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Compare China (2002) - Thailand (2003)
Compare China (2002) z Thailand (2003)
| China (2002) | Thailand (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities** (shi, singular and plural); Anhui, Beijing**, Chongqing**, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol*, Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai**, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin**, Xinjiang*, Xizang* (Tibet), Yunnan, Zhejiang; note - China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau | 76 provinces (changwat, singular and plural); Amnat Charoen, Ang Thong, Buriram, Chachoengsao, Chai Nat, Chaiyaphum, Chanthaburi, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Chon Buri, Chumphon, Kalasin, Kamphaeng Phet, Kanchanaburi, Khon Kaen, Krabi, Krung Thep Mahanakhon (Bangkok), Lampang, Lamphun, Loei, Lop Buri, Mae Hong Son, Maha Sarakham, Mukdahan, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Sawan, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nan, Narathiwat, Nong Bua Lamphu, Nong Khai, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Pattani, Phangnga, Phatthalung, Phayao, Phetchabun, Phetchaburi, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Phrae, Phuket, Prachin Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Ranong, Ratchaburi, Rayong, Roi Et, Sa Kaeo, Sakon Nakhon, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Sara Buri, Satun, Sing Buri, Sisaket, Songkhla, Sukhothai, Suphan Buri, Surat Thani, Surin, Tak, Trang, Trat, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, Uthai Thani, Uttaradit, Yala, Yasothon |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 24.3% (male 163,821,081; female 148,855,387)
15-64 years: 68.4% (male 452,354,428; female 426,055,713) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 43,834,528; female 49,382,568) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 24.2% (male 7,955,597; female 7,604,652)
15-64 years: 68.8% (male 21,819,445; female 22,362,085) 65 years and over: 7% (male 2,081,768; female 2,441,729) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish | rice, cassava (tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans |
| Airports | 489 (2001) | 111 (2002) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 324
over 3,047 m: 27 2,438 to 3,047 m: 88 1,524 to 2,437 m: 147 914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 32 (2002) |
total: 62
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 165
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 29 914 to 1,523 m: 56 under 914 m: 78 (2002) |
total: 49
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 31 (2002) |
| Area | total: 9,596,960 sq km
land: 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km |
total: 514,000 sq km
land: 511,770 sq km water: 2,230 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the US | slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming |
| Background | For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. But in the 19th and early 20th centuries, China was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established a dictatorship that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping gradually introduced market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision making, and output quadrupled by 2000. Political controls remain tight even while economic controls continue to be relaxed. | A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century. 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. |
| Birth rate | 15.85 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 16.37 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $161.8 billion
expenditures: $191.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000) |
revenues: $19 billion
expenditures: $21 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Capital | Beijing | Bangkok |
| Climate | extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north | tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid |
| Coastline | 14,500 km | 3,219 km |
| Constitution | most recent promulgation 4 December 1982 | new constitution signed by King PHUMIPHON on 11 October 1997 |
| Country name | conventional long form: People's Republic of China
conventional short form: China local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo local short form: Zhong Guo abbreviation: PRC |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Thailand
conventional short form: Thailand former: Siam |
| Currency | yuan (CNY) | baht (THB) |
| Death rate | 6.77 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.86 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $149.4 billion (2002 est.) | $62.5 billion (2002 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr.
embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3431 FAX: [86] (10) 6532-6929 consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenyang |
chief of mission: Ambassador Darryl N. JOHNSON
embassy: 120/22 Wireless Road, Bangkok mailing address: APO AP 96546 telephone: [66] (2) 205-4000 FAX: [66] (2) 254-2990, 205-4131 consulate(s) general: Chiang Mai |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador YANG Jiechi
chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador SAKTHIP Krairiksh
chancery: 1024 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 944-3600 FAX: [1] (202) 944-3611 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
| Disputes - international | in 2000, China joined ASEAN discussions towards creating a South China Sea "code of conduct" - a non-legally binding, confidence-building measure; much of the rugged, militarized boundary with India is in dispute, but talks to resolve the least contested middle sector resumed in 2001; ongoing talks with Tajikistan have failed to resolve the longstanding dispute over the indefinite boundary; Kazakhstan is working rapidly with China to delimit its large open borders to control population migration, illegal activities, and trade; 2001 Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation commits Russia and China to seek peaceable unanimity over disputed alluvial islands at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers and a small island on the Argun; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary agreement with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin awaits ratification; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan; demarcation of the land boundary with Vietnam has commenced, but details of the alignment have not been made public; 33-km section of boundary with North Korea in the Paektu-san (mountain) area is indefinite | completion of boundary demarcation with Cambodia hampered by accusations of moving and destroying boundary markers, encroachments, initiating border incidents, and sealing off Preah Vihear temple ruins, awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in 1962; demarcation complete except for a 1 kilometer segment at the mouth of the Kolok River in dispute with Malaysia; demarcation with Laos complete except for certain Mekong River islets and complaints of Thai squatters; despite continuing border committee talks, significant differences remain with Burma over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities |
| Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $131.5 million (1998 est.) |
| Economy - overview | In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy from a sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within a political framework of strict Communist control, the economic influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has been steadily increasing. The authorities have switched to a system of household and village responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprise in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. In 2002, with its 1.28 billion people but a GDP of just $4,600 per capita, China stood as the second largest economy in the world after the US (measured on a purchasing power parity basis). Agriculture and industry have posted major gains, especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment has helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. On the darker side, the leadership has often experienced in its hybrid system the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy and lassitude) and of capitalism (windfall gains and growing income disparities). Beijing thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. The government has struggled to (a) collect revenues due from provinces, businesses, and individuals; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises many of which had been shielded from competition by subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 80 to 120 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to maintaining long-term growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. Beijing will intensify efforts to stimulate growth through spending on infrastructure - such as water control and power grids - and poverty relief and through rural tax reform aimed at eliminating arbitrary local levies on farmers. Access to the World Trade Organization strengthens China's ability to maintain sturdy growth rates, and at the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of strong political controls and growing market influences. Although Beijing has claimed 7%-8% annual growth in recent years, many observers believe the rate, while strong, is more like 5%. | Thailand has a free enterprise economy and welcomes foreign investment. Exports feature computers and electrical appliances. 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 then entered a recovery stage, expanding by 4.2% in 1999 and 4.4% in 2000, largely due to strong exports. An ailing financial sector and the slow pace of corporate debt restructuring, combined with a softening of global demand, slowed growth to 1.4% in 2001. Increased consumption and investment spending pushed GDP growth up to 5.2% in 2002 despite a sluggish global economy. |
| Electricity - consumption | 1.206 trillion kWh (2000) | 90.91 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 10.25 billion kWh (2000) | 200 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 400 million kWh (2000) | 350 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 1.308 trillion kWh (2000) | 97.6 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 82%
hydro: 17% nuclear: 1% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 91.3%
hydro: 6.4% nuclear: 0% other: 2.4% (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m |
| Environment - current issues | air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal, produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from organic and factory wastes; deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by illegal hunting |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Climate Change, Desertification, 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 |
| Ethnic groups | Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1% | Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11% |
| Exchange rates | yuan per US dollar - 8.2767 (January 2002), 8.2771 (2001), 8.2785 (2000), 8.2783 (1999), 8.2790 (1998), 8.2898 (1997) | baht per US dollar - 42.96 (2002), 44.43 (2001), 40.11 (2000), 37.81 (1999), 41.36 (1998) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Hu Jintao (since 15 March 2003) and Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003)
