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Thailand - formerly known as Siam, is a country located at the
centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered
to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to
the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by
the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime
boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast
and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
The country is a kingdom, with most recorded reigns in the world. It
is a constitutional monarchy with King Rama IX, the ninth king of
the House of Chakri, who has reigned since 1946, making him the
world's longest-serving current head of state and the
longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. The king is officially
titled Head of State, the Head of the Armed Forces, an Upholder of
the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths.
Thailand is the world's 51st largest country in terms of total area
(slightly smaller than Yemen and slightly larger than Spain), with a
surface area of approximately 513,000 km2 (198,000 sq mi), and the
21st most-populous country, with approximately 64 million people.
The largest city is Bangkok, the capital, which is also the
country's centre of political, commercial, industrial and cultural
activities. About 75% of the population is ethnically Thai, 14% is
of Chinese origin, and 3% is ethnically Malay; the rest belong to
minority groups including Mons, Khmers and various hill tribes. The
country's official language is Thai. The primary religion is
Buddhism, which is practiced by around 95% of all Thais.
Thailand experienced rapid economic growth between 1985 and 1995 and
is a newly industrialized country with tourism, due to well-known
tourist destinations such as Ayutthaya, Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket,
Krabi, Chiang Mai, and Ko Samui, and exports contributing
significantly to the economy. There are approximately 5.2 million
legal and illegal migrants in Thailand. Thailand has also attracted
a number of expatriates from developed countries.
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Thailand Rail Map