Tour of Thailand
Tour of Thailand
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Race details
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Date
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Early-April
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Region
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Thailand
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English
name
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Tour
of Thailand
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Discipline
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Road
race
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Competition
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UCI
Asia Tour
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Type
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Stage
race
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History
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First
edition
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2006
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Editions
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7
(as of 2012)
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First
winner
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Most
recent
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Tour of Thailand is a road bicycle race held annually in Thailand.
It is classified as a 2.2 event on the UCI Asia Tour.
Thailand
Kingdom of Thailand
ราชอาณาจักรไทย
Ratcha Anachak Thai ประเทศไทย Prathet Thai |
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Capital
(and largest city) |
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Official language(s)
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Ethnic
groups
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Legislature
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1238–1448
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1351–1767
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1768–1782
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6
April 1782
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24
June 1932
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Total
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Water
(%)
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0.4
(2,230 km2)
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2011
estimate
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2010
census
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Density
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2011
estimate
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Total
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Per
capita
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GDP (nominal)
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2011
estimate
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Total
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Per
capita
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Gini (2009)
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HDI (2011)
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Currency
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Time zone
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Drives on the
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left
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1
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^ Thai name: กรุงเทพมหานคร Krung
Thep Maha Nakhon or Krung Thep. The full name is กรุงเทพมหานคร
อมรรัตนโกสินทร์ มหินทรายุทธยา มหาดิลกภพ นพรัตนราชธานีบุรีรมย์ อุดมราชนิเวศน์มหาสถาน
อมรพิมานอวตารสถิต สักกะทัตติยะวิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์ Krung Thep
Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat
Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit
Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit.
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2
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^ According to the Department of Provincial
Administration's official register, not taking into account unregistered citizens and
immigrants.
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Thailand (
/ˈtaɪlænd/
TY-land
or /ˈtaɪlənd/;[7]
Thai: ประเทศไทย, RTGS: Prathet
Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, RTGS: Ratcha
Anachak Thai; IPA: [râːt.tɕʰā
ʔāːnāːtɕàk tʰāj] (
listen)), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; RTGS: Sayam), is a
country located at the centre of the Indochina
peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east
by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime
boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia
and India
in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
The country is a constitutional
monarchy, headed by King Rama IX, the ninth
king of the House of Chakri, who, having reigned since 1946, is the world's longest-serving head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history.[8]
The king of Thailand is titled Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, the
Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths.
Thailand is the world's 51st-largest country in terms of total area, with an area of approximately
513,000 km2 (198,000 sq mi), and is the 20th-most-populous country,
with around 64 million people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok,
which is Thailand's political, commercial, industrial and cultural hub. About
75% of the population is ethnically Thai,
14% is of Chinese origin, and 3% is ethnically Malay;[1]
the rest belong to minority groups including Mons, Khmers and various hill tribes. The country's official language is Thai.
The primary religion is Buddhism, which is practiced by around 95% of the population.
Thailand experienced rapid economic
growth between 1985 and 1996, and is presently a newly
industrialized country and a major
exporter. Tourism also contributes significantly to the Thai economy.[9][10] There are approximately 2.2 million legal and illegal migrants
in Thailand,[11] and the country has also attracted a number of expatriates from developed countries.[12]
Etymology
The country's official name was Siam (Thai: สยาม RTGS: Sayam, pronounced [sàjǎːm]) until 23 June 1939,[13] when it was changed to Thailand. It was then renamed Siam
from 1945 to 11 May 1949, after which it was again renamed Thailand. Also
spelled Siem, Syâm or Syâma, it has been identified with
the Sanskrit
Śyâma (श्याम, meaning "dark" or "brown"). The names Shan
and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word, and Śyâma is possibly not its
origin but a learned and artificial distortion.[14]
The word Thai (ไทย) is not, as commonly believed,[citation needed] derived from
the word Tai (ไท)
meaning "independence" in the Thai language; it is, however, the name
of an ethnic group from the central plains (the Thai people).[citation needed] A famous Thai
scholar argued that Tai (ไท) simply means
"people" or "human being" since his investigation shows
that in some rural areas the word "Tai" was used instead of the usual
Thai word "kon" (คน)
for people.[15]
The Thai use the phrase "land
of the free" to express pride in the fact that Thailand is the only
country in Southeast Asia never colonized by a European power. While the Thai
people will often refer to their country using the polite form Prathet Thai
(Thai: ประเทศไทย), they most commonly use the more
colloquial word Mueang Thai (Thai: เมืองไทย) or
simply Thai (Thai: ไทย); the word mueang
(Thai: เมือง) meaning nation but most commonly used to
refer to a city or town. Ratcha Anachak Thai (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย) means "Kingdom of Thailand" or
"Kingdom of Thai".
Etymologically, its components are: -Ratcha-
(from Sanskrit raja,
meaning "king, royal, realm") ; -ana- (from Pāli āṇā,
"authority, command, power", itself from Sanskrit ājñā, same
meaning) -chak (from Sanskrit cakra
or cakraṃ
meaning "wheel", a symbol of power and rule). The Thai National
Anthem (Thai: เพลงชาติ), composed and written by Peter Feit during the extremely "patriotic" 1930s, refers to
the Thai nation as: prathet-thai (Thai: ประเทศไทย). The
first line of the national anthem is: prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat
chuea thai (Thai: ประเทศไทยรวมเลือดเนื้อชาติเชื้อไทย) and
was translated in 1939 by Colonel Luang Saranuprabhandi as: "Thailand is
the unity of Thai blood and body."
History
There is evidence of human
habitation in Thailand that has been dated at 40,000 years before the present.
