Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand (IPA: /ˈtaɪlænd/, Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย Ratcha Anajak Thai (help·info), IPA: [râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj]) is an independent country which lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. The country is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, 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 Burma. By the maritime boundary, the country is bordered to the southeast by Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand, to the southwest by Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea.

The capital and largest city of Thailand is Bangkok. It is also the country's centre of political, commercial, industrial and cultural activities. Bangkok is known in Thai as "Krung Thep Mahanakorn," or, more colloquially, "Krung Thep."

Thailand is considered to be the world's 50th largest country in terms of total area, with a surface area of approximately 513,000 km² (198,000 sq mi), and the world's 20th largest country in terms of population with approximately 63 million people. The population consists 80% of Thais, 10% of Chinese, and 3% of Malay. The rest are minorities such as Mons, Khmers, and various hill tribes. The country's official spoken and written language is Thai.

Thailand is one of the most strongly Buddhist countries in the world. The national religion is Theravada Buddhism which is practiced by more than 95% of all Thais (2002).[3] The cultures and traditions in Thailand are significantly influenced by those of India, China, Cambodia, as well as various countries in Southeast Asia. As a result, seniority plays an important role in the country's cultures. Respect for the elders is essential to Thai's spiritual practices as well as daily lifestyles. Thais are also well-known for their friendliness and hospitality, leading to the country's so called reputation as the "Land of Smiles."

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy with His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, or King Rama IX, the ninth king of the Chakri Dynasty, as the present king. The King has reigned for more than half a century, making him the longest reigning Thai monarch. His Majesty the King is recognised as the Head of State, the Head of the Armed Forces, the Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Upholder of all religions. Due to the government of the Monarch, Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia that has never been colonized or taken over by a European power.

History of Thailand
See also: Peopling of Thailand
The region known today as Thailand has been inhabited by humans since the paleolithic period (about 10,000 years ago). Prior to the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 13th century, various states thrived there, such as the various Tai, Mon, Khmer and Malay kingdoms, as seen through the numerous archaeological sites and artifacts that are scattered throughout the Siamese landscape. Prior to the 12th century however, the first Thai or Siamese state is traditionally considered to be the Buddhist kingdom of Sukhothai, which was founded in 1238.

Following the decline and fall of the Khmer empire in the 13th - 14th century, various Buddhist Tai Kingdoms of Sukhothai, Lanna and Lan Chang were on the ascendancy. However, a century later, Sukhothai's power was overshadowed by the new kingdom of Ayutthaya, established in the mid-14th century.

After Ayutthaya fell in 1767 to the Burmese, Thonburi was the capital of Thailand for a brief period under King Taksin the Great. The current (Rattanakosin) era of Thai history began in 1782 following the establishment of Bangkok as capital of the Chakri dynasty under King Rama I the Great.

Siam retains an immemorial tradition of trade with its neighboring states and the cultures of the Indian ocean and the South China sea. European trade and influence arrived to Thailand in the 16th century, beginning with the Portuguese. Despite European pressure, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian nation never to have been colonised. Two main reasons for this were that Thailand had a long succession of very able rulers in the 1800s and that it was able to exploit the rivalry and tension between the French and the British. As a result, the country remained as a buffer state between parts of Southeast Asia that were colonized by the two colonial powers. Despite this, Western influence led to many reforms in the 19th century and major concessions, most notably being the loss of large territory on the east side of the Mekong to the French and the step by step absorption by Britain of the Shan (Thai Yai) States (now in Burma) and the Malay Peninsula. The loss initially included Penang and Tumasik and eventually culminated in the loss of three predominantly ethnic-Malay southern provinces, which later became Malaysia's three northern states, under the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909.

In 1932, a bloodless revolution resulted in a new constitutional monarchy. During World War II, Thailand became an ally of Japan while at the same time maintaining an active anti-Japanese resistance movement known as the Seri Thai. After the war, Thailand emerged as an ally of the United States. As with many of the developing nations during the Cold War, Thailand then went through decades of political transgression characterised by coups d'état as one military regime replaced another, but eventually progressed towards a stable prosperity and democracy in the 1980s.

