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610,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 18
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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30,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 17
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Major infectious diseases:
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degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial diarrhea
vectorborne diseases:
dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria
animal contact disease:
rabies
water contact disease:
leptospirosis
note:
highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)
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Nationality:
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noun: Thai (singular and plural)
adjective:
Thai
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Ethnic groups:
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Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11%
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Religions:
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Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.1% (2000 census)
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Languages:
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Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
92.6%
male:
94.9%
female:
90.5% (2000 census)
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
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total: 14 years
male:
13 years
female:
14 years (2006)
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Education expenditures:
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4.2% of GDP (2005)
country comparison to the world: 99
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