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Situated in the tropical region of the northern hemisphere,
Thailand was previously known as 'Siam'. In 1939 the
name officially changed to Thailand or prathet Thai
or Ratcha Anachak Thai in the Thai language.
Thailand consists of a total of 514,000 square kilometres,
which is roughly the same size as France or about
the twice the size of Wyoming in the USA. Located
in Southeast Asia and bordering Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia
and Malaysia, Thailand has a population of more than
65 million.
Thailand is a tropical country and the weather is
typically hot and humid, with periodic rain during
the monsoon season. Thailand has a variety of geographic
regions - varying from mountainous regions, jungles,
plains and plateaus, as well as a number of stunning
beach areas and numerous islands.
There are 76 provinces in Thailand with Bangkok (krungthep)
forming the capital. More than 10% of Thailand's population
live in Bangkok and around 60% of the country's wealth
is concentrated there.
Thailand is a constitutional monarchy with a long
and interesting political history. The current monarch
is His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who celebrated
his 60th year on the throne in 2006, making him the
world's longest reigning monarch. The King is highly
revered within Thailand and respected throughout the
world.
Thailand's political history has proved rather turbulent,
with an impressive total of 18 coups d'etat since
1932. However, not a single shot was fired during
the last coup on September 19th 2006, and Thailand
is generally a safe and friendly place for visitors.
Despite the economic crash in 1997, which severely
affected the country's prosperity, Thailand now enjoys
a booming economy once more. Thailand's strong export
growth allowed the economy to expand by 4.5% in 2007.
Exports include computer technology, office machine
parts, transistors, rubber, motor vehicles, plastic,
seafood and rice.
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