Similar to other regions in Southeast Asia, Thailand was heavily influenced by
the culture and
religions of India, starting with the Kingdom of Funan around the 1st century CE
to the Khmer Empire.[16]
After the fall of the Khmer Empire
in the 13th century, various states thrived there, such as the various Tai, Mon, Khmer and Malay kingdoms, as seen through the numerous archaeological sites
and artifacts that are scattered throughout the Siamese landscape. Prior to the
12th century however, the first Thai or Siamese state is traditionally
considered to be the Buddhist kingdom of Sukhothai,
which was founded in 1238.
The ruins of Wat Chaiwatthanaram at Ayutthaya. The city was
burned and sacked
in 1767 by a Burmese
army under the King Hsinbyushin.
Following the decline and fall of
the Khmer empire in the 13th–15th century, the Buddhist Tai kingdoms of
Sukhothai, Lanna
and Lan Xang
(now Laos) were on the ascension. However, a century later, the power of
Sukhothai was overshadowed by the new kingdom of Ayutthaya, established in the mid-14th century in the lower Chao Phraya River or Menam area.
Ayutthaya's expansion centred along
the Menam while in the northern valley the Lanna Kingdom and other small Tai
city-states ruled the area. In 1431, the Khmer abandoned Angkor after the
Ayutthaya forces invaded the city.[17] Thailand retained a tradition of trade with its
neighbouring states, from China to India, Persia and Arab lands.
Ayutthaya became one of the most vibrant trading centres in Asia. European
traders arrived in the 16th century, beginning with the Portuguese, followed by the French, Dutch and English.
After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767
to the Burmese, King Taksin the Great moved the capital of Thailand to Thonburi
for approximately 15 years. The current Rattanakosin era of Thai history began
in 1782, following the establishment of Bangkok
as capital of the Chakri dynasty under King Rama I
the Great. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, "A quarter to a
third of the population of some areas of Thailand and Burma were slaves in the 17th
through the 19th centuries."[18][19]
Despite European pressure, Thailand
is the only Southeast Asian nation that has never been colonized.[20] This has been ascribed to the long succession of able
rulers in the past four centuries who exploited the rivalry and tension between
French Indochina and the British Empire. As a result, the country remained a buffer state between parts of Southeast Asia that were colonized by the
two colonizing powers, Great Britain and France. Western influence nevertheless
led to many reforms in the 19th century and major concessions, most notably
being the loss of a large territory on the east side of the Mekong to the French
and the step-by-step absorption by Britain of the Malay Peninsula.
20th
century
The losses initially included Penang
and eventually culminated in the loss of four predominantly ethnic-Malay
southern provinces, which later became Malaysia's
four northern states, under the Anglo-Siamese
Treaty of 1909.
In 1932, a bloodless
revolution carried out by the Khana Ratsadon group of military and civilian officials resulted in a
transition of power, when King Prajadhipok was forced to grant the people of Siam their first
constitution, thereby ending centuries of absolute monarchy.
During World War II, the Empire of Japan demanded the right to move troops across Thailand to the
Malayan frontier. Japan
invaded the country and engaged the Thai Army
for six to eight hours before Plaek Pibulsonggram ordered an armistice.
Shortly thereafter Japan was granted free passage, and on 21 December 1941,
Thailand and Japan signed a military alliance with a secret protocol wherein
Tokyo agreed to help Thailand regain territories lost to the British and
French. Subsequently, Thailand declared war on the United States and the United
Kingdom on 25 January 1942 and undertook to 'assist' Japan in its war against
the Allies, while at the same time maintaining an active anti-Japanese
resistance movement known as the Seri Thai.
Approximately 200,000 Asian labourers (mainly romusha)
and 60,000 Allied POWs worked on the Thailand–Burma Death Railway.[21]
After the war, Thailand emerged as
an ally of the United States. As with many of the developing nations during the
Cold War,
Thailand then went through decades of political instability characterised by coups d'état as one military regime replaced another, but eventually
progressed towards a stable prosperity and democracy in the 1980s.[citation needed]
An
example of pottery discovered near Ban Chiang in Udon Thani province, the earliest dating to 2100 BCE.
The
immense 19 meter high gilded statue of a seated Buddha in Wat Phanan Choeng, the latter from 1324, pre-dates the founding of the city.
Kosa Pan
presents King Narai's letter to Louis XIV at Versailles, 1 September 1686.
Politics
and government
Main articles: Politics of
Thailand, Constitutions
of Thailand, Law of Thailand, and Government
of Thailand
Rama IX, the current King of Thailand.
The politics of Thailand is
currently conducted within the framework of a constitutional
monarchy, whereby the Prime
Minister is the head of government and a hereditary monarch is head of state. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislative
branches.
History
Bangkok's Democracy
Monument: a representation of the 1932
Constitution sits on top of two golden offering bowls above a turret.
Since the political
reform of the absolute monarchy in 1932, Thailand has had 17 constitutions and charters.[22][23] Throughout this time, the form of government has ranged
from military dictatorship to electoral democracy, but all governments have
acknowledged a hereditary
monarch as the head of state.[24][25]
28
June 1932
Prior to 1932, the Kingdom of Siam did not
possess a legislature, as all legislative powers were vested within the person
of the monarch. This had been the case since the foundation of the Sukhothai Kingdom in the 12th century: as the king was seen as a
"Dharmaraja" or "King who rules in accordance with Dharma" (the
Buddhist law of righteousness). However on 24 June 1932 a group of civilians
and military officers, calling themselves the Khana Ratsadon (or People's Party) carried out a bloodless revolution, in
which the 150 years of absolute rule of the House of Chakri was ended. In its stead the group advocated a
constitutional form of monarchy with an elected legislature.
The "Draft Constitution"
of 1932 signed by King Prajadhipok, created Thailand's first legislature, a People's
Assembly with 70 appointed members. The assembly met for the first time on
28 June 1932, in the Ananda
Samakhom Throne Hall. The Khana Ratsadon decided that
the people were not yet ready for an elected assembly; however they later
changed their minds. By the time the "permanent" constitution came into
force in December of that year, elections were scheduled for 15 November 1933.
The new constitution also changed the composition of the assembly to 78
directly elected and 78 appointed (by the Khana Ratsadon) together compromising
156 members.
1933
to 1997
For events subsequent to the
abdication of the king, including the name change of 1939, up to the coup
d'état of 1957, see Plaek Pibulsonggram. For additional history to 1997, refer to his successors in
the List of Prime Ministers of Thailand.
1997
to 2006
Ananda
Samakhom Throne Hall, the old meeting place of the
National Assembly; now only the State Opening is held there.
The 1997 Constitution was the first
constitution to be drafted by popularly elected Constitutional Drafting
Assembly, and was popularly called the "People's Constitution".[26] The 1997 Constitution created a bicameral
legislature consisting of a 500-seat House of
Representatives (สภาผู้แทนราษฎร, sapha phutaen ratsadon)
and a 200-seat Senate (วุฒิสภา, wuthisapha). For the first
time in Thai history, both houses were directly elected.
Many human rights are explicitly
acknowledged, and measures were established to increase the stability of
elected governments. The House was elected by the first past the post system, where only one candidate with a simple majority
could be elected in one constituency. The Senate was elected based on the
province system, where one province can return more than one senator depending
on its population size.
The two houses of the National
Assembly have two different terms. In accordance with the constitution the
Senate is elected to a six year term, while the House is elected to a four year
term. Overall the term of the National Assembly is based on that of the House.
The National Assembly each year will sit in two sessions an "ordinary
session" and a "legislative session". The first session of the
National Assembly must take place within thirty days after the general election
of the House of Representatives. The first session must be opened by the king
in person by reading a Speech from the
Throne; this ceremony is held in the
Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall. He may also appoint the crown prince or a representative to carry out this duty. It is also the
duty of the king to prorogue sessions through a Royal Decree when the House term expires. The king also has the prerogative to call extraordinary sessions and prolong sessions at his
discretion.
The National Assembly may host a
"Joint-sitting" of both Houses under several circumstances. These
include: The appointment of a regent, any alteration to the 1924
Palace Law of Succession, the opening
of the first session, the announcement of policies by the Cabinet of Thailand, the approval of the declaration of war, the hearing of explanations and approval of a treaty and the
amendment of the Constitution.
Members of the House of
Representatives served four-year terms, while senators served six-year terms. The
1997 People's Constitution also promoted human rights more than any other
constitutions. The court system (ศาล, saan) included a constitutional court
with jurisdiction over the constitutionality of parliamentary acts, royal
decrees, and political matters.
The January 2001 general election, the first election under the 1997 Constitution, was called
the most open, corruption-free election in Thai history.[27] The subsequent government was the first in Thai history to
complete a four-year term. The 2005 election
had the highest voter turnout in Thai history.[28][29] Despite efforts to clean up the system, vote buying and
electoral violence remained problems of electoral quality in 2005.[30]
The PollWatch Foundation, Thailand's
most prominent election watchdog, declared that vote buying in this election,
specifically in the North and the Northeast, was more serious than in the 2001
election. The organization also accused the government of violating the
election law by abusing state power in presenting new projects in a bid to seek
votes.
2006
coup d'état
Without meeting much resistance, a military junta overthrew the interim government of Thaksin Shinawatra on 19 September 2006. The junta abrogated the constitution, dissolved Parliament and the
Constitutional Court, detained and later removed several members of the
government, declared martial law, and appointed one of the king's Privy Counselors, General Surayud Chulanont, as the Prime Minister. The junta later wrote a highly
abbreviated interim constitution
and appointed a panel to draft a new permanent constitution. The junta also
appointed a 250-member legislature, called by some critics a "chamber of
generals" while others claimed that it lacks representatives from the poor
majority.[31][32]
In this interim constitution draft,
the head of the junta was allowed to remove the prime minister at any time. The
legislature was not allowed to hold a vote of confidence against the cabinet
and the public was not allowed to file comments on bills.[33] This interim constitution was later surpassed by the
permanent constitution on 24 August
2007. Martial law was partially revoked in January 2007. The ban on political
activities was lifted in July 2007,[34] following the 30 May dissolution of the Thai Rak Thai party. The new constitution was approved by referendum on
19 August, which led to a return to a democratic
general election on 23 December 2007.
Political
crisis
The People's Power Party (Thailand), led by Samak Sundaravej formed a government with five smaller parties. Following
several court rulings against him in a variety of scandals, and surviving a
vote of no confidence, and protesters blockading government buildings and
airports, in September 2008, Sundaravej was found guilty of conflict of
interest by the Constitutional Court of Thailand (due to being a host in a TV cooking program),[35] and thus, ended his term in office.
He was replaced by PPP member Somchai Wongsawat. As of October 2008, Wongsawat was unable to gain access to
his offices, which were occupied by protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy. On 2 December 2008, Thailand's Constitutional Court in a
highly controversial ruling found the Peoples Power Party[36] guilty of electoral fraud, which
led to the dissolution of the party according to the law. It was later alleged
in media reports that at least one member of the judiciary had a telephone
conversation with officials working for the Office of the Privy Council and one
other. The phone call was taped and has since circulated on the Internet. In
it, the callers discuss finding a way to ensure the ruling PPP party would be
disbanded. Accusations of judicial interference were levelled in the media but
the recorded call was dismissed as a hoax. However, in June 2010, supporters of
the eventually disbanded PPP were charged with tapping a judge's phone.
