| Basic Facts |
| Official name |
Kingdom of Thailand |
| Capital |
Bangkok |
| Area |
513,115 sq km |
|
198,115 sq mi |
| People |
| Population |
64,265,276 (2003 estimate) |
| Population growth |
| Population growth rate |
0.95 percent (2003 estimate) |
| Projected population in 2025 |
73,260,176 (2025 estimate) |
| Projected population in 2050 |
73,950,633 (2050 estimate) |
| Population density |
125 persons per sq km (2003 estimate) |
|
324 persons per sq mi (2003 estimate) |
| Urban/rural distribution |
| Share urban |
20 percent (2001 estimate) |
| Share rural |
80 percent (2001 estimate) |
| Largest cities, with population |
| Bangkok |
7,358,300 (1998 estimate) |
| Nakhon Ratchasima |
260,500 (1998 estimate) |
| Nonthaburi |
476,300 (1998 estimate) |
| Chiang Mai |
159,000 (1998 estimate) |
| Songkhla |
288,000 (1998 estimate) |
| Ethnic groups |
| Thai |
75 percent |
| Chinese |
14 percent |
| Malay |
3 percent |
| Khmer, Hmong, Karen, and other |
8 percent |
| Languages |
| Thai (official), English, Chinese, Malay, Lao, and Mon-Khmer |
| Religious affiliations |
| Buddhist (Theravada) |
85 percent |
| Muslim |
7 percent |
| Christian |
2 percent |
| Nonreligious |
2 percent |
| Other |
4 percent |
| Health and Education |
| Life expectancy |
| Total |
71.2 years (2003 estimate) |
| Female |
73.5 years (2003 estimate) |
| Male |
69.1 years (2003 estimate) |
| Infant mortality rate |
22 deaths per 1,000 live births (2003 estimate) |
| Population per physician |
2,738 people (1996) |
| Population per hospital bed |
502 people (1995) |
| Literacy rate |
| Total |
96 percent (2003 estimate) |
| Female |
94.6 percent (2003 estimate) |
| Male |
97.5 percent (2003 estimate) |
| Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) |
5.2 percent (1999-2000) |
| Number of years of compulsory schooling |
9 years (2000) |
| Number of students per teacher, primary school |
21 students per teacher (1999-2000) |
| Government |
| Form of government |
Constitutional monarchy |
| Head of state |
King |
| Head of government |
Prime minister |
| Legislature |
Bicameral legislature |
|
House of Representatives: 500 members |
|
Senate: 200 members |
| Voting qualifications |
Universal at age 18 and older |
| Constitution |
| 11 October 1997 |
| Highest court |
Supreme Court |
| Armed forces |
Army, Navy, Air Force |
| Total number of military personnel |
306,000 (2001) |
| Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) |
1.7 percent (2001) |
| First-level political divisions |
76 provinces |
| Economy |
| Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) |
$114.7 billion (2001) |
| GDP per capita (U.S.$) |
$1,870 (2001) |
| GDP by economic sector |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing |
10.2 percent (2001) |
| Industry |
40.5 percent (2000) |
| Services |
49.3 percent (2000) |
| Employment |
| Number of workers |
37,156,980 (2001) |
| Workforce share of economic sector |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing |
49 percent (1999) |
| Industry |
18 percent (1999) |
| Services |
33 percent (1999) |
| Unemployment rate |
2.4 percent (2000) |
| National budget (U.S.$) |
| Total revenue |
$19,557 million (2000) |
| Total expenditure |
$22,058 million (2000) |
| Monetary unit |
1 baht (B), consisting of 100 satangs |
| Agriculture |
| Rice, cassava, rubber, sugarcane, maize, pineapples, coconuts, kenaf, livestock |
| Mining |
| Natural gas, lignite, gemstones, zinc, lead, tin, gypsum, iron ore, manganese |
| Manufacturing |
| Textiles and garments, electronics and electrical goods, cement, refined sugar, refined petroleum, motor vehicles, cigarettes |
| Major exports |
| Textiles and garments, electronic goods (especially semiconductors), prawns, rice, rubber, precious gems, cassava, sugar |
| Major imports |
| Petroleum and petroleum products, machinery, chemicals, iron and steel |
| Major trade partners for exports |
| United States, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, and Malaysia |
| Major trade partners for imports |
| Japan, United States, Singapore, China, and Malaysia |
| Energy, Communications, and Transportation |
| Electricity production |
| Electricity from thermal sources |
91.28 percent (2001 estimate) |
| Electricity from hydroelectric sources |
6.36 percent (2001 estimate) |
| Electricity from nuclear sources |
0 percent (2001 estimate) |
| Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources |
2.36 percent (2001 estimate) |
| Number of radios per 1,000 people |
234 (1997) |
| Number of telephones per 1,000 people |
99 (2001) |
| Number of televisions per 1,000 people |
281 (2000 estimate) |
| Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people |
12 (2001) |
| Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people |
65 (1996) |
| Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people |
104 (1997) |
| Paved road as a share of total roads |
98 percent (1999) |
| Sources |
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org). Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Government section
Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance. Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the latest Europa World Yearbook and various International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications. Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Note: Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding. |