head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Vice Premiers QIAN Qichen (since 29 March 1993), LI Lanqing (29 March 1993), WU Bangguo (since 17 March 1995), and WEN Jiabao (since 18 March 1998) cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC) elections: president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for five-year terms; elections last held 16-18 March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2003); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress election results: JIANG Zemin reelected president by the Ninth National People's Congress with a total of 2,882 votes (36 delegates voted against him, 29 abstained, and 32 did not vote); HU Jintao elected vice president by the Ninth National People's Congress with a total of 2,841 votes (67 delegates voted against him, 39 abstained, and 32 did not vote) |
chief of state: King PHUMIPHON Adunyadet (since 9 June 1946)
head of government: Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat (since 9 February 2001) and Deputy Prime Ministers Gen. (Ret.) CHAWALIT Yongchaiyut, KON Thappharansi, SUWIT Khunkitti, CHATURON Chaisaeng, VISHANU Krua-ngam, and PROMMIN Lertsuridej (since 18 February 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers note: there is also a Privy Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister is designated from among the members of the House of Representatives; following national elections for the House of Representatives, the leader of the party that can organize a majority coalition usually is appointed prime minister by the king |
| Exports | $312.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment; textiles and clothing, footwear, toys and sporting goods; mineral fuels | computers, transistors, seafood, clothing, rice (2000) |
| Exports - partners | US 20.4%, Hong Kong 17.5%, Japan 16.9%, South Korea 4.7%, Germany 3.7%, Netherlands 2.7%, UK 2.6%, Singapore 2.2%, Taiwan (2001) | US 19.6%, Japan 14.5%, Singapore 8.1%, Hong Kong 5.4%, China 5.2%, Malaysia 4.1% (2002) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
| Flag description | red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner | five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double width), white, and red |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $6 trillion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $445.8 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 18%
industry: 49% services: 33% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 11%
industry: 40% services: 49% (2001) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,600 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,000 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 8% (official estimate) (2002 est.) | 5.3% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 35 00 N, 105 00 E | 15 00 N, 100 00 E |
| Geography - note | world's fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal, is the world's tallest peak; soybean, one of the oldest of cultivated crops, is believed to have originated in China | controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore |
| Heliports | - | 2 (2002) |
| Highways | total: 1.4 million km
paved: 271,300 km (with at least 16,000 km of expressways) unpaved: 1,128,700 km (1999) |
total: 64,600 km
paved: 62,985 km unpaved: 1,615 km (1999 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 30% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
| Illicit drugs | major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors and methamphetamine | a minor producer of opium, heroin, and marijuana; illicit transit point for heroin en route to the international drug market from Burma and Laos; eradication efforts have reduced the area of cannabis cultivation and shifted some production to neighboring countries; opium poppy cultivation has been reduced by eradication efforts; also a drug money-laundering center; minor role in amphetamine production for regional consumption; increasing indigenous abuse of methamphetamine |
| Imports | $268.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, plastics, iron and steel, chemicals | capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials, consumer goods, fuels (2000) |
| Imports - partners | Japan 17.6%, Taiwan 11.2%, US 10.8%, South Korea 9.6%, Germany 5.7%, Hong Kong 3.9%, Russia 3.3%, Malaysia 2.5% (2001) | Japan 23%, US 9.6%, China 7.6%, Malaysia 5.6%, Singapore 4.5%, Taiwan 4.4% (2002) |
| Independence | 221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty 221 BC; Qing or Ch'ing Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912; People's Republic established 1 October 1949) | 1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 13.5% (2002 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
| Industries | iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications | tourism; textiles and garments, agricultural processing, beverages, tobacco, cement, light manufacturing, such as jewelry; electric appliances and components, computers and parts, integrated circuits, furniture, plastics; world's second-largest tungsten producer and third-largest tin producer |
| Infant mortality rate | 27.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 21.83 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.17 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.8% (2002 est.) | 0.6% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CCC, CDB, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), OPCW, PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMISET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | 15 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 525,800 sq km (1998 est.) | 47,490 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate and local courts); Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime, and railway transport courts) | Supreme Court or Sandika (judges appointed by the monarch) |
| Labor force | 706 million (2000 est.) | 33.4 million (2001 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 50%, industry 23%, services 27% (2001 est.) | agriculture 54%, industry 15%, services 31% (1996 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 22,147.34 km
border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km |
total: 4,863 km
border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km |
| Land use | arable land: 13.31%
permanent crops: 1.2% other: 85.49% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 32.88%
permanent crops: 7% other: 60.12% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry) | Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects |
| Legal system | a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law; rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal codes in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law | based on civil law system, with influences of common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,979 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held NA December 1997-NA February 1998 (next to be held late 2002-NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - NA |
bicameral National Assembly or Rathasapha consists of the Senate or Wuthisapha (200 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Sapha Phuthaen Ratsadon (500 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 4 March, 29 April, 4 June, 9 July, and 22 July 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004); House of Representatives - last held 6 January 2001 (next to be held NA January 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - TRT 248, DP 128, TNP 41, NDP 29, other 54 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.86 years
