PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME: Kingdom
of Thailand
Geography
Area: 513,115 sq. km. (198,114 sq. mi.); equivalent
to the size of France, or slightly smaller than
Texas.
Cities 2002: Capital--Bangkok (9,668,854); Nakhon
Ratchasima (437,386 for Muang district and 2,565,685
for the whole province), Chiang Mai (247,672 for
Muang district and 1,595,855 for the whole province).
Terrain: Densely populated central plain; northeastern
plateau; mountain range in the west; southern isthmus
joins the land mass with Malaysia.
Climate: Tropical monsoon.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Thai(s).
Population (2003): 64 million. Labor force (2003):
34.9 million
Annual growth rate: 0.9%.
Ethnic groups: Thai 89%, other 11%.
Religions: Buddhist 94-95%, Muslim 4-5%, Christian,
Hindu, Brahmin, other.
Languages: Thai (official language); English is
the second language of the elite; regional dialects.
Education: Years compulsory--12. Literacy—97.1%
male, 93.9% female.
Health (2004): Infant mortality rate--6.5/1,000.
Life expectancy—65.2 years male, 73.4 years female.
Government
Type: Constitutional monarchy.
Constitution: New constitution promulgated October
11, 1997.
Independence: Never colonized; traditional founding
date 1238.
Branches: Executive--king (chief of state), prime
minister (head of government). Legislative--National
Assembly (bicameral). Judicial--composed of the
Constitutional Court, the Courts of Justice, and
the Administrative Courts.
Administrative subdivisions: 76 provinces, including
Bangkok municipality, subdivided into 795 districts,
81 subdistricts, 7,255 tambon administration, 69,866
villages.
Political parties: Multi-party system; Communist
Party is prohibited.
Suffrage: Universal and compulsory at 18 years of
age.
Economy
GDP (2003): $143.1 billion.
Annual growth rate (2003): 6.8 %; (2004, projected):
6-7%.
Per capita income (2003): $2,237.
Unemployment rate (2003): 2.2% of total labor force
Natural resources: Tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten,
tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite.
Agriculture (10% of GDP): Products--rice, tapioca,
rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans.
Industry: Types--tourism, textiles, garments, agricultural
processing, cement, integrated circuits, jewelry,
electronics, auto assembly.
Trade (2003): Merchandise exports--$78.4 billion:
textiles and footwear, fishery products, computers
and parts, electronics, electrical appliances, jewelry,
rice, tapioca products, integrated circuits, rubber,
automobiles. Major markets-- ASEAN, U.S., EU, Japan,
China, and Hong Kong. Merchandise imports--$74.2
billion: machinery and parts, petroleum, iron and
steel, chemicals, vehicles and parts, jewelry, fish
preparations, electrical appliances, fertilizers
and pesticides. Major suppliers--Japan, ASEAN, EU,
Middle East, U.S., China, Taiwan, and South Korea.
PEOPLE
Thailand's population is relatively homogeneous.
More than 85% speak a dialect of Thai and share
a common culture. This core population includes
the central Thai (33.7% of the population, including
Bangkok), Northeastern Thai (34.2%), northern Thai
(18.8%), and southern Thai (13.3%).
The language of the central Thai population is the
language taught in schools and used in government.
Several other small Thai-speaking groups include
the Shan, Lue, and Phutai.
Up to 12% of Thai are of significant
Chinese heritage, but the Sino-Thai community is
the best integrated in Southeast Asia. Malay-speaking
Muslims of the south comprise another significant
minority group (2.3%). Other groups include the
Khmer; the Mon, who are substantially assimilated
with the Thai; and the Vietnamese. Smaller mountain-dwelling
tribes, such as the Hmong and Mein, as well as the
Karen, number about 788,024.
The population is mostly rural, concentrated in
the rice-growing areas of the central, northeastern,
and northern regions. However, as Thailand continues
to industrialize, its urban population--31.6% of
total population, principally in the Bangkok area--is
growing.
Thailand's highly successful government-sponsored
family planning program has resulted in a dramatic
decline in population growth from 3.1% in 1960 to
around 1% today. Life expectancy also has risen,
a positive reflection of Thailand's efforts at public
health education. However, the AIDS epidemic has
had a major impact on the Thai population. Today,
over 600,000 Thais live with HIV or AIDS--approximately
1.5% of the adult population. Each year until at
least 2006, 30-50,000 Thais will die from AIDS-related
causes. Ninety percent of them will be aged 20-24,
the most productive sector of the workforce. The
situation could have been worse; an aggressive public
education campaign in the early 1990s reduced the
number of new HIV infections from 150,000- 195,000
annually. In a July 2004 report however, the UNDP
warned that Thailand’s past successes could be undone
amid signs of complacency and rising infection rates
among certain segments of the population.
