Thailand

World Book Index

Introduction

Background
A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-13th century. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. Thailand since 2005 has experienced several rounds of political turmoil, including a military coup in 2006 and major street protests in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2020.

Geography

Area
total : 513,120 sq km
land: 510,890 sq km
water: 2,230 sq km

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

Natural resources
tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land

People and Society

Population
total: 69,920,998 (2024 est.)

Ethnic groups
Thai 97.5%, Burmese 1.3%, other 1.1%, unspecified <0.1% (2015 est.)

Languages
Thai (official) only 90.7%, Thai and other languages 6.4%, only other languages 2.9% (includes Malay, Burmese); English is a secondary language among the elite (2010 est.)

Religions
Buddhist 92.5%, Muslim 5.4%, Christian 1.2%, other 0.9% (includes animist, Confucian, Hindu, Jewish, Sikh, and Taoist) (2021 est.)

Population growth rate
0.17% (2024 est.)

Government

Government type
constitutional monarchy

Capital
name: Bangkok

Executive branch
chief of state: King WACHIRALONGKON; also spelled Vajiralongkorn (since 1 December 2016)
head of government: Prime Minister ANUTIN Charnvirakul (since 5 Sep 2025)

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. SURIYA Chindawongse (since 17 June 2024)

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert F. GODEC (since 7 October 2022)

Economy

Economic overview
upper middle-income Southeast Asian economy; substantial infrastructure; major electronics, food, and automobile parts exporter; globally used currency; extremely low unemployment, even amid COVID-19; ongoing Thailand 4.0 economic development

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$1.558 trillion (2024 est.)
$1.519 trillion (2023 est.)
$1.489 trillion (2022 est.)

Real GDP per capita
$21,700 (2024 est.)
$21,200 (2023 est.)
$20,800 (2022 est.)

Exports
$369.191 billion (2024 est.)
$337.45 billion (2023 est.)
$324.111 billion (2022 est.)

Exports - partners
USA 18%, China 13%, Japan 7%, Australia 4%, Singapore 4% (2023)

Exports - commodities
machine parts, integrated circuits, trucks, cars, broadcasting equipment (2023)

Imports
$351.419 billion (2024 est.)
$327.008 billion (2023 est.)
$334.44 billion (2022 est.)

Imports - partners
China 26%, Japan 11%, USA 7%, UAE 6%, Taiwan 5% (2023)

Imports - commodities
crude petroleum, integrated circuits, natural gas, gold, vehicle parts/accessories (2023)

Human Development Index

The country's Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.798 , ranking it 76th out of 193 countries tested. (more information)

World Happiness Report

The World Happiness Report ranked the country 45th out of 158 countries tested with a score of 6.272. (more information)