Immediately following what many
media described as a "judicial coup", a senior member of the Armed
Forces met with factions of the governing coalition to get their members to
join the opposition and the Democrat
Party was able to form a government, a
first for the party since 2001. The leader of the Democrat party, and former
leader of the opposition, Abhisit Vejjajiva was appointed and sworn-in as the 27th Prime
Minister, together with the new cabinet on
17 December 2008.
In of April 2010, a set of new protests by the Red Shirt
opposition movement resulted in 87 deaths (mostly civilian and some military)
and 1,378 injured.[37] When the army tried to disperse the protesters on 10 April
2010, the army was met with automatic gunfire, grenades, and fire bombs from
the opposition faction in the army, known as the "watermelon". This
resulted in the army returning fire with rubber bullets and some live
ammunition. During the time of the "red shirt" protests against the
government, there have been numerous grenade and bomb attacks against
government offices and the homes of government officials. Grenades were fired
at protesters, that were protesting against the "red shirts" and for
the government, by unknown gunmen killing one pro-government protester, the
government stated that the Red Shirts were firing the weapons at civilians.[38][39][40][41]
On 3 July 2011, the oppositional Pheu Thai Party led by Yingluck Shinawatra (the youngest sister of Thaksin Shinawatra) won the general
election by a landslide (265 seats in the House of Representatives).
They could form a coalition government presided over by Yingluck.
The dress of the region.
The dress of the region has to be harmonious.
Due to the so-called fashion.
The dress is similar to that.
I recognize that people do not live in any sector. We try to revive the
view that in the earlier versions of the grandparents, you have to dress any
different.
By identifying each of the following.
A clickable map of
Thailand exhibiting its provinces.
The
southern region
The southern provinces of Thailand
showing the Malay-Muslim majority areas.
Thailand controlled the Malay Peninsula as far as Malacca in the 1400s and held much of the
peninsula, including Temasek (Singapore) some of the Andaman Islands and a colony on Java, but
eventually failed when the British used force to guarantee their suzerainty over the sultanate.
Mostly the northern states of the
Malay Sultanate presented annual gifts to the Thai king in the form of a golden flower, which understood the gesture to be tribute and an
acknowledgement of vassalage. The British intervened in the Malay State and
with the Anglo-Siamese
Treaty tried to build a railway from the
south to Bangkok. Thailand relinquished sovereignty over what are now the
northern Malay provinces of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu to the British. Satun and Pattani provinces were given to
Thailand.
The Malay peninsula provinces were
infiltrated by the Japanese during World War II, and by the Malayan Communist
Party (CPM) from 1942 to 2008, when they
decided to sue for peace with the Malaysian and Thai governments after the CPM
lost its support from Vietnam and China subsequent to the Cultural Revolution. Recent insurgent uprisings may be a continuation of
separatist fighting which started after World War II with Sukarno's support for
the PULO, and the
intensification. Most victims since the uprisings have been Buddhist and Muslim
bystanders.
Foreign
relations
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra greets U.S. President Barack Obama at the ASEAN Summit in Bali, Indonesia
The foreign relations of Thailand
are handled by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
Thailand participates fully in
international and regional organizations. It is a Major non-NATO ally and Priority Watch List Special 301 Report of the United States. The country remains an active member
of ASEAN
(Association of South East Asian Nations). Thailand has developed increasingly
close ties with other ASEAN members—Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, and Vietnam—whose foreign and
economic ministers hold annual meetings. Regional cooperation is progressing in
economic, trade, banking, political, and cultural matters. In 2003, Thailand
served as APEC host. Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, the former Deputy Prime
Minister of Thailand, currently serves as Secretary-General of the United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In 2005 Thailand attended
the inaugural East Asia Summit.
In recent years, Thailand has taken
an increasingly active role on the international stage. When East Timor gained
independence from Indonesia, Thailand, for the first time in its history,
contributed troops to the international peacekeeping effort. Its troops remain
there today as part of a UN peacekeeping force. As part of its effort to
increase international ties, Thailand has reached out to such regional
organizations as the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Thailand has contributed troops
to reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Pimpen Vejjajiva, Michelle Obama, former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and U.S. President Barack Obama on 23 September 2009, in New York.
Thaksin initiated negotiations for
several free trade
agreements with China, Australia, Bahrain,
India, and the US. The latter especially was criticized, with claims that
high-cost Thai industries could be wiped out.[42] Thaksin also announced that Thailand would forsake foreign
aid, and work with donor countries to assist in the development of neighbors in
the Greater Mekong Sub-region.[43] Thaksin was ambitious to position Thailand as a regional
leader, initiating various development projects in poorer neighbouring
countries like Laos. More controversially, he established close, friendly ties
with the Burmese dictatorship.[44]
Thailand joined the US-led invasion
of Iraq, sending a 423-strong humanitarian contingent. It withdrew its troops
on 10 September 2004. Two Thai soldiers died in Iraq in an insurgent attack.
Abhisit appointed Peoples Alliance
for Democracy leader Kasit Piromya as Foreign Minister. Prior to his
appointment, Kasit had led anti-Cambodia protests and called Cambodian Prime
Minister Hun Sen
a "gangster minded (ใจนักเลง jai-nak-leng)"
(he later claimed the word he used actually meant "a person who is
lionhearted, a courageous and magnanimous gentleman"). In April 2009,
"large-scale fighting" erupted between Thai and Cambodian troops on
territory immediately adjacent to the 900-year-old ruins of Cambodia's Preah Vihear Hindu temple near the border. The Cambodian government
claimed its army had killed at least four Thais and captured 10 more, although
the Thai government denied that any Thai soldiers were killed or injured. Two
Cambodian soldiers were killed and three Thai soldiers were killed. Both armies
blamed the other for firing first and denied entering the other's territory.[45][46]
Military
The Royal Thai Armed Forces (Thai: กองทัพไทย: Kongthap Thai) constitute
the military of the Kingdom of Thailand. They consist of the Royal Thai Army (กองทัพบกไทย), the Royal Thai Navy (กองทัพเรือไทย, ราชนาวีไทย),
and the Royal Thai Air Force (กองทัพอากาศไทย). It also incorporates
various paramilitary forces.