In 1997, Thailand was hit with the Asian financial crisis and the Thai baht for a short time peaked at 56 baht to the US dollar compared to about 25 baht to the dollar before 1997. Since then, the baht has regained most of its strength and as of 23 May 2007, is valued at 32 baht to the US dollar.

The official calendar in Thailand is based on Eastern version of the Buddhist Era, which is 543 years ahead of the Gregorian (western) calendar. For example, the year AD 2008 is called 2551 BE in Thailand.

Peninsular Malaysia was once known as Tanah Melayu (Malay Land). It extends from Singapore to the Ithsmus of Kra bordering Burma, Thailand and Malay Land. Phuket is Bukit(hill) in Malay, "Satun" is "Setoi" (a tropical fruit) was the Province of "Kedah" under the Malay Sultanate and Patani (Land of Farmers) was also part of the Malay Sultanate. In these areas people once spoke both Malay as well as Sam-sam, a local version of the Siamese language. The majority of residents were Muslims. Thailand tried to dominate the Peninsula as far as Malacca in the 1400s but failed.

The Northern states of the Malay Sultanate presented an annual gift to the Thai King in the form of a golden flower, who looked on this as a form of tribute. The British intervened in the Malay State and with the Anglo-Siamese Treaty tried to build a railway from the south to Bangkok, Thailand relinquished sovereignty over what are now the northern Malay provinces of Kedah, Pelis, and Kelantan to the British. Kedah provinces and Patani were given to Thailand.

The Malay Peninsula provinces were infiltrated by the Japanese in the Second World War in 1942 and also by the Malayan Communist Party (CPM) from 1948 to 1998 decided to sign for peace with the Malaysian and Thai Governments after the CPM lost its support from Vietnam and China after the Cultural Revolution.

Recent insurgent uprisings are a continuation of separatist fighting which started after World War II with Sukarno's support for the PULO and has intensified with US President Bush's initiation of the War on Terror. Since the uprisings, most victims have been Buddhist and Muslim bystanders.

History
Since the political reform of the absolute monarchy in 1932, Thailand has had 17 constitutions and charters.[7][8] Throughout this time, the form of government has ranged from military dictatorship to electoral democracy, but all governments have acknowledged a hereditary monarch as the head of state.[9][10]


1997 to 2006
See also: 1997 Constitution of Thailand
The 1997 Constitution was the first constitution to be drafted by popularly-elected Constitutional Drafting Assembly, and was popularly called the "People's Constitution."[11]

The 1997 Constitution created a bicameral legislature consisting of a 500-seat House of Representatives (สภาผู้แทนราษฎร, sapha phutan ratsadon) and a 200-seat Senate (วุฒิสภา, wuthisapha). For the first time in Thai history, both houses were directly elected. Many human rights are explicitly acknowledged, and measures were established to increase the stability of elected governments. The House was elected by the first-past-the-post system, where only one candidate with a simple majority could be elected in one constituency. The Senate was elected based on the province system, where one province can return more than one Senator depending on its population size. Members of the House of Representatives served four-year terms, while Senators served six-year terms.

The court system (ศาล, saan) included a constitutional court with jurisdiction over the constitutionality of parliamentary acts, royal decrees, and political matters.

The January 2001 general election, the first election under the 1997 Constitution, was called the most open, corruption-free election in Thai history.[12] The subsequent government was the first in Thai history to complete a 4-year term. The 2005 election had the highest voter turnout in Thai history and was noted for a marked reduction in vote-buying compared to previous elections.[13][14][15]

In early 2006, significant pressure from corruption allegations led Thaksin Shinawatra to call for a snap election. The opposition boycotted the elections and Thaksin was re-elected. Pressure continued to build, leading to a military coup on 19 September 2006.