The constitution mandates 12 years of free education,
however, this is not provided universally. Education
accounts for 19% of total government expenditures.
Theravada Buddhism is the official religion of Thailand
and is the religion of about 95% of its people.
The government permits religious diversity, and
other major religions are represented. Spirit worship
and animism are widely practiced.
HISTORY
Southeast Asia has been inhabited for more than
half a million years. Recent archaeological studies
suggest that by 4000 BC, communities in what is
now Thailand had emerged as centers of early bronze
metallurgy. This development, along with the cultivation
of wet rice, provided the impetus for social and
political organization. Research suggests that these
innovations may actually have been transmitted from
there to the rest of Asia, including to China.
The Thai are related linguistically to Tai groups
originating in southern China. Migrations from southern
China to Southeast Asia may have occurred in the
6th and 7th centuries. Malay, Mon, and Khmer civilizations
flourished in the region prior to the arrival of
the ethnic Tai.
Thais date the founding of their nation to the 13th
century. According to tradition, in 1238, Thai chieftains
overthrew their Khmer overlords at Sukhothai and
established a Thai kingdom. After its decline, a
new Thai kingdom emerged in 1350 on the Chao Praya
River. At the same time, there was an equally important
Tai kingdom of Lanna, centered in Chiang Mai, which
rivaled Sukothai and Ayutthaya for centuries, and
which defines northern Thai identity to this day.
The first ruler of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, King
Rama Thibodi, made two important contributions to
Thai history: the establishment and promotion of
Theravada Buddhism as the official religion--to
differentiate his kingdom from the neighboring Hindu
kingdom of Angkor--and the compilation of the Dharmashastra,
a legal code based on Hindu sources and traditional
Thai custom. The Dharmashastra remained a tool of
Thai law until late in the 19th century. Beginning
with the Portuguese in the 16th century, Ayutthaya
had some contact with the West, but until the 1800s,
its relations with neighboring kingdoms and principalities,
as well as with China, were of primary importance.
After more than 400 years of power, in 1767, the
Kingdom of Ayutthaya was brought down by invading
Burmese armies and its capital burned. After a single-reign
capital established at Thonburi by Taksin, a new
capital city was founded in 1782, across the Chao
Phraya at the site of present-day Bangkok, by the
founder of the Chakri dynasty. The first Chakri
king was crowned Rama I. Rama's heirs became increasingly
concerned with the threat of European colonialism
after British victories in neighboring Burma in
1826.
The first Thai recognition of Western power in the
region was the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with
the United Kingdom in 1826. In 1833, the United
States began diplomatic exchanges with Siam, as
Thailand was called until 1938. However, it was
during the later reigns of Rama IV (or King Mongkut,
1851-68), and his son Rama V (King Chulalongkorn
(1868-1910), that Thailand established firm rapprochement
with Western powers. The Thais believe that the
diplomatic skills of these monarchs, combined with
the modernizing reforms of the Thai Government,
made Siam the only country in South and Southeast
Asia to avoid European colonization.
In 1932, a bloodless coup transformed the Government
of Thailand from an absolute to a constitutional
monarchy. King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) initially
accepted this change but later surrendered the kingship
to his 10-year-old nephew. Upon his abdication,
King Prajadhipok said that the obligation of a ruler
was to reign for the good of the whole people, not
for a select few. Although nominally a constitutional
monarchy, Thailand was ruled by a series of military
governments interspersed with brief periods of democracy
from that time until the 1992 elections. Since the
1992 elections, Thailand has been a functioning
democracy with constitutional changes of government.
On February 6, 2005, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s
Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party won over 370 of 500 seats
in the Lower House of Parliament, assuring Prime
Minister Thaksin of a second term.
As with the rest of Southeast Asia, Thailand was
occupied by the Japanese during the Second World
War. Since Japan's defeat in 1945, Thailand has
had very close relations with the United States.
Threatened by communist revolutions in neighboring
countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, Thailand
actively sought to contain communist expansion in
the region. Recently, Thailand also has been an
active member in multilateral organizations like
the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
forum.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The king has little direct power under the constitution
but is a symbol of national identity and unity.
