The following outline is an overview of and topical guide to Thailand.
Thailand is a country at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia, known as Siam until 1939. As of 2023 [update] Thailand is a monarchy governed by a military junta that took power in May 2014. Although a constitutional system was established in 1932, the monarchy and military have continued to intervene periodically in politics. Thailand experienced rapid economic growth between 1985 and 1996, becoming a newly industrialized country and a major exporter. Manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy. Among the ten ASEAN countries, Thailand ranks second in quality of life and the country's HDI had been rated as "high". Its large population and growing economic influence have made it a middle power in the region and around the world.
Tai groups and people who speak Tai are the majority population in Thailand, with Tai-Lao speakers making up 25% of the population. The heartland of Thailand is the Chao Phraya River Valley, where the original inhabitants were Mon-speaking people. The Mon people are now a minority, and the Mon language is endangered. The valley later gained control over Eastern Thailand as well, known as the Korat Plateau. This area is not mountainous, as its name would suggest. Although the people of this area have largely adopted Thai culture, there is still a mixture of many Tai-Kadai, Khmer, and Cambodian speakers. Northern Thailand is mountainous and holds many minority groups: "hill tribes." Another mountainous region is the Malay Peninsula, where the 3rd largest population of Malay people live. Many in this area speak Mon-related languages.
Administrative divisions of Thailand
Thailand is divided into 76 provinces (จังหวัด, changwat) and the metropolitan municipality Bangkok (กรุงเทพมหานคร, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon).
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Altogether Thailand has 877 districts (อำเภอ; Amphoe), not including the 50 districts of Bangkok which are called khet (เขต) since the Bangkok administration reform in 1972.
International organization membership of Thailand The Kingdom of Thailand is a member of, or participates in: [1]
Evidence of modern human presence in the northern and central highlands of Indochina, which constitute the territories of the modern Laotian nation-state, dates back to the Lower Paleolithic. These earliest human migrants are Australo-Melanesians—associated with the Hoabinhian culture—and have populated the highlands and the interior, less accessible regions of Laos and all of Southeast Asia to this day. The subsequent Austroasiatic and Austronesian marine migration waves affected landlocked Laos only marginally, and direct Chinese and Indian cultural contact had a greater impact on the country.
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spans 513,115 square kilometres (198,115 sq mi). Thailand is bordered to the northwest by Myanmar, to the northeast and east by Laos, to the southeast by Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the southwest by the Andaman Sea; it also shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the southeast and Indonesia and India to the southwest. Bangkok is the state capital and largest city.
The Sukhothai Kingdom was a post-classical Siamese kingdom (maṇḍala) in Mainland Southeast Asia surrounding the ancient capital city of Sukhothai in present-day north-central Thailand. The kingdom was founded by Si Inthrathit in 1238 and existed as an independent polity until 1438, when it fell under the influence of the neighboring Ayutthaya after the death of Borommapan.
Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, or locally and simply Ayutthaya, is one of the central provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Ang Thong, Lopburi, Saraburi, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Pathom and Suphan Buri.
Monthon, also known as Monthon Thesaphiban, were administrative subdivisions of Thailand at the beginning of the 20th century. The Thai word monthon is a translation of the word mandala, in its sense of a type of political formation. The monthon were created as a part of the Thesaphiban bureaucratic administrative system, introduced by Prince Damrong Rajanubhab which, together with the monthon, established step-by-step today's present provinces (changwat), districts (amphoe), and communes (tambon) throughout Thailand. Each monthon was led by a royal commissioner called Thesaphiban (เทศาภิบาล), later renamed to Samuhathesaphiban (สมุหเทศาภิบาล). The system was officially adopted by the 1897 Local Administration Act, after some monthon had been established and administrative details were sorted out.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR), may refer to a government-defined "political definition" of the urban region surrounding the metropolis of Bangkok, or the built-up area, i.e., urban agglomeration of Bangkok, Thailand, which varies in size and shape, and gets filled in as development expands.