After the 2006 coup
See also: 2006 Thai coup d'état
Without meeting much resistance, a military junta overthrew the elected government of Thaksin Shinawatra on 2006 19 September . The junta abrogated the constitution, dissolved Parliament and the Constitutional Court, detained and later removed several members of the government, declared martial law, and appointed one of the King's Privy Counselors, General Surayud Chulanont, as the Prime Minister. The junta later wrote a highly abbreviated interim constitution and appointed a panel to draft a permanent constitution. The junta also appointed a 250-member legislature, called by some critics a "chamber of generals" and others claimed that it lacks representatives from the poor majority.[16][17] In this interim constitution draft, the head of the junta was allowed to remove the Prime Minister at any time. The legislature was not allowed to hold a vote of confidence against the Cabinet and the public was not allowed to file comments on bills.[18] This interim constitution was later surpassed by the permanent constitution on 24 August 2007.

Martial law was partially revoked in January 2007.

The ban on political activities was lifted in July 2007,[19] following the 30 May dissolution of the Thai Rak Thai party. The new constitution has been approved by a referendum on 19 August, which led to a return to democratic elections on 23 December 2007.

Thailand remains an active member of the regional Association of South-East Asian Nations.

Thailand's population is relatively homogeneous, however, this is changing due to immigration. More than 85% speak a Tai language and share a common culture. This core population includes the central Thai (33.7% of the population, including Bangkok's population), Northeastern Thai or Lao (34.2%), northern Thai (18.8%), and southern Thai (13.3%).

The language of the central Thai population is the educational language and administrative language. Several other small Tai groups include the Shan, Lue, and Phutai.

Up to 14% of Thailand's population are of Chinese descent, but the Sino-Thai community is the best integrated in Southeast Asia. Malay and Yawi-speaking Muslims of the south comprise another significant minority group (2.3%). Other groups include the Khmer; the Mon, who are substantially assimilated with the Thai; and the Vietnamese. Smaller mountain-dwelling tribes, such as the Hmong and Mein, as well as the Karen, number about 788,024. Some 300,000 Hmong, who ironically have lived this area for more generations than the Thais themselves, are to receive citizenship by 2010.

Thailand is also home to a significant number[quantify] of registered foreigners from Asia, Europe, and North America, as well as an estimated several hundred thousand illegal immigrants, some of which are natives. Increasing numbers of migrants from Burma, Laos, and Cambodia as well as nations such as Nepal, India, and expats from the West and Japan have pushed the number of non-nationals residing in Thailand to close to 2 million in 2008, up from about 1.3 million in the year 2000. A rising awareness of minorities is slowly changing attitudes in a country where non-nationals, some having resided in what is now Thailand longer than the Thais themselves, are barred from numerous privileges ranging from healthcare, ownership of property, or schooling in their own language.

The population is mostly rural, concentrated in the rice-growing areas of the central, northeastern, and northern regions. However, as Thailand continues to industrialize, its urban population - 31.1% of the total population, principally in the Bangkok area - is growing.

Thailand's highly successful government-sponsored family planning program has resulted in a dramatic decline in population growth from 3.1% in 1960 to around 0.4% today. Life expectancy also has risen, a positive reflection of Thailand's efforts in executing public health policies. However, the AIDS epidemic has had a major impact on the Thai population. Today, over 700,000 Thais are HIV or AIDS positive - approximately 2% of adult men and 1.5% of adult women. Eevery year, 30,000-50,000 Thais die from HIV or AIDS-related causes. Ninety percent of them aged 20-24, the youngest range of the workforce. The situation could have been worse; an aggressive public education campaign in the early 1990s reduced the number of new HIV infections from 150,000 to 25,000 annually.

The 1997 constitution mandated 12 years of free education, however, this is not provided universally. Education accounts for 19% of total government expenditures.

Theravada Buddhism is the official religion of Thailand and is officially the religion of about 97% of its people. However, the true figure lies closer to 85%, Muslims are some 10% and 5% other religions including Christianity, Hinduism, especially among immigrants. In addition to Malay and Yawi speaking Thais and other southerners who are Muslim, the Cham of Cambodia in recent years begun a large scale influx into Thailand. The government permits religious diversity, and other major religions are represented, though there is much social tension, especially in the South. Spirit worship and animism are widely practiced.


Kingdom of Thailand
ราชอาณาจักรไทย
Ratcha Anachak Thai

Flag Emblem

Anthem: Phleng Chat
Royal anthem: Phleng Sansoen Phra Barami