King Bhumibol--who has been on the throne since
1946--commands enormous popular respect and moral
authority, which he has used on occasion to resolve
political crises that have threatened national stability.
Thailand's legal system blends principles of traditional
Thai and Western laws. The Constitutional Court
is the highest court of appeals, though its jurisdiction
is limited to clearly defined constitutional issues.
Its members are nominated by the Senate and appointed
by the King. The Courts of Justice have jurisdiction
over criminal and civil cases and are organized
in three tiers: Courts of First Instance, the Court
of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of Justice. Administrative
courts have jurisdiction over suits between private
parties and the government, and cases in which one
government entity is suing another. In Thailand's
southern border provinces, where Muslims constitute
the majority of the population, Provincial Islamic
Committees have limited jurisdiction over probate,
family, marriage, and divorce cases.
The National Assembly consists of two chambers--the
Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate
is a non-partisan body with limited legislative
powers, composed of 200 directly elected members
from constituent districts, with every province
having at least one Senator. The House of Representatives
has 500 members, 400 of whom are directly elected
from constituent districts, and the remainder drawn
proportionally from party lists.
Thailand's 76 provinces include the metropolis of
greater Bangkok. Bangkok's governor is popularly
elected, but those of the remaining provinces are
career civil servants appointed by the Ministry
of Interior. Following the 1932 revolution which
imposed constitutional limits on the monarchy, Thai
politics was dominated for a half century by a military
and bureaucratic elite. Changes of government were
effected primarily by means of a long series of
mostly bloodless coups.
Beginning with a brief experiment in democracy during
the mid-1970s, civilian democratic political institutions
slowly gained greater authority, culminating in
1988 when Chatichai Choonavan--leader of the Thai
Nation Party--assumed office as the country's first
democratically elected prime minister in more than
a decade. Three years later, yet another bloodless
coup ended his term.
Shortly afterward, the military appointed Anand
Panyarachun, a businessman and former diplomat,
to head a largely civilian interim government and
promised to hold elections in the near future. However,
following inconclusive elections, former army commander
Suchinda Kraprayoon was appointed prime minister.
Thais reacted to the appointment by demanding an
end to military influence in government. Demonstrations
were violently suppressed by the military; in May
1992, soldiers killed at least 50 protesters.
Domestic and international reaction
to the violence forced Suchinda to resign, and the
nation once again turned to Anand Panyarachun, who
was named interim prime minister until new elections
in September 1992. In those elections, the political
parties that had opposed the military in May 1992
won by a narrow majority, and Chuan Leekpai, a leader
of the Democratic Party, became Prime Minister.
Chuan dissolved Parliament in May 1995, and the
Thai Nation Party won the largest number of parliamentary
seats in subsequent elections. Party leader Banharn
Silpa-Archa became Prime Minister but held the office
only little more than a year. Following elections
held in November 1996, Chavalit Youngchaiyudh formed
a coalition government and became Prime Minister.
The onset of the Asian financial crisis caused a
loss of confidence in the Chavalit government and
forced him to hand over power to Chuan Leekpai in
November 1997. Chuan formed a coalition government
based on the themes of prudent economic management
and institution of political reforms mandated by
Thailand's 1997 constitution.
In January 2001, telecommunications multimillionaire
Thaksin Shinawatra and his Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party
won a decisive victory on a populist platform of
economic growth and development. In the February
2005 elections, Thaksin was re-elected by an even
greater majority, sweeping over 370 out of 500 parliamentary
seats. Thaksin’s new government is expected to take
office the first week of March 2005.
Principal Government Officials
Chief of State--King Bhumibol Adulyadej
Prime Minister--Thaksin Shinawatra
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Surakiart Sathirathai
Ambassador to the U.S.--Kasit Piromya
Ambassador to the UN--Laxanachantorn Laohaphan
Thailand maintains an embassy
in the United States at 1024 Wisconsin Ave. NW,
Washington DC 20007 (tel. 202-944-3600). Consulates
are located in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
ECONOMY
The Thai economy is export-dependent, with exports
accounting for 60% of GDP. Thailand's recovery from
the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis relied largely
on external demand from the United States and other
foreign markets. The Thaksin government took office
in February 2001 with the intention of stimulating
domestic demand and reducing Thailand's reliance
on foreign trade and investment. Since then, the
Thaksin administration has refined its economic
message, embracing a "dual track" economic
policy that combines domestic stimulus with Thailand's
traditional promotion of open markets and foreign
investment. Weak export demand held 2001 GDP growth
to 2.1%. Beginning in 2002, however, domestic stimulus
and export revival fueled a better performance,
with real GDP growth at 6.8% in 2003.
Before the financial crisis, the Thai economy had
years of manufacturing-led economic growth--averaging
9.4% for the decade up to 1996. Relatively abundant
and inexpensive labor and natural resources, fiscal
conservatism, open foreign investment policies,
and encouragement of the private sector underlay
the economic success in the years up to 1997. The
economy is essentially a free-enterprise system.
Certain services, such as power generation, transportation,
and communications, are state-owned and operated,
but the government is considering privatizing them
in the wake of the financial crisis.
The Royal Thai Government welcomes foreign investment,
and investors who are willing to meet certain requirements
can apply for special investment privileges through
the Board of Investment. To attract additional foreign
investment, the government has modified its investment
regulations.
The organized labor movement remains weak and divided
in Thailand; less than 2% of the work force is unionized.
In 2000, the State Enterprise Labor Relations Act
(SELRA) was passed, giving public sector employees
similar rights to those of private sector workers,
including the right to unionize.
Roughly 60% of Thailand's labor force is employed
in agriculture. Rice is the country's most important
crop; Thailand is a major exporter in the world
rice market. Other agricultural commodities produced
in significant amounts include fish and fishery
products, tapioca, rubber, corn, and sugar. Exports
of processed foods such as canned tuna, pineapples,
and frozen shrimp are on the rise.
Thailand's increasingly diversified manufacturing
sector made the largest contribution to growth during
the economic boom. Industries registering rapid
increases in production included computers and electronics,
garments and footwear, furniture, wood products,
canned food, toys, plastic products, gems, and jewelry.
High-technology products such as
integrated circuits and parts, electrical appliances,
and vehicles are now leading Thailand's strong growth
in exports.
The United States is Thailand's largest export market
and second-largest supplier after Japan. While Thailand's
traditional major markets have been North America,
Japan, and Europe, economic recovery among Thailand's
regional trading partners has helped Thai export
growth (18.6% in 2003). Further recovery from the
financial crisis depends heavily on increased exports
to the rest of Asia and the United States.
Machinery and parts, vehicles, electronic integrated
circuits, chemicals, crude oil and fuels, and iron
and steel are among Thailand's principal imports.
The recent increase in import levels (17% in 2003)
reflects the need to fuel the production of high-technology
items and vehicles.
Thailand is a member of the World Trade Organization
(WTO) and the Cairns Group of agricultural exporters.
Tourism contributes significantly to the Thai economy
(about 4%), and the industry has benefited from
the Thai baht's depreciation and Thailand's stability.
Tourist arrivals in 2003 (10.1 million) declined
from the previous year (10.9 million) due to concerns
over Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and
the war in Iraq.
Bangkok and its environs are the most prosperous
part of Thailand, and the infertile northeast is
the poorest. An overriding concern of successive
Thai Governments, and a particularly strong focus
of the current government, has been to reduce these
regional income differentials, which have been exacerbated
by rapid economic growth in and around Bangkok and
the financial crisis. The government is trying to
stimulate provincial economic growth with programs
such as the Eastern Seaboard project and the development
of an alternate deep-sea port on Thailand's southern
peninsula. It also is conducting discussions with
Malaysia to focus on economic development along
the Thai-Malaysian border.
Although the economy has demonstrated moderate positive
growth since 1999, future performance depends on
continued reform of the financial sector, corporate
debt restructuring, attracting foreign investment,
and increasing exports. Telecommunications, roadways,
electricity generation, and ports showed increasing
strain during the period of sustained economic growth
and may pose a future challenge. Thailand's growing
shortage of engineers and skilled technical personnel
may limit its future technological creativity and
productivity.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Thailand's foreign policy includes support for ASEAN
in the interest of regional stability and emphasis
on a close and longstanding security relationship
with the United States.
Thailand participates fully in international and
regional organizations. It 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. Supachai Panitchpakdi, the
former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, currently
serves as Director-General of the World Trade Organization
(WTO).
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.
In 2003, Thailand initiated the Economic Cooperation
Strategy (ECS) plan to provide economic, trade and
development assistance to neighboring Burma, Cambodia,
and Laos.
U.S.-THAI RELATIONS
Since World War II, the United States and Thailand
have developed close relations, as reflected in
several bilateral treaties and by both countries'
participation in UN multilateral activities and
agreements. The principal bilateral arrangement
is the 1966 Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations,
which facilitates U.S. and Thai companies' economic
access. Other important agreements address civil
uses of atomic energy, sales of agricultural commodities,
investment guarantees, and military and economic
assistance
In June 2004 the United States and
Thailand initiated negotiations on a free trade
agreement which will reduce and eliminate barriers
to trade and investment between the two countries.
The United States and Thailand are among the signatories
of the 1954 Manila pact of the former Southeast
Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). Article IV(1)
of this treaty provides that, in the event of armed
attack in the treaty area (which includes Thailand),
each member would "act to meet the common danger
in accordance with its constitutional processes."
Despite the dissolution of the SEATO in 1977, the
Manila pact remains in force and, together with
the Thanat-Rusk communique of 1962, constitutes
the basis of U.S. security commitments to Thailand.
Thailand continues to be a key security ally in
Asia, along with Australia, Japan, the Philippines,
and South Korea. In December 2003, Thailand was
designated a Major Non-NATO Ally.
Thailand's stability and independence are important
to the maintenance of peace in the region. Economic
assistance has been extended in various fields,
including rural development, health, family planning,
education, and science and technology. The formal
USAID program ended in 1995. However, there are
a number of targeted assistance programs which continue
in areas of mutually defined importance, including:
health and HIV/AIDS programming; refugee assistance;
and trafficking in persons. The U.S. Peace Corps
in Thailand has approximately 128 volunteers, focused
on primary education, with an integrated program
involving teacher training, health education, and
environmental education.
Thailand has received U.S. military equipment, essential
supplies, training, and assistance in the construction
and improvement of facilities and installations
since 1950. In recent years, U.S. security assistance
has consisted of military training programs carried
out primarily in the United States. A small U.S.
military advisory group in Thailand oversees the
delivery of equipment to the Thai Armed Forces and
the training of Thai military personnel in its use
and maintenance. As part of their mutual defense
cooperation over the last decade, Thailand and the
United States have developed a vigorous joint military
exercise program, which engages all the services
of each nation and now averages 40 joint exercises
per year.
Thailand is a route for Golden Triangle--the intersection
of Burma, Laos, and Thailand--heroin trafficking
to international markets.. While Thailand is no
longer a significant opium producer, money laundering,
police and military corruption, and a continuing
narcotics flow out of Burma have hindered efforts
to limit its role as a transfer point. The United
States and Thailand work closely together and with
the United Nations on a broad range of programs
to halt the flow of narcotics. A memorandum of understanding
was signed in 1971 affirming U.S.-Thai cooperation,
resulting in a strengthened Thai enforcement program.
The U.S. has extended financial support for the
International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in
Bangkok, which provides counternarcotics and anti-crime
training to participants from regional countries.
With U.S. support, Thailand has a good record in
crop control, law enforcement, and demand reduction.
Trade and Investment
The United States is Thailand's second largest trading
partner after Japan; in 2003 merchandise imports
from Thailand totaled $15.18 billion, and merchandise
exports totaled $5.84 billion, resulting in a U.S.
bilateral trade deficit of over $9 billion. The
U.S., Japan, Singapore, and the European Union are
among Thailand's largest foreign investors. American
investment, concentrated in the petroleum and chemicals,
finance, consumer products, and automobile production
sectors, is estimated at $21 billion.
Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador-- Ralph
L. Boyce
Deputy Chief of Mission--Alexander A. Arvizu
Political Affairs Counselor--Robert J. Clarke
Economic Affairs Counselor--Michael J. Delaney
Public Affairs Counselor--Mark Larsen
Consul General--Edward J. Wehrli
The U.S.
Embassy in Thailand is located at 120/22 Wireless
Road, Bangkok (tel. 66-2-205-4000). There is a Consulate
General in Chiang Mai, 387 Wichayanond Road (tel.
66-53-252-629).
Thailand
- United States Educational Foundation (TUSEF/Fulbright)
Thai Wah Tower 1, 3rd floor, 21/5 South Sathorn Road, Bangkok 10120,
Thailand
Tel : (66) 0-2285-0581-2 Fax : (66) 0-2285-0583 Email : tusef@fulbrightthai.org