Currently, the Royal Thai Armed
Forces has a combined manpower of about 800,000 personnel. The Head of the Thai
Armed Forces (จอมทัพไทย: Chomthap
Thai) is King Bhumibol
Adulyadej (Rama IX),[47] although this position is only
nominal. The Armed Forces is managed by the Ministry of Defence of Thailand, which is headed by the Minister of Defence (a member of
the Cabinet of Thailand) and commanded by the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters, which in turn is headed by the Chief of Defence Forces of Thailand.[48] In 2011, Thailand's known military expenditure
totalled approximately US$5.1 billion.[49]
According to the constitution,
serving in the Armed Forces is a duty of all Thai citizens.[50] However, only males over the age of 21, who have not gone
through reserve training of the Army
Reserve Force Students, are given
the option of whether they want to volunteer for the armed forces, or choose
the random draft. The candidates are subjected to varying lengths of training,
from six months to two years of full-time service, depending on their
education, whether they have partially completed the reserve training course,
and whether they volunteered prior to the drafting date (usually 1 April every
year).
Candidates with a recognized
bachelor's degree will be subjected to one year of full-time service if they
chose the random draft, or six months if they volunteer at their respective
district office (Sasadee). Likewise, the training length is also reduced
for those who have partially completed the three-year reserve training course (Ror
Dor). A person who completed one year out of three will only have to serve
full-time for one year. Those who completed two years of reserve training will
only have to do six months of full-time training, while those who complete
three years or more of reserve training will be exempted entirely.
The Royal
Thai Armed Forces Day is celebrated on 18 January,
commemorating the victory of King Naresuan the Great in battle against the Crown Prince of Burma
in 1593.
Geography
Totalling 513,120 square kilometres
(198,120 sq mi),[1] Thailand is the world's
51st-largest country by total area. It is slightly smaller than Yemen and slightly
larger than Spain.
Satellite image of flooding in
Thailand in October 2011.
Thailand is home to several distinct
geographic regions, partly corresponding to the provincial groups. The north of
the country is the mountainous area of the Thai highlands, with the highest point being Doi Inthanon in the Thanon Thong Chai
Range at 2,565 metres (8,415 ft) above sea level. The northeast, Isan, consists of
the Khorat Plateau, bordered to the east by the Mekong River. The centre of the country is dominated by the
predominantly flat Chao Phraya river valley, which runs into the Gulf of Thailand.
Southern Thailand consists of the
narrow Kra Isthmus that widens into the Malay Peninsula. Politically, there are six geographical regions which
differ from the others in population, basic resources, natural features, and
level of social and economic development. The diversity of the regions is the
most pronounced attribute of Thailand's physical setting.
The Chao Phraya and the Mekong River
are the sustainable resource of rural Thailand. Industrial scale production of
crops use both rivers and their tributaries. The Gulf of Thailand covers
320,000 square kilometres (124,000 sq mi) and is fed by the Chao Phraya, Mae Klong,
Bang Pakong and Tapi Rivers. It contributes to the tourism sector owing to its
clear shallow waters along the coasts in the Southern Region and the Kra
Isthmus. The Gulf of Thailand is also an industrial centre of Thailand with the
kingdom's main port in Sattahip along with being the entry gates for Bangkok's
Inland Seaport.
The Andaman Sea is regarded as Thailand's most precious natural resource as
it hosts the most popular and luxurious resorts in Asia. Phuket,
Krabi,
Ranong,
Phang Nga
and Trang and their lush islands all lay along the coasts of the
Andaman Sea and despite the 2004 Tsunami, they continue to be and ever more so, the playground of
the rich and elite of Asia and the world.
Plans have resurfaced of a
logistical connection of the two bodies of water which would be coined the Thai Canal, analogous to the Suez
and the Panama Canal. Such an idea has been greeted with positive accounts by
Thai politicians as it would cut fees charged by the Ports of Singapore, improve ties with China and India, lower shipping times
and increase ship safety owing to pirate fears in the Strait of Melaka and, support the Thai government's policy of being the
logistical hub for Southeast Asia.
The ports would improve economic
conditions in the south of Thailand, which relies heavily on tourism income,
and it would also change the structure of the Thai economy moving it closer to
a services centre of Asia. The canal would be a major engineering project and
has expected costs of 20–30 billion dollars.
The local climate is tropical and
characterized by monsoons. There is a rainy, warm, and cloudy southwest monsoon from
mid-May to September, as well as a dry, cool northeast monsoon from November to
mid-March. The southern isthmus is always hot and humid.
Education
Primary school students in Thailand
Thailand enjoys a high level of
literacy, and education is provided by a well-organized school system of
kindergartens, primary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools, numerous
vocational colleges, and universities. The private sector of education is well
developed and significantly contributes to the overall provision of education
which the government would not be able to meet through the public
establishments. Education is compulsory up to and including age group 14, and
the government provides free education through to age group 17.
Chulalongkorn
University, established in 1917 is the oldest
university in Thailand.
