Thailand
By
Rungthip Wilawan,
Vannamas Viriyakul,
Rattana Vinyoovanich
Origin of the Thai People:
Until recently the bias of opinion regarding the origin of the Thai was
that they came from China. The belief
was that the peoples in northwest Szechuan province migrated southward into Thailand.
Archaeological diggings in the village of Ban Chiang in the Udonthani province
of Northeast Thailand have found evidence of an ancient civilization. It seems that metallurgy was know to these
people more than 3500 years ago. With
the new evidence of a more advanced society residing in Udonthani archeologists
now believe that the Thais are incipient and migrated from Thailand out to
other parts of Asia including those of China.
Prior to 1939 Thailand had be known to the world as Siam. It was also
known as Siam from 1945-49. In 1949 an
official proclamation turned Siam into "Prathet Thai" or "Land
of the Free." Free in the Thai
sense meant that Thailand was about the only country in Southeast Asia that was
not colonized.
Thailand
Geography:
Thailand is situated in Southeast Asia with Burma/Myanmar to its west,
Laos to its north and northeast, Cambodia/Kampuchea to its east, and Malaysia
and Singapore to its south. Its
coastline to the south is over 1840 kilometers long. Thailand spans an area of more than half a million square
kilometers. The Kingdom of Thailand has
been a unified monarchy since 1350.
TOPOGRAPHY
Thailand is divided into four natural regions
1. The
North
2. The
Central Plains or Chao Phraya River Basin
3. The
Northeast or the Korat Plateau
4. The
south or the Southern Peninsula
Thailand is a constitutional
monarchy.
The north of Thailand is a mountainous region with many forests. The region is an agricultural area with
temperate fruits such as apples, strawberries, and peaches, grown during the
cooler winter months. The area is a
destination for many international as well as domestic tourists. Its ancient temples, natural beauty, and
cottage industries, make it a natural tourist destination. Chiang Mai is the major city in the region
and is the center of the farming communities there. Chiang Mai has a lively marketplace for the agricultural products
grown in the north. Chiang Mia also
plays host to a cottage industry with products such as umbrellas, silverware,
willowware, woodcarving, and silk. The
north is the cultural and religious center of Thailand. It has many ancient temples. Also, a few native tribes still practice
their ancient culture in the forests of the north. Tourist to the northern region also can look forward to watching
elephants. Elephants are still used in
production of teak wood by haling teak logs out of the thick forests.
Central Thailand is sometimes referred to as "The Rice Bowl of
Asia" due to its highly productive rice fields. The Chao Phraya River runs
through this are which is a fertile valley.
The early history of Thailand is concentrated in this valley, as
plentiful food had attracted the original Thais here. The capital of Thailand has long been in the central region. Currently Bangkok is the capital. It is a
thriving metropolis of over 7 million people.
The Korat Plateau in the northeast region is a mildly hilly area. Floods
and droughts often making it a harsh area to inhabit visit it. That said there are still over 20 million
Thai in Korat. The area is also known
as "Isan" and is predominantly an agricultural area. It is a somewhat isolated region, and as
such, it has developed its own distinct cultural elements. Spicy food, folk dances, festivals of the
region have hints of Laotian and Khmer cultures in them. The people of the area would seem to have
their roots in the Laotian area. As we
referred to earlier, recent excavations in Udonthani (of Korat) have altered
the beliefs of the origin of Thais.
Khmer influence in the region can be seen by the numerous ancient
temples strewn throughout the region.
Some of the temples date back to the 12th century.
The southern region is a long peninsula with the Andaman Sea tots he
west and the Gulf of Thailand to the east.
The area is hilly to mountainous and is blanketed with forest. In the Gulf are some of the world most
beautiful islands. Phuket, Samui, and
the islands of the Phannga Bay are known for their beautiful beaches and fantastic
scenery inland. The southern region was
part of the Srivijaya Empire in ancient times and has historical sites from
this period. Like Malaysia, the
southern region of Thailand is known for its rubber production and it also
produces tin. The south has the fastest
growing tourist industry in Thailand.
One interesting and perhaps unique aspect of the southern culture is its
bull-fighting. Unlike bull fighting in places such as Mexico or Spain, this
bull fighting is between two bulls and not between a man and a bull.
Thailand Population
- 1. Total Population 61,752,000
- 2. Population by Sex
Male 30,734,000
Female 31,018,000
- 3. Population in Urban Areas 19,528,000
- 4. Population in Rural Areas 42,224,000
- 5. Population by Region
Northern 11,548,000
Northeastern 21,057,000
Southern 8,151,000
Central (excluding Bangkok Metropolis) 13,771,000
Bangkok Metropolis 7,225,000
- 6. Population By Age Group
Children (Under 15) 16,048,000
Labor force (15 - 59) 40,402,000
Aged (60 and Over) 5,302,000
School ages (6 - 21) 17,894,000
- 7. Natural Growth Rate (percent) 1.0
|
Thailand's Economic Indicators
(1996-2000)
| | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000* |
Gross Domestic Product
(1988 prices) | 3,095,000 | 3,057,800 | 2,770,400 | 2,867,400 | 2,982,100 |
| Growth rate (%) | 5.5 | -1.3 | -9.4 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| Agriculture (%) | 3.8 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
| Manufacturing (%) | 6.9 | 0.2 | -9.1 | 5.0 | 7.0 |
| Construction (%) | 6.1 | -22.6 | -37.5 | -15.0 | -5.0 |
| Services and Others | 6.4 | 2.5 | -5.4 | 5.0 | 6.0 |
| Exports | 1,378,902 | 1,789,695 | 2,180,847 | 2,213,600 | 2,302,100 |
| Growth rate (%) | -0.2 | 29.8 | 21.9 | 1.5 | 4.0 |
| Imports | 1,796,549 | 1,874,545 | 1,677,864 | 1,846,000 | 1,993,600 |
| Growth rate (%) | 2.3 | 4.3 | -10.5 | 10.0 | 8.0 |
| Trade Balance | -417,647 | -84,380 | 502,983 | 367,600 | 308,500 |
| Trade Balance/GDP | -9.1 | -1.8 | 10.9 | 7.3 | 5.4 |
| Current Account Balance | -372,159 | -40,307 | 592,086 | 432,700 | 361,000 |
| Current Account Balance/GDP | -8.1 | -0.9 | 12.9 | 8.5 | 6.4 |
| Deposits of Commercial Bank | 3,683,100 | 4,308,697 | 4,688,356 | 4,946,200 | 5,242,900 |
| Growth rate (%) | 13.3 | 17.0 | 8.8 | 5.5 | 6.0 |
| Loans of Commercial Bank | 4,825,057 | 6,037,464 | 5,372,260 | 5,157,400 | 5,363,700 |
| Growth rate (%) | 14.1 | 25.1 | -11.0 | -4.0 | 4.0 |
| Inflation rate (%) | 5.9 | 5.5 | 8.1 | 0.5 | 2.0 |
| Tourist Arrivals | 7.19 | 7.22 | 7.76 | 8.40 | 9.00 |
| Growth rate (%) | 3.5 | 0.4 | 7.5 | 8.2 | 7.1 |
| Tourism Revenues | 219,364 | 220,754 | 242,177 | 280,000 | 334,000 |
| Growth rate (%) | 15.0 | 0.6 | 9.7 | 15.6 | 19.3 |