Phu Thai is a Southwestern Tai language spoken in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. Although it appears different from the Isan and the Lao languages, it is spoken in areas where these languages are predominant and has been influenced by them. Comparisons of Phu Thai with other Tai languages such as Tay Khang have not yet been done systematically enough to yield convincing results.
Another aspect of Phu Thai is its contact with the Katuic languages, a branch of the Austroasiatic languages. Whether in the Phu Thai areas of Central Laos or in more recent locations of Northeastern Thailand, one can find, along with Phu Thai, a few Katuic dialects known locally as Bru, So or Katang. James R. Chamberlain (2012) focusing on anthropological issues describes “the Phou Thay – Brou relationship” as a “symbiosis” and states that “the Phou Thay – Brou relationship has never evolved into a feudal system”.
Mueang, Muang, Mong, Meng or Mường (Vietnamese) were pre-modern semi-independent city-states or principalities in mainland Southeast Asia, adjacent regions of Northeast India and Southern China, including what is now Thailand, Laos, Burma, Cambodia, parts of northern Vietnam, southern Yunnan, western Guangxi and Assam.
Rajamangala University of Technology, (RMUT), is one of the university systems in Thailand. It has nine universities providing undergraduate and graduate level education. It was elevated to university status in 2005. Before that it was known as Rajamangala Institute of Technology (สถาบันเทคโนโลยีราชมงคล).
Tambralinga was an Indianised kingdom located on the Malay Peninsula, existing at least from the 2nd to 13th centuries CE. It was under the influence of Srivijaya for some time, but later became independent from it. The name had been forgotten until scholars recognized Tambralinga as Nakhon Si Thammarat. In Sanskrit and Prakrit, tām(b)ra means "copper", "copper-coloured" or "red" and linga means "symbol" or "creation", typically representing the divine energy of Shiva.
The history of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, dates at least to the early 15th century, when it was under the rule of Ayutthaya. Due to its strategic location near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, the town gradually increased in importance, and after the fall of Ayutthaya King Taksin established his new capital of Thonburi there, on the river's west bank. King Phutthayotfa Chulalok, who succeeded Taksin, moved the capital to the eastern bank in 1782, to which the city dates its foundation under its current Thai name, "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon". Bangkok has since undergone tremendous changes, growing rapidly, especially in the second half of the 20th century, to become the primate city of Thailand. It was the centre of Siam's modernization in the late 19th century, subjected to Allied bombing during the Second World War, and has long been the modern nation's central political stage, with numerous uprisings and coups d'état having taken place on its streets throughout the years.
The Lavo Kingdom was a political entity (mandala) on the left bank of the Chao Phraya River in the Upper Chao Phraya valley from the end of Dvaravati civilization, in the 7th century, until 1388. The original center of Lavo civilization was Lavo.
Vientiane is the capital and largest city of Laos. Comprising the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture, the city is located on the banks of the Mekong, right at the border with Thailand. Vientiane was the administrative capital during French rule and, due to economic growth in recent times, is now the economic center of Laos. The city had a population of 840,000 as of the 2023 Census.
Chumphon railway station is a railway station in Tha Taphao Subdistrict, Chumphon City, and is the main railway station for Chumphon Province. It is a class 1 railway station, 468.534 km (291.1 mi) from Thon Buri railway station. It is the first fueling station from Bangkok, and thus all trains going further south must stop here. Chumphon is also the site of a locomotive depot.
Bang Saphan Noi station is a railway station in Bang Saphan Subdistrict, Bang Saphan Noi District, Prachuap Khiri Khan. It is a class 2 railway station, 393 km (244.2 mi) from Thon Buri Railway Station.
Maha Phruettharam is one of the five khwaeng (subdistrict) of Bang Rak District, Bangkok.
Wat Thep Sirin subdistrict is a khwaeng (subdistrict) of Pom Prap Sattru Phai district in Bangkok.
Wat Sommanat is a khwaeng (sub-district) in Pom Prap Sattru Phai District, Bangkok.