Thailand Travel Podcast with Ploy Siriwan

Location

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

Terrain

Central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere

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

Elevation

Highest point

Doi Inthanon 2,565 m

Lowest point

Gulf of Thailand 0 m

Mean elevation

287 m

Area

Total

513,120 sq km

Land

510,890 sq km

Water

2,230 sq km

Size comparison

About three times the size of Florida; slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming

Coastline

3,219 km

Land borders

Total

5,673 km

Border countries

Burma 2,416 km; Cambodia 817 km; Laos 1,845 km; Malaysia 595 km

Natural resources

Tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land

Land use

Agricultural land

43.8% (2023 est.)

Arable land

31% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops

11.2% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture

1.6% (2023 est.)

Forest

39% (2023 est.)

Other

17.2% (2023 est.)

Natural hazards

Land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts

Note

Controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore

Population

Total

70,025,248 (2025 est.)

Male

34,101,016

Female

35,924,232

Nationality

Noun

Thai (singular and plural)

Adjective

Thai

Ethnic groups

Thai 97.5%, Burmese 1.3%, other 1.1%, unspecified <0.1% (2015 est.)

Languages

Languages

Thai (official) only 90.7%, Thai and other languages 6.4%, only other languages 2.9% (includes Malay, Burmese); English is a secondary language among the elite (2010 est.)

Major-language sample(s)

สารานุกรมโลก - แหล่งข้อมูลพื้นฐานที่สำคัญ (Thai)

Religions

Buddhist 92.5%, Muslim 5.4%, Christian 1.2%, other 0.9% (includes animist, Confucian, Hindu, Jewish, Sikh, and Taoist) (2021 est.)

Median age

Total

41.9 years (2025 est.)

Male

40.2 years

Female

42.7 years

Life expectancy

Total population

78.2 years (2024 est.)

Male

75.2 years

Female

81.3 years

Urbanisation

Urban population

53.6% of total population (2023)

Rate of urbanization

1.43% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Where people live

Highest population density is found in and around Bangkok; significant population clusters throughout large parts of the country, particularly north and northeast of Bangkok and in the extreme southern region of the country

Largest cities

11.070 million BANGKOK (capital), 1.454 Chon Buri, 1.359 million Samut Prakan, 1.213 million Chiang Mai, 1.005 million Songkla, 1.001 million Nothaburi (2023)

Background

Two unified Thai kingdoms emerged in the mid-13th century. The Sukhothai Kingdom, located in the south-central plains, gained its independence from the Khmer Empire to the east. By the late 13th century, Sukhothai’s territory extended into present-day Burma and Laos. Sukhothai lasted until the mid-15th century. The Thai Lan Na Kingdom was established in the north with its capital at Chang Mai; the Burmese conquered Lan Na in the 16th century. The Ayutthaya Kingdom (14th-18th centuries) succeeded the Sukhothai and would become known as the Siamese Kingdom. During the Ayutthaya period, the Thai/Siamese peoples consolidated their hold on what is present-day central and north-central Thailand. Following a military defeat at the hands of the Burmese in 1767, the Siamese Kingdom rose to new heights under the military ruler TAKSIN, who defeated the Burmese occupiers and expanded the kingdom’s territory into modern-day northern Thailand (formerly the Lan Na Kingdom), Cambodia, Laos, and the Malay Peninsula. In the mid-1800s, Western pressure led to Siam signing trade treaties that reduced the country’s sovereignty and independence. In the 1890s and 1900s, the British and French forced the kingdom to cede Cambodian, Laotian, and Malay territories that had been under Siamese control.

Following a bloodless revolution in 1932 that led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy, Thailand's political history was marked by a series of mostly bloodless coups with power concentrated among military and bureaucratic elites. Periods of civilian rule were unstable. The Cold War era saw a communist insurgency and the rise of strongman leaders. Thailand became a US treaty ally in 1954 after sending troops to Korea and later fighting alongside the US in Vietnam. In the 21st century, Thailand has experienced additional turmoil, including a military coup in 2006 that ousted then Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat and large-scale street protests led by competing political factions in 2008-2010. In 2011, THAKSIN's youngest sister, YINGLAK Chinnawat, led the Puea Thai Party to an electoral win and assumed control of the government.

