Travel Facts of Thailand

Location
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma

Country name:
Conventional long form:Kingdom of Thailand
conventional short form: Thailand
former: Siam

Government type:
constitutional monarchy

Capital:
Bangkok

Population:
The population of Thailand, approximately 62.9 million in 1999, includes ethnic Chinese, Malays, Cambodians, Vietnamese, Indians, and others. Immigration is controlled by a quota system.

Area:
total:514,000 sq km

water:511,770 sq km

land: 2,230 sq km

Currency:
The currency of Thailand is the Baht which consists of 100 Satangs. Coins include 25 satang, 50 satang, 1 Baht, 5 Baht and 10 Baht pieces but the confusing fact about coins is that they are of different sizes for the same value coin and only the newer coins have Arabic numerals. The 5 Baht coin silver with copper edge and the 1 Baht coin silver

Time:
Thailand Standard Time is 7 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+7).

National holiday:
December 5 is the birthday of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej and is the Thai National Day. It is a public holiday

Country Code:
66

Languages:
The official national language is Thai. It is tonal, uninflected, and predominantly uses monosyllabic words. Most polysyllabic words in the vocabulary have been borrowed, mainly from Khmer, Pali and Sanskrit. Dialects are spoken in rural areas. Other languages are Chinese and Malay. English, a compulsory subject in public schools, is widely spoken and understood, particularly in Bangkok and other major cities.

Religions:
Buddhism, the national religion, is the professed faith of 95 percent of the population. Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and other creeds are embraced by the rest of the population. There is absolute religious freedom. The King of Thailand, under the constitution and in practice, is patron of all major religions.

Climate:
tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid