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SeaTrans: Thailand Country Profile • A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century; it was known as Siam until 1939. Thailand is the only southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US ally following the conflict. Capital: Bangkok Background • Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma • Border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km • Coastline: 3,219 km • Area: total: land: water: 514,000 sq km 511,770 sq km 2,230 sq km Background • Climate: tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to midMarch); southern part always hot and humid • Terrain: central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere Background • Natural resources: tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land • Land use: arable land: 34% permanent crops: 6% permanent pastures: 2% forests and woodland: 26% other: 32% Government • Government type: constitutional monarchy • Flag description: five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double width), white, and red • Administrative divisions: 76 provinces (changwat, singular and plural); Environment • International agreements: party to: Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands (signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea) People • Population: 61,797,751 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) People • Population growth • Ethnic groups: Thai • Life expectancy at • rate: 0.91% (2001 est.) birth: total population: 68.86 male: 65.64 years female: 72.24 years 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11% Religions: Buddhism 95%, Muslim 3.8%, Christianity 0.5%, Hinduism 0.1%, other 0.6% Economy • Economy - overview: After enjoying the world's highest growth rate from 1985 to 1995 - averaging almost 9% annually - increased speculative pressure on Thailand's currency in 1997 led to a crisis that uncovered financial sector weaknesses and forced the government to float the baht. Long pegged at 25 to the dollar, the baht reached its lowest point of 56 to the dollar in January 1998 and the economy contracted by 10.2% that same year. Thailand entered a recovery stage in 1999, expanding 4.2% and grew about the same amount in 2000, largely due to strong exports - which increased about 20% in 2000. An ailing financial sector and the slow pace of corporate debt restructuring, combined with a softening of global demand, is likely to slow growth in 2001. Economy • Currency: baht (THB) • Exchange rates: US dollar - 40.12 Euro - 40.10 • Imports: $61.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) • Exports: $68.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) GDP • GDP: purchasing power parity - $413 billion (2000 est.) • GDP - real growth rate: 4.2% (2000 est.) • GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2000 est.) GDP • composition by sector: (1999) agriculture: 13% industry: 40% services: 47% Economic Indicators • Inflation rate • Unemployment • Labor force: • Industrial (consumer prices): 2.1% (2000 est.) 32.6 million (1997 est.) rate: 3.7% (2000 est.) production growth rate: 3% (2000 est.) Transnational Issues • International Dispute: parts of the border with Laos and Cambodia are indefinite; sporadic border hostilities with Burma over border alignment • Social Issue: illicit transit point for heroin en route to the international drug market from Burma and Laos; (opium, heroin, and marijuana) Macro Level • Environmental issues: air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from organic and factory wastes; deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by illegal hunting Micro Level (rural fishing communities) • Transformation from purely subsistence fishing to small and medium scale commercial fishing. • Mangrove and beach forest have been cleared for settlement and aquaculture farms. • More work diversification. National MFA Thailand • Full account based on official statistics for the • • • • period 1990 - 2000 DE from 1985 - 2000 Additional estimates for grazing and for byproducts from harvest 1985 - 2000 Future steps: additional estimates for subsistence production and construction mass minerals Full account from 1980 DE biomass 160,000,000.00 140,000,000.00 120,000,000.00 80,000,000.00 60,000,000.00 DE total fish catch DE Timber DE grazing and foraging DE Primary crops 40,000,000.00 20,000,000.00 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 0.00 1985 tons 100,000,000.00 DE Biomass per capita 3.00 2.50 1.50 2000 1999 1998 timber fishery grazing primary crops 1996 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 0.00 1986 0.50 1995 DE DE DE DE 1997 1.00 1985 T/cap 2.00 DE Thailand 1985-2000 3 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 2 5 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 tons 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 1 5 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 fossils minerals biomass 5 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 0 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Thailand Imports 70,000,000 60,000,000 40,000,000 ores minerals fossils biomass 30,000,000 20,000,000 10,000,000 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 0 1990 tons 50,000,000 Thailand Exports 35,000,000 30,000,000 25,000,000 tons 20,000,000 15,000,000 sum ores sum minerals sum fossils sum biomass 10,000,000 5,000,000 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 0 Four Major Exports 20,000,000 18,000,000 16,000,000 14,000,000 10,000,000 8,000,000 6,000,000 rubber sugar cassava rice 4,000,000 2,000,000 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 0 1990 tons 12,000,000 Thailand DE, Import - Export 300,000 250,000 200,000 1000 t DE Imports exports 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Thailand DMC 350,000,000 300,000,000 250,000,000 tons 200,000,000 150,000,000 100,000,000 fossils minerals 50,000,000 biomass 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 0 Thailand DMI, DMC, DE per cap 6.0 5.0 year 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 DMI/cap tons/cap DMC/cap DE/cap Thailand Indicators per GDP 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 1990 1991 1992 DMI/GDP 1993 1994 DMC/GDP 1995 1996 Imports/GDP 1997 1998 1999 exports/GDP DMI - EKC Thailand 1990-1999 6.00 5.50 DMI/cap 5.00 4.50 4.00 y = 2.3819x - 0.0787 R2 = 0.9274 3.50 3.00 1 .5 0 1 .7 0 1 .9 0 2 .1 0 GDP/cap EKC: Environmental Kuznet Curve 2 .3 0 2 .5 0