1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
514,820 km2; 24% in farms, 56% forested, 20% other
Coastline
3,219 km
Land boundaries
4,868 km WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
12 nm (fishing 200 nm; exclusive economic zone 200 nm)
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
75% Thai, 14% Chinese, 11% minorities
Labor force
78% agriculture, 15% services, 7% industry
Language
Thai; English secondary language of elite
Literacy
82%
Nationality
noun—Thai (sing. and pl.); adjective—Thai
Population
49,823,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 2.1%
Religion
95.5% Buddhist, 4% Muslim, 0.5% Christian
Government
Branches
King is head of state with nominal powers; semiparliamentary system reestablished 22 April 1979; judiciary relatively independent except in important political subversive cases
Capital
Bangkok
Communists
strength of illegal Communist Party is about 1,200; Thai Communist insurgents throughout Thailand total an estimated 9,000
Elections
last held April 1979; next scheduled for April 1983 Political parties: Social Action Party, Thai Nation Party, Thai People's Party, Thai Citizen Party, Democrat Party, Freedom and Justice Party, Nation and People Party, New Force Party, National Democracy Party; other small parties represented in parliament along with numerous independents
Government leaders
King BHUMIBOL ADULYADEJ, Prime Minister Gen. PREM TINSULANONDA
Legal system
based on civil law system, with influences of common law; legal education at Thammasat University; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Member of
ADB, ANRPC, ASEAN, ASPAC, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMCO, IMF, IPU, ITC, ITU, SEAMES, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO; negotiations underway for membership in GATT
National holiday
National Day, 5 December
Official name
Kingdom of Thailand
Political subdivisions
71 centrally controlled provinces
Type
constitutional monarchy
Economy
Agriculture
main crops—rice, sugar, corn, rubber, tapioca
Budget
(FY82) estimate of expenditures, $7.3 billion; Defense Ministry budget, $1.4 billion
Electric power
3,830,820 kW capacity (1980); 14.543 million kWh produced (1980), 330 kWh per capita
Exports
$6.5 billion (f.o.b., 1980); rice, sugar, corn, rubber, tin, tapioca, kenaf
Fiscal year
1 October-30 September
Fishing
catch 2.1 million metric tons (1979); major fishery export, shrimp, 18,628 metric tons, about $116 million (1979); total marine export, estimated $249 million (1978) ,
GNP
$32 billion (1980), $680 per capita; 6% real growth in 1980 (8.2% real growth, 1975-79)
Imports
$9.6 billion (c.i.f., 1980); machinery and transport equipment, fuels and lubricants, base metals, chemicals, and fertilizer
Major industries
agricultural processing, textiles, wood and wood products, cement, tin and tungsten ore mining; world's second largest tungsten producer and third largest tin producer
Major trade partners
exports—Japan, US, Singapore, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Malaysia; imports—Japan, US, West Germany, UK, Singapore, Saudi Arabia; about 1% or less trade with Communist countries
Monetary conversion rate
20.48 baht=US$1
Shortages
fuel sources, including coal, petroleum; scrap iron, and fertilizer
Communications
Airfields
162 total, 120 usable; 56 with permanent-surface runways; 13 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 27 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
25 major transport aircraft
Highways
27,498 km total; 21,742 km paved, 5,756 km crushed stone and soil aggregate
Inland waterways
3,999 km principal waterways; 3,701 km with navigable depths of 0.9 m or more throughout the year; numerous minor waterways navigable by shallow-draft native craft
Ports
2 major, 16 minor
Railroads
3,830 km meter gauge (1.000 m), 97 km double track
Telecommunications
service to general public adequate; bulk of service to government activities provided by multi-channel cable and radio-relay network; satellite ground station; domestic satellite system being developed; 451,409 telephones (1.0 per 100 popl.); approx. 150 AM, 15 FM, and 10 TV transmitters in government-controlled networks
Military and Security
Military budget
for fiscal year ending 30 September 1982, $1,427 million; 19.5.% of central government budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, 12,323,000; 7,570,000 fit for military service; about 589,000 reach military age (18) annually