1990 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1990 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
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
Coastline
3,219 km
Comparative area
slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming
Continental shelf
not specific;
Disputes
boundary dispute with Laos
Environment
air and water pollution; land subsidence in Bangkok area
Extended economic zone
200 nm;
Land boundaries
4,863 km total; Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km
Land use
34% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures; 30% forest and woodland; 31% other; includes 7% irrigated
Natural resources
tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite
Note
controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore
Terrain
central plain; eastern plateau (Khorat); mountains elsewhere
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
514,000 km2; land area: 511,770 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
20 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate
7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic divisions
75% Thai, 14% Chinese, 11% other
Infant mortality rate
34 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Labor force
26,000,000; 73% agriculture, 11% industry and commerce, 10% services, 6% government (1984)
Language
Thai; English is the secondary language of the elite; ethnic and regional dialects
Life expectancy at birth
64 years male, 70 years female (1990)
Literacy
82%
Nationality
noun--Thai (sing. and pl.); adjective--Thai
Net migration rate
0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
300,000 union members (1986)
Population
55,115,683 (July 1990), growth rate 1.3% (1990)
Religion
95.5% Buddhist, 4% Muslim, 0.5% other
Total fertility rate
2.1 children born/woman (1990)
Government
Administrative divisions
73 provinces (changwat, singular and plural); Ang Thong, Buriram, Chachoengsao, Chai Nat, Chaiyaphum, Chanthaburi, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Chon Buri, Chumphon, Kalasin, Kamphaeng Phet, Kanchanaburi, Khon Kaen, Krabi, Krung Thep Mahanakhon, Lampang, Lamphun, Loei, Lop Buri, Mae Hong Son, Maha Sarakham, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Sawan, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nan, Narathiwat, Nong Khai, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Pattani, Phangnga, Phatthalung, Phayao, Phetchabun, Phetchaburi, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Phrae, Phuket, Prachin Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Ranong, Ratchaburi, Rayong, Roi Et, Sakon Nakhon, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Sara Buri, Satun, Sing Buri, Sisaket, Songkhla, Sukhothai, Suphan Buri, Surat Thani, Surin, Tak, Trang, Trat, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, Uthai Thani, Uttaradit, Yala, Yasothon
Capital
Bangkok
Communists
illegal Communist party has 500 to 1,000 members (est.); armed Communist insurgents throughout Thailand total 300 to 500 (est.)
Constitution
22 December 1978
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador VITTHYA VEJJAJIVA; Embassy at 2300 Kalorama Road NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 483-7200; there are Thai Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York; US--Ambassador Daniel O'DONAHUE; Embassy at 95 Wireless Road, Bangkok (mailing address is APO San Francisco 96346); telephone [66] (2) 252-5040; there is a US Consulate General in Chiang Mai and Consulates in Songkhla and Udorn
Elections
House of Representatives--last held 24 July 1988 (next to be held within 90 days of July 1992); results--TNP 27%, SAP 15%, DP 13%, TCP 9%, others 36%; seats--(357 total) TNP 96, Solidarity 62, SAP 54, DP 48, TCP 31, People's Party (Ratsadon) 21, People's Party (Prachachon) 17, Force of Truth Party (Phalang Dharma) 14, United Democracy Party 5, Mass Party 5, others 4
Executive branch
monarch, prime minister, three deputy prime ministers, Council of Ministers (cabinet), Privy Council
Flag
five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double width), white, and red
Independence
1238 (traditional founding date); never colonized
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (Sarn Dika)
Leaders
Chief of State--King BHUMIBOL ADULYADEJ (since 9 June 1946); Heir Apparent Crown Prince VAJIRALONGKORN (born 28 July 1952); Head of Government Prime Minister Maj. Gen. CHATCHAI CHUNHAWAN (since 9 August 1988); Deputy Prime Minister CHUAN LIKPHAI
Legal system
based on civil law system, with influences of common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
bicameral National Assembly (Ratha Satha) consists of an upper house or Senate (Woothi Satha) and a lower house or House of Representatives (Satha Poothan)
Long-form name
Kingdom of Thailand
Member of
ADB, ANRPC, ASEAN, ASPAC, Association of Tin Producing Countries, CCC, Colombo Plan, GATT, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INRO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Birthday of His Majesty the King, 5 December (1927)
Political parties and leaders
Democrat Party (DP), Social Action Party (SAP), Thai Nation Party (TNP), People's Party (Ratsadon), People's Party (Prachachon), Thai Citizens Party (TCP), United Democracy Party, Solidarity Party, Thai People's Party, Mass Party, Force of Truth Party (Phalang Dharma)
Suffrage
universal at age 21
Type
constitutional monarchy
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 16% of GNP and 73% of labor force; leading producer and exporter of rice and cassava (tapioca); other crops--rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans; except for wheat, self-sufficient in food; fish catch of 2.2 million tons (1987)
Aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $828 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $7.0 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $19 million
Budget
revenues $12.1 billion; expenditures $9.7 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (FY89)
Currency
baht (plural--baht); 1 baht (B) = 100 satang
Electricity
7,100,000 kW capacity; 28,000 million kWh produced, 500 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
baht (B) per US$1--25.726 (January 1990), 25.699 (1989), 25.294 (1988), 25.723 (1987), 26.299 (1986), 27.159 (1985)
Exports
$19.9 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--textiles 12%, fishery products 12%, rice 8%, tapioca 8%, jewelry 6%, manufactured gas, corn, tin; partners--US 18%, Japan 14%, Singapore 9%, Netherlands, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China (1988)
External debt
$18.5 billion (December 1989 est.)
Fiscal year
1 October-30 September
GNP
$64.5 billion, per capita $1,160; real growth rate 10.8% (1989 est.)
Illicit drugs
a minor producer, major illicit trafficker of heroin, particularly from Burma and Laos, and cannabis for the international drug market; eradication efforts have reduced the area of cannabis cultivation and shifted some production to neighboring countries; opium poppy cultivation has been affected by eradication efforts, but unusually good weather boosted output in 1989
Imports
$25.1 billion (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--machinery and parts 23%, petroleum products 13%, chemicals 11%, iron and steel, electrical appliances; partners--Japan 26%, US 14%, Singapore 7%, FRG, Malaysia, UK (1987)
Industrial production
growth rate 12.5% (1989)
Industries
tourism is the largest source of foreign exchange; textiles and garments, agricultural processing, beverages, tobacco, cement, other light manufacturing, such as jewelry; electric appliances and components, integrated circuits, furniture, plastics; world's second-largest tungsten producer and third-largest tin producer
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
5.4% (1989)
Overview
Thailand, one of the more advanced developing countries in Asia, enjoyed its second straight exceptionally prosperous year in 1989. Real output again rose about 11%. The increasingly sophisticated manufacturing sector benefited from export-oriented investment, and agriculture grew by 4.0% because of improved weather. The trade deficit of $5.2 billion was more than offset by earnings from tourism ($3.9 billion), remittances, and net capital inflows. The government has followed a fairly sound fiscal and monetary policy, aided by increased tax receipts from the fast-moving economy. In 1989 the government approved new projects--roads, ports, electric power, communications--needed to refurbish the now overtaxed infrastructure. Although growth in 1990-91 must necessarily fall below the 1988-89 pace, Thailand's immediate economic outlook is good, assuming the continuation of prudent government policies in the context of a private-sector-oriented development strategy.
Unemployment rate
6% (1989 est.)
Communications
Airports
127 total, 103 usable; 56 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 13 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 26 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
41 (plus 2 leased) major transport aircraft
Highways
44,534 km total; 28,016 km paved, 5,132 km earth surface, 11,386 km under development
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
Merchant marine
122 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 483,688 GRT/730,750 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 70 cargo, 8 container, 27 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 8 liquefied gas, 1 chemical tanker, 3 bulk, 1 refrigerated cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off, 1 combination bulk
Pipelines
natural gas, 350 km; refined products, 67 km
Ports
Bangkok, Pattani, Phuket, Sattahip, Si Racha
Railroads
3,940 km 1.000-meter gauge, 99 km double track
Telecommunications
service to general public adequate; bulk of service to government activities provided by multichannel cable and radio relay network; 739,500 telephones (1987); stations--over 200 AM, 100 FM, and 11 TV in government-controlled networks; satellite earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT; domestic satellite system being developed
Military and Security
Branches
Royal Thai Army, Royal Thai Navy (includes Royal Thai Marine Corps), Royal Thai Air Force; paramilitary forces include Border Patrol Police, Thahan Phran (irregular soldiers), Village Defense Forces
Defense expenditures
2.9% of GNP, or $1.9 billion (1989 est.)
Military manpower
males 15-49, 15,617,486; 9,543,119 fit for military service; 610,410 reach military age (18) annually