Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, bordering Laos and Cambodia to the east, the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia to the south, and the Andaman Sea and Myanmar to the west. Thailand was also known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; IPA: [saˈjaːm]), which was the country's official name until May 11, 1949. The word Thai (ไทย) means "freedom" in the Thai language and is also the name of the majority Thai ethnic group.

History

Thailand's origin is traditionally tied to the short-lived kingdom of Sukhothai founded in 1238, after which the larger kingdom of Ayutthaya was established in the mid-14th century. Thai culture was greatly influenced by both China and India.

Contact with various European powers began in the 16th century but, despite continued pressure, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. Western influence, however, including the threat of force, led to many reforms in the 19th century and major concessions to British mercantile interests. This included the loss of the 3 southern provinces, which later became Malaysia's 3 northern states.

Thailand was never colonised by a European power. There are two main reasons for this. First, Thailand had a series of very able rulers in the 1800s. Secondly, it was able to exploit the rivalry and tension between the French and the British and thus remained as a buffer state between parts of S.E.Asia that were colonised by the the two colonial powers.

A mostly bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. Known previously as Siam, the country first changed its name to Thailand in 1939, and definitively in 1949 after reverting to the old name post-World War II. During that conflict Thailand was in a loose alliance with Japan; following its conclusion Thailand became an ally of the United States. Thailand then saw a series of military coups d'état, but progressed towards democracy from the 1980s onward. In 1997 was hit by the Asian financial crisis and the Thai Baht was soon worth 56 baht to the US Dollar compared to about 20 Baht to the dollar before 1997. Since then the baht has regained some strength and currently trades around 36-38 baht to the dollar.

The official calendar in Thailand is based on the Buddhist Era, which is 543 years ahead of the Gregorian (western) calendar. For example, the year AD 2006 is equal to the year 2549 BE.

Government

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and the King is extremely respected and revered. It is illegal to insult the Royal Family. However, this fundamental respect of the Thai royal family has led to politically powerful individuals unfairly citing the offence of Lèse majesté against outspoken political rivals to manipulate the political process. Police act quickly on such matters and western liberal democratic ideals of justice may be overshadowed by the emotional response of both the police and courts. There have been incidents where Lèse majesté was alleged for just using parts of published royal speeches as this, according to the accusers, requires interpretation of the royal word.

The Thai King recently celebrated 60 years on the throne and millions of Thai citizens commemorated the event and showed their reverence by donning yellow t-shirts - the official royal colour.

Politics

The king has little direct power under the constitution but is the anointed protector of Thai Buddhism and a symbol of national identity and unity. The present monarch enjoys a great deal of popular respect and moral authority, which has on occasion been used to resolve political crises. It is illegal to mock or criticize the King and doing so can bring about charges of lèse majesté. The head of government is the Prime Minister, who is appointed by the king from among the members of the lower house of parliament, usually the leader of the party that can organise a majority coalition government.

The bicameral Thai parliament is the National Assembly (รัฐสภา, rathasapha) which consists of a House of Representatives (สภาผู้แทนราษฎร, sapha phuthaen ratsadon) of 500 seats and a Senate (วุฒิสภา, wuthisapha) of 200 seats. Members of both houses are elected by popular vote. The House of Representatives is elected by the first-past-the-post system, where only one candidate with a simple majority will be elected in one constituency. The Senate is elected based on the province system, where one province can return more than one Senator depending on its population size. Members of House of Representatives serve four-year terms, while Senators serve six-year terms. The court system (ศาล, saan) has three layers, the highest judicial body being the Supreme Court (ศาลฎีกา, sandika). Thailand is an active member of the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Geography

At 513,000 km² (198,000 sq mi), Thailand is the world's 49th-largest country. It is comparable in size to Spain, and somewhat larger than the US state of California.

Thailand is home to several distinct geographic regions, partly corresponding to the provincial groups. The north of the country is mountainous, with the highest point being Doi Inthanon at 2,576 metres (8,451 ft). The northeast consists of the Khorat Plateau, bordered to the east by the Mekong river. The centre of the country is dominated by the predominantly flat Chao Phraya river valley, which runs into the Gulf of Thailand. The south consists of the narrow Kra Isthmus that widens into the Malay Peninsula.

The local climate is tropical and characterised by monsoons. There is a rainy, warm, and cloudy southwest monsoon from mid-May to September, as well as a dry, cool northeast monsoon from November to mid-March. The southern isthmus is always hot and humid. Major cities beside the capital Bangkok include Nakhon Ratchasima, Udon Thani, Nakhon Sawan, Chiang Mai, Surat Thani, Phuket and Hat Yai (Songkhla Province).

Economy

After enjoying the world's highest growth rate from 1985 to 1995 - averaging almost 9% annually - increased pressure on Thailand's currency, the baht, in 1997 led to a crisis that uncovered financial sector weaknesses and forced the government to float the currency. Long pegged at 25 to the US dollar, the baht reached its lowest point of 56 to the US dollar in January 1998 and the economy contracted by 10.2% that same year. The collapse prompted a wider Asian financial crisis.

Thailand entered a recovery stage in 1999, expanding 4.2% and grew 4.4% in 2000, largely due to strong exports - which increased about 20% in 2000. Growth was dampened by a softening of the global economy in 2001, but picked up in the subsequent years due to strong growth in China and the various domestic stimulation programs of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, popularly known as Thaksinomics. Growth in 2003 and 2004 was over 6% annually.

Substantial industries include electric appliances, components, computer parts and automobiles, while tourism contributes about 5% of the Thai economy's GDP. Long stay foreign residents also contribute heavily to GDP.