In 2014, after months of major anti-government protests in Bangkok, the Constitutional Court removed YINGLAK from office, and the Army, led by Gen. PRAYUT Chan-ocha, then staged a coup against the caretaker government. The military-affiliated National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) ruled the country under PRAYUT for more than four years, drafting a new constitution that allowed the military to appoint the entire 250-member Senate and required a joint meeting of the House and Senate to select the prime minister -- which effectively gave the military a veto on the selection. King PHUMIPHON Adunyadet passed away in 2016 after 70 years on the throne; his only son, WACHIRALONGKON (aka King RAMA X), formally ascended the throne in 2019. The same year, a long-delayed election allowed PRAYUT to continue his premiership, although the results were disputed and widely viewed as skewed in favor of the party aligned with the military. The country again experienced major anti-government protests in 2020. The reformist Move Forward Party won the most seats in the 2023 election but was unable to form a government, and Srettha THRAVISIN from the Pheu Thai Party replaced PRAYUT as prime minister after forming a coalition of moderate and conservative parties.

Government

Constitutional monarchy

Capital

Bangkok

Time zone

UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Local name

Ratcha Anachak Thai

Independence

1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized)

National day

Birthday of King WACHIRALONGKON, 28 July (1952)

Overview

Upper middle-income Southeast Asian economy; substantial infrastructure; major electronics, food, and automobile parts exporter; globally used currency; extremely low unemployment; ongoing Thailand 4.0 economic development

GDP per capita

Real GDP per capita 2024

$21,700 (2024 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2023

$21,200 (2023 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2022

$20,800 (2022 est.)

Inflation

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024

1.4% (2024 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023

8.5% (2023 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022

-1.6% (2022 est.)

Unemployment

Unemployment rate 2024

0.7% (2024 est.)

Unemployment rate 2023

0.8% (2023 est.)

Unemployment rate 2022

1% (2022 est.)

Exchange rate

Currency

Baht per US dollar -

Exchange rates 2024

35.294 (2024 est.)

Exchange rates 2023

34.802 (2023 est.)

Exchange rates 2022

35.061 (2022 est.)

Exchange rates 2021

31.977 (2021 est.)

Exchange rates 2020

31.294 (2020 est.)

Main industries

Tourism, textiles and garments, agricultural processing, beverages, tobacco, cement, light manufacturing such as jewelry and electric appliances, computers and parts, integrated circuits, furniture, plastics, automobiles and automotive parts, agricultural machinery, air conditioning and refrigeration, ceramics, aluminum, chemical, environmental management, glass, granite and marble, leather, machinery and metal work, petrochemical, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, printing, pulp and paper, rubber, sugar, rice, fishing, cassava, world's second-largest tungsten producer and third-largest tin producer

Agriculture

Sugarcane, rice, cassava, oil palm fruit, maize, rubber, tropical fruits, chicken, mangoes/guavas, fruits (2023)

Airports

105 (2025)

Railways

Total

4,127 km (2017)

Standard gauge

84 km (2017) 1.435-m gauge (84 km electrified)

Narrow gauge

4,043 km (2017) 1.000-m gauge

Ports

Total ports

21 (2024)

Large

1

Medium

2

Small

3

Very small

15

Ports with oil terminals

14

Key ports

Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Pattani, Phuket, Sattahip, Si Racha

Internet domain

.th

Internet users

Percent of population 90% (2023 est.)

Mobile subscriptions

Total subscriptions

115 million (2024 est.)

Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

161 (2024 est.)

Environmental issues

Air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from organic and factory wastes; water scarcity; deforestation; soil erosion; illegal hunting; hazardous waste disposal

Fresh water

438.61 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

UNESCO Global Geoparks

Total global geoparks and regional networks

2

Global geoparks and regional networks

Khorat; Satun (2023)