Country name:

Thailand

Conventional long form: Kingdom of Thailand
Conventional short form: Thailand
Former: Siam

Government type:

Constitutional monarchy

Capital:

Bangkok

Administrative divisions:

76 provinces

Independence:

1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized)

National holiday:

Birthday of King PHUMIPHON, 5 December (1927)

Constitution:

New constitution signed by King PHUMIPHON on 11 October 1997

Population:

62,354,402
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 2002 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 23.3% (male 7,404,227; female 7,121,083)
15-64 years: 69.9% (male 21,469,186; female 22,090,520)
65 years and over: 6.8% (male 1,868,632; female 2,400,754) (2002 est.)

Location:

Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma

Geographic coordinates:

15 00 N, 100 00 E

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Area:

Total: 514,000 sq km
Water: 2,230 sq km
Land: 511,770 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

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: 32.88%
Permanent crops: 7%
Other: 60.12% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:

47,490 sq km (1998 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, Desertification, 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

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