Teaching relies heavily on rote rather
than on student-centred methodology. The establishment of reliable and coherent
curricula for its primary and secondary schools is subject to such rapid
changes that schools and their teachers are not always sure what they are
supposed to be teaching, and authors and publishers of textbooks are unable to
write and print new editions quickly enough to keep up with the volatile
situation. The issue concerning university entrance has therefore also been in
constant upheaval for a number of years. Nevertheless, education has seen its
greatest progress in the years since 2001. Most of the present generation of
students are computer literate. Thailand was ranked 54th out of 56 countries
globally for English proficiency, the second-lowest in Asia.[51]
Extensive nationwide IQ tests were
carried out in December 2010 to January 2011 on 72,780 Thai students. The
average IQ was found to be at 98.59, which is higher than previous studies have
found. The IQ levels are not consistent throughout the country though, with the
lowest average of 88.07 found in the southern region of Narathiwat and the
highest average of 108.91 reported in Nonthaburi province. The Thai Ministry of
Public Health blames the discrepancies on iodine deficiency and steps are being
taken to require that iodine be added to table salt, a practice common in many
Western countries.[52]
Science
and technology
The National Science and Technology Development
Agency is an agency
of the government of Thailand which supports research in science and technology
and their application in the Thai economy.
The Synchrotron Light Research Institute (SLRI) is a Thai synchrotron
light source for physics, chemistry, material
science and life sciences. It is located on the Suranaree University of Technology (SUT), in Nakhon Ratchasima, about 300 km north east of Bangkok. The Institute,
financed by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), houses the only
large scale synchrotron in Southeast Asia. It was originally built as the
SORTEC synchrotron in Japan and later moved to Thailand and modified for 1.2
GeV operation. It provides users with regularly scheduled light.
Economy
Bangkok,
the largest city, business and industrial centre of the country.
Hat Yai,
the largest city in the lower south
Graphical
depiction of Thailand's product exports in 28 color coded categories.
Thailand is an emerging economy and considered as a newly
industrialized country. After
enjoying the world's highest growth rate from 1985 to 1996 – averaging 12.4%
annually – increased pressure on Thailand's currency, the baht,
in 1997, the year in which the economy contracted by 1.9% led to a crisis that
uncovered financial sector weaknesses and forced the Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh administration to float the
currency, however, Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh was forced to resign
after his cabinet came under fire for its slow response to the crisis. The baht
was pegged at 25 to the US dollar from 1978 to 1997, however, the baht reached
its lowest point of 56 to the US dollar in January 1998 and the economy
contracted by 10.8% that year. This collapse prompted the Asian financial
crisis.
Thailand's economy started to recover
in 1999, expanding 4.2% and 4.4% in 2000, thanks largely to strong exports.
Growth (2.2%) was dampened by the softening of the global economy in 2001, but
picked up in the subsequent years owing to strong growth in Asia, a relatively
weak baht encouraging exports and increasing domestic spending as a result of
several mega projects and incentives of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, known as Thaksinomics. Growth in 2002, 2003 and 2004 was 5–7% annually. Growth in
2005, 2006 and 2007 hovered around 4–5%. Due both to the weakening of the US
dollar and an increasingly strong Thai currency, by March 2008, the dollar was
hovering around the 33 baht mark.
Thailand exports an increasing value
of over $105 billion worth of goods and services annually.[1]
Major exports include Thai
rice, textiles and footwear, fishery
products, rubber, jewellery, cars, computers and electrical appliances.
Thailand is the world's no.1 exporter of rice, exporting more than 6.5 million
tons of milled rice annually. Rice is the most important crop in the country.
Thailand has the highest percentage of arable land, 27.25%, of any nation in
the Greater Mekong Subregion.[53] About 55% of the arable land area is used for rice
production.[54]
Substantial industries include
electric appliances, components, computer parts and cars, while tourism in Thailand makes up about 6% of the economy. Prostitution
in Thailand and sex tourism also form a de
facto part of the economy. Cultural milieu combined with poverty and the lure
of money have caused prostitution and sex tourism in particular to flourish in
Thailand. One estimate published in 2003 placed the trade at US$4.3 billion per
year or about 3% of the Thai economy.[55] According to research by Chulalongkorn
University on the Thai illegal economy,
prostitution in Thailand in the period between 1993 and 1995, made up around
2.7% of the GDP.[56] It is believed that at least 10% of tourist dollars
are spent on the sex trade.[57]
The economy of Thailand is an
emerging economy which is heavily export-dependent, with exports accounting for
more than two thirds of gross domestic product (GDP) The exchange rate is Baht
30.90/USD as of 26 April 2012.[58]
Thailand has a GDP worth US$602
billion (on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis). This classifies Thailand as
the 2nd largest economy in Southeast Asia after Indonesia. Despite this,
Thailand ranks midway in the wealth spread in Southeast Asia as it is the 4th
richest nation according to GDP per capita, after Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia.
It functions as an anchor economy
for the neighboring developing economies of Laos, Burma, and Cambodia.
Thailand's recovery from the 1997–1998 Asian financial crisis depended mainly
on exports, among various other factors. Thailand ranks high among the world's
automotive export industries along with manufacturing of electronic goods.
Between 1997 and 2010, 4,306 mergers
& acquisitions with a total known value of USD$81
billion with the involvement of Thai firms have been announced.[59] The year 2010 was a new record in terms of value with
USD$12 billion of transactions. The largest transaction with involvement of
Thai companies has been: PTT Chemical PCL merged with PTT Aromatics and
Refining PCL valued at USD$3.8 billion in 2011.[60]
Forty-nine percent of Thailand's
labor force is employed in agriculture, however this is less than the 70% employed in 1980.[61] Agriculture has been experiencing a transition from labour
intensive and transitional methods into a more industrialised and competitive
sector.[61] Between 1962 and 1983, the agricultural sector grew by 4.1%
on average a year and continued to grow at 2.2% between 1983 and 2007.[61] However, the relative contribution of agriculture to GDP
has declined while exports of goods and services have increased. As of December
2011, the unemployment rate in Thailand stands at 0.4%.
