South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2003) | Thailand (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 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:
23.43% (male 7,380,273; female 7,099,506) 15-64 years: 69.95% (male 21,304,051; female 21,921,383) 65 years and over: 6.62% (male 1,796,325; female 2,296,213) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | rice, cassava (tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans |
Airports | none (2002) | 110 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total:
59 over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 21 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
51 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 34 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 3,903 sq km
land: 3,903 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Shag Rocks, Black Rock, Clerke Rocks, South Georgia Island, Bird Island, and the South Sandwich Islands, which consist of some nine islands |
total:
514,000 sq km land: 511,770 sq km water: 2,230 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Rhode Island | slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming |
Background | The islands lie approximately 1,000 km east