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Kingdom of Thailand
Thailand (Thai: ประเทศไทย, officially the Kingdom of Thailand), is a country in Southeast Asia. It borders Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Andaman Sea (part of the Indian Ocean) and the Gulf of Thailand (part of the Pacific Ocean). The country is governed as a constitutional monarchy. King Bhumibol Adulyadej has been head of state since 1946. The capital of Thailand and by far the largest city in the country is Bangkok. Thailand is a member of the Group of Twenty.
The approximately 69.1 million residents are 75% ethnic Thai and around 15% Chinese; a Muslim minority, the Malays, live in southern Thailand. Buddhism is the country's dominant religion.
The territory of Thailand occupies a significant part of the land area of Southeast Asia and extends southeast of the last foothills of the Himalayas to the Malay Peninsula, enclosing the Gulf of Thailand, a marginal sea of the South China Sea. The shape of the land in Thailand is vaguely reminiscent of the head of an elephant. The maximum extent in the north-south direction is 1,770 km and in the east-west direction it is 780 km. The total border length is 5,326 km. The coastline length in the Gulf of Thailand is 1,878 km and in the Andaman Sea is 937 km. Overall, Thailand has an area of 513,115 km². Thailand lies between 5° 37' and 20° 27' north latitude and between 97° 22' and 105° 37' east longitude.[3]
The northern region is mountainous and is home to the highest point in the country: Doi Inthanon (2565 m). The northeast (Isaan) consists of the Khorat plateau, a landscape that is bone dry in summer but flooded in the rainy season and does not allow intensive agriculture. Irrigation projects and dams are intended to remedy this. The population there is poorer than the country average. In the north and east of Isaan, the Mekong forms the border with Laos.
The central region is dominated by the Chao Phraya, which supplies water to the fertile land and flows into the Gulf of Thailand south of Bangkok. The eastern region is agricultural and lies on the Gulf of Thailand. The beautiful beaches and offshore islands led to increased tourism. The Central Plain and the Eastern Seaboard are the economic heart of the country. The southern region lies on the elongated Malay Peninsula, which separates the Pacific Ocean from the Indian Ocean. The Isthmus of Kra forms the narrowest point between the two seas and is only 64 km wide. This is why it is also called “thin neck” in Thailand. Mountain landscapes (in the northern part the Tenasserim Mountains on the border with Myanmar, in the extreme south the Sankalakhiri mountains bordering Malaysia), rainforest and dream beaches alternate.
In addition to the capital Bangkok, larger cities include: Chiang Mai, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Nakhon Ratchasima (formerly Khorat), Khon Kaen and Chonburi.
Thailand is divided into six regions with 76 provinces, the names of the provinces and their capitals are usually identical.
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