With the instability surrounding the
recent coup and the military rule, however, the GDP growth of Thailand has
settled at around 4–5% from previous highs of 5–7% under the previous civilian
administration, as investor and consumer confidence has been degraded somewhat
due to political uncertainty. The IMF has predicted that the Thai economy will
rebound strongly from the low 0.1% GDP growth in 2011 to 5.5% in 2012, 7.5% in
2013 thanks to the accommodative monetary policy of the Bank of Thailand and a
package of fiscal stimulus measures by the incumbent Yingluck Shinawatra government.[62]
Thailand generally uses the metric
system but traditional units of measurement for land area are used, and
imperial measure (feet, inches etc.) are occasionally used with building
materials such as wood and plumbing sizes. Years are numbered as B.E. (Buddhist Era) in education, the civil service, government, and on
contracts and newspaper datelines; in banking, however, and increasingly in
industry and commerce, standard Western year (Christian or Common Era) counting
prevails.[63]
Demographics
1
|
11
|
||||||||
2
|
12
|
90,412
|
|||||||
3
|
13
|
84,509
|
|||||||
4
|
14
|
83,007
|
|||||||
5
|
15
|
79,535
|
|||||||
6
|
16
|
74,218
|
|||||||
7
|
17
|
73,170
|
|||||||
8
|
18
|
67,176
|
|||||||
9
|
113,754
|
19
|
64,607
|
||||||
10
|
109,353
|
20
|
62,896
|
||||||
Language
Ethnic map of Thailand
Historical populations
|
||
Year
|
Pop.
|
±%
|
1910
|
8,131,247
|
—
|
1919
|
9,207,355
|
+13.2%
|
1929
|
11,506,207
|
+25.0%
|
1937
|
14,464,105
|
+25.7%
|
1947
|
17,442,689
|
+20.6%
|
1960
|
26,257,916
|
+50.5%
|
1970
|
34,397,371
|
+31.0%
|
1980
|
44,824,540
|
+30.3%
|
1990
|
54,548,530
|
+21.7%
|
2000
|
60,916,441
|
+11.7%
|
2010
|
65,926,261
|
+8.2%
|
The official language of Thailand is
Thai, a Tai–Kadai language closely related to Lao, Shan
in Burma, and numerous smaller languages spoken in an arc from Hainan and Yunnan south to the
Chinese border. It is the principal language of education and government and
spoken throughout the country. The standard is based on the dialect of the
central Thai people, and it is written in the Thai alphabet, an abugida script that evolved from the Khmer script. Several other dialects exist, and coincide with the
regional designations. Southern Thai is spoken in the southern provinces, and Northern Thai is spoken in the provinces that were formerly part of the
independent kingdom of Lannathai.
Thailand is also host to several
other minority languages, the largest of which is the Lao
dialect of Isan spoken in the northeastern provinces. Although sometimes
considered a Thai dialect, it is a Lao dialect, and the region in where it is
traditionally spoken was historically part of the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang.
In the far south, Yawi, a dialect of Malay, is the primary language of the Malay
Muslims. Varieties of Chinese are also spoken by the large Chinese
population, with Teochew being best represented.
Numerous tribal languages are also
spoken, including those belonging to the Mon–Khmer
family, such as Mon, Khmer,
Viet, Mlabri
and Orang Asli; Austronesian family, such as Cham
and Moken; Sino-Tibetan family such as Lawa, Akhan,
and Karen; and other Tai languages such as Nyaw, Phu Thai,
and Saek. Hmong
is a member of the Hmong–Mien
languages, which is now regarded as a
language family of its own.
English is a mandatory school
subject, but the number of fluent speakers remains very low, especially outside
the cities.
Religion
religion
|
percent
|
|||
Buddhism
|
94.6%
|
|||
Islam
|
4.6%
|
|||
Christianity
|
0.7%
|
|||
Others
|
0.1%
|
|||
The national religion is Theravada Buddhism. Thai Buddhism ranks amongst the highest in the world.
According to the last census (2000) 94.6% of the total population are Buddhists
of the Theravada tradition. Muslims
are the second largest religious group in Thailand at 4.6%.[1][73] Thailand's southernmost provinces – Pattani,
Yala, Narathiwat and part of Songkhla
Chumphon
have dominant Muslim populations, consisting of both ethnic Thai and Malay. The
southern tip of Thailand is mostly ethnically Malay, and most Malays are Sunni Muslims. Christians represent 0.7% of the population. A small
community of Sikhs in Thailand and some Hindus also live in the country's cities. There is also a small Jewish
community in Thailand, dating back to the 17th century.
Culture
Theravada Buddhism is highly respected in Thailand.
Thai culture has been shaped by many
influences, including Indian, Lao, Burmese, Cambodian, and Chinese.
Its traditions incorporate a great
deal of influence from India, China, Cambodia, and the rest of Southeast Asia.
Thailand's national religion Theravada Buddhism is important to modern Thai
identity. Thai Buddhism has evolved over time to include many regional beliefs
originating from Hinduism, animism as well as ancestor worship. The official calendar in Thailand is based on the Eastern version of the Buddhist Era, which is 543 years ahead of the Gregorian (western)
calendar. For example, the year AD 2012 is
2555 BE in Thailand.
Several different ethnic groups,
many of which are marginalized, populate Thailand. Some of these groups overlap
into Burma,
Laos, Cambodia,
and Malaysia
and have mediated change between their traditional local culture, national Thai
and global cultural influences. Overseas Chinese also form a significant part of Thai society, particularly
in and around Bangkok. Their successful integration into Thai society has
allowed for this group to hold positions of economic and political power.
Khon
Show is the most stylised form of Thai performance.