male: 70.02 years female: 73.86 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 71.24 years
male: 69.07 years female: 73.53 years (2003 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.5% male: 89.9% female: 72.7% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96% male: 97.5% female: 94.6% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma |
| Map references | Asia | Southeast Asia |
| Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | total: 1,764 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,915,047 GRT/25,366,296 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 328, cargo 822, chemical tanker 25, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 1, container 134, liquefied gas 26, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 45, petroleum tanker 263, refrigerated cargo 26, roll on/roll off 23, short-sea passenger 42, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 1, Germany 1, Hong Kong 16, Japan 2, Panama 2, South Korea 1, Spain 1, Taiwan 9, Tanzania 1, Turkey 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 317 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,744,103 GRT/2,657,666 DWT
ships by type: bulk 33, cargo 136, chemical tanker 5, combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 1, container 17, liquefied gas 21, multi-functional large-load carrier 2, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 74, refrigerated cargo 17, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 4, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1, Greece 1, Indonesia 1, Japan 1, Norway 24, Panama 1, Singapore 1 (2002 est.) |
| Military branches | People's Liberation Army (PLA): comprises ground forces, Navy (including naval infantry and naval aviation), Air Force, and II Artillery Corps (strategic missile force), People's Armed Police Force (internal security troops, nominally a state security body but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA), militia | Royal Thai Army, Royal Thai Navy (includes Royal Thai Marine Corps), Royal Thai Air Force, paramilitary forces (includes the Border Patrol Police [including Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit], Thahan Phran, Special Action Forces, Police Aviation Division, Thai Marine Police, and the Volunteer Defense Corps) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20.048 billion (2002); note - this is the officially announced figure, but actual defense spending more likely ranges from $45 billion to $65 billion for 2002 | $1.775 billion (FY00) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (2002); note - this is the officially announced figure, but actual defense spending is more likely between 3.5% to 5.0% of GDP for 2002 | 1.4% (FY00) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 370,087,489 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 17,904,298 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 203,003,036 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 10,724,565 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 10,089,458 (2002 est.) | males: 520,472 (2003 est.) |
| National holiday | Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949) | Birthday of King PHUMIPHON, 5 December (1927) |
| Nationality | noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese |
noun: Thai (singular and plural)
adjective: Thai |
| Natural hazards | frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence | land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts |
| Natural resources | coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest) | tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land |
| Net migration rate | -0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 9,070 km; petroleum products 560 km; natural gas 9,383 km (1998) | gas 3,066 km; refined products 265 km (2003) |
| Political parties and leaders | Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao, General Secretary of the Central Committee]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP | Democratic Party or DP (Prachathipat Party) [BANTADTAN Banyat]; National Development Party or NDP (Chat Phattana) [KORN Dabbaransi]; Thai Nation Party or TNP (Chat Thai Party) [BANHAN Sinlapa-acha]; Thai Rak Thai Party or TRT [THAKSIN Chinnawat] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong sect and the China Democracy Party as potential rivals | NA |
| Population | 1,284,303,705 (July 2002 est.) | 64,265,276
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 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 10% (2001 est.) | 12.5% (1998 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.87% (2002 est.) | 0.95% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang (2001) | Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Pattani, Phuket, Sattahip, Si Racha, Songkhla |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998) | AM 204, FM 334, shortwave 6 (1999) |
| Radios | 417 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | total: 67,524 km (including 5,400 km of provincial "local" rails)
standard gauge: 63,924 km 1.435-m gauge (13,362 km electrified; 20,250 km double-track) narrow gauge: 3,600 km 0.750-m and 1.000-m gauge local industrial lines (1999 est.) |
total: 4,071 km
narrow gauge: 4,071 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
| Religions | Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4%
note: officially atheist (2002 est.) |
Buddhism 95%, Muslim 3.8%, Christianity 0.5%, Hinduism 0.1%, other 0.6% (1991) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.09 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
| Telephone system | general assessment: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns
domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); several international fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany (2000) |
general assessment: service to general public adequate, but investment in technological upgrades reduced by recession; bulk of service to government activities provided by multichannel cable and microwave radio relay network
domestic: microwave radio relay and multichannel cable; domestic satellite system being developed international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 135 million (2000) | 5.6 million (2000) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 65 million (January 2001) | 3.1 million (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997) | 5 (all in Bangkok; plus 131 repeaters) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east | central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere |
| Total fertility rate | 1.82 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.91 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2002 est.) | 2.9% (2002 est.) |
| Waterways | 110,000 km (1999) | 4,000 km
note: 3,701 km are navigable throughout the year by boats with drafts up to 0.9 meters; numerous minor waterways serve shallow-draft native craft |
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