Country name: | Kingdom of Thailand |
Government type: | Constitutional monarchy |
Capital: | Bangkok |
Administrative divisions: | 76 provinces and 1 municipality |
Independence: | 1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized) |
Legal system: | Civil law system with common law influences |
Total area: | Land 510,890 sq km, water 2,230 sq km, coastline 3,219 km, land boundaries 5,673 km |
Natural resources: | Tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land |
Land use: | Agricultural land 41.2%, forest 37.2%, other 21.6% (2011 est.) |
Population: | 68,615,858 (July 2018 est.) |
Ethnic groups: | Thai 97.5%, Burmese 1.3%, other 1.1%, unspecified <.1% (2015 est.) |
Languages: | Thai (official) only 90.7%, Thai and other languages 6.4%, only other languages 2.9 (2010 est.) |
Religions: | Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.3%, Christian 1%, other (2015 est.) |
Age structure: | Median age 38.1 years, life expectancy 75.1 years, total fertility rate 1.52 children born/woman (2018 est.) |
Urbanization: | Urban population: 50.7% of total population (2019) |
Literacy: |
Total population: 92.9%, male: 94.7%, female: 91.2% (2015 est.)
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Unemployment: | Unemployment youth ages (15-24): 3.7% |
With a relatively well-developed infrastructure, a free-enterprise economy, and generally pro-investment policies, Thailand is highly dependent on international trade, with exports accounting for about two-thirds of GDP. Thailand’s exports include electronics, agricultural commodities, automobiles and parts, and processed foods. The industry and service sectors produce about 90% of GDP. The agricultural sector, comprised mostly of small-scale farms, contributes only 10% of GDP but employs about one-third of the labor force. Thailand has attracted an estimated 3.0-4.5 million migrant workers, mostly from neighboring countries.
Over the last few decades, Thailand has reduced poverty substantially. In 2013, the Thai Government implemented a nationwide 300 baht (roughly $10) per day minimum wage policy and deployed new tax reforms designed to lower rates on middle-income earners.
Thailand’s economy is recovering from slow growth during the years since the 2014 coup. Thailand’s economic fundamentals are sound, with low inflation, low unemployment, and reasonable public and external debt levels.
Over the longer-term, household debt levels, political uncertainty, and an aging population pose risks to growth.