The traditional Thai greeting, the wai,
is generally offered first by the younger of the two people meeting, with their
hands pressed together, fingertips pointing upwards as the head is bowed to
touch their face to the hands, usually coinciding with the spoken word
"Sawasdee khrap" for male speakers, and "Sawasdee ka" for
females. The elder then is to respond afterwards in the same way. Social status
and position, such as in government, will also have an influence on who
performs the wai first. For example, although one may be considerably
older than a provincial governor, when meeting it is usually the visitor who
pays respect first. When children leave to go to school, they are taught to wai
to their parents to represent their respect for them. The wai is a sign of
respect and reverence for another, similar to the namaste
greeting of India and Nepal.
Association football, however, has
possibly overtaken Muay Thai's position as most widely viewed and liked sport
in contemporary Thai society and it is not uncommon to see Thais cheering their
favourite English Premier League teams on television and walking around in
replica kits. Another widely enjoyed pastime, and once a competitive sport, is kite flying.
Thai cuisine blends five fundamental tastes: sweet, spicy, sour, bitter
and salty. Some common ingredients used in Thai cuisine include garlic,
chillies, lime juice, lemon grass, and fish sauce. The staple food in Thailand
is rice, particularly jasmine variety
rice (also known as Hom Mali rice) which
is included in almost every meal. Thailand is the world's largest exporter of
rice, and Thais domestically consume over 100 kg of milled rice per person per
year.[54] Over 5000 varieties of rice from Thailand are preserved in
the rice gene bank of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), based in the Philippines. The king of Thailand is
the official patron of IRRI.[74]
Like most Asian cultures, respect
towards ancestors is an essential part of Thai spiritual practice. Thais have a
strong sense of hospitality and generosity, but also a strong sense of social
hierarchy. Seniority is an important concept in Thai culture. Elders have by
tradition ruled in family decisions or ceremonies. Older siblings have duties
to younger ones.
Taboos in Thailand include touching
someone's head or pointing with the feet, as the head is considered the most
sacred and the foot the dirtiest part of the body. Thai society has been
influenced in recent years by its widely available multi-language press and
media. There are some English and numerous Thai and Chinese newspapers in
circulation; most Thai popular magazines use English headlines as a chic
glamor factor. Many large businesses in Bangkok operate in English as well as
other languages.
Thailand is the largest newspaper
market in Southeast Asia with an estimated circulation of over 13 million
copies daily in 2003. Even upcountry, out of Bangkok, media flourishes. For
example, according to Thailand's Public Relations Department Media Directory
2003–2004, the nineteen provinces of Isan, Thailand's
northeastern region, hosted 116 newspapers along with radio, TV and
Sports
See also: Thailand
at the Olympics, Rugby
union in Thailand, Golf in Thailand, and Football in
Thailand
Muay Thai (Thai: มวยไทย, RTGS: Muai Thai, [muɛj tʰɑj], lit. "Thai boxing") is a native form of
kickboxing and Thailand's national sport. It incorporates kicks, punches, knees
and elbow strikes in a ring with gloves similar to those used in Western boxing
and this has led to Thailand gaining medals at the Olympic Games in boxing.
Takraw
(Thai: ตะกร้อ) is a sport native to Thailand, which the
players hit a rattan ball and only be allowed to use their feet, knees, chest
and head to touch the ball. Sepak takraw is a form of this sport which appears in volley ball style,
the players must volley a ball over a net and force it to hit the ground on
oppnent's side. It is a popular in other countries in Southeast Asia also. A
rather similar game but played only with the feet is Buka ball.
Rugby is also a growing sport in
Thailand with the Thailand national rugby union team rising to be ranked 61st in the world.[75] Thailand became the first country in the world to host an
international 80 kg welterweight rugby tournament in 2005.[76] The national domestic Thailand Rugby Union (TRU)
competition includes several universities and services teams such as Chulalongkorn
University, Mahasarakham
University, Kasetsart
University, Prince
of Songkla University, Thammasat
University, Rangsit University, the Thai Police, the Thai Army, the Thai Navy and the Royal Thai Air
Force. Local sports clubs which also
compete in the TRU include the British Club of Bangkok, the Southerners Sports Club (Bangkok) and the Royal Bangkok Sports Club.
Thailand has been called the Golf
Capital of Asia[77] as it is a popular destination
for golf. The country attracts a large number of golfers from Japan, Korea,
Singapore, South Africa and Western countries who come to play golf in Thailand
every year.[78] The growing popularity of golf, especially among the middle
classes and expats, is evident since there are more than 200 world-class golf
courses nationwide,[79] and some of them are chosen to host PGA and LPGA
tournaments, such as Amata
Spring Country Club, Alpine Golf & Sports Club,
Thai Country Club and Black Mountain Golf Club.
Muay Thai
Pone Kingpetch, 1960s Muay Thai champion.
Basketball is also a growing sport
in Thailand, especially on the professional sports club level. The Chang
Thailand Slammers won the 2011 Asean Basketball
League Championship.[80] The Thailand national basketball team had its most successful year at the 1966 Asian Games
where it won the silver medal.[81]
Thammasat Stadium is a multi-purpose
stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. It is currently used mostly for football matches.
The stadium holds 25,000. It is located in Thammasat University's Rangsit
campus. It was built for the 1998 Asian Games by construction firm Christiani and Nielsen, the same
company that constructed the Democracy Monument in Bangkok.
Rajamangala
National Stadium is the biggest sporting arena in
Thailand. It currently has a capacity of 65,000. It is located in Bang Kapi,
Bangkok. The stadium was built in 1998 for the 1998 Asian Games and is the home
stadium of Thailand national football team up to present.
Other sports in Thailand are slowly
growing as the country develops its sporting infrastructure. The success in
sports like weightlifting and Taekwondo at the last two Summer Olympic Games has demonstrated that
boxing is no longer the only medal chance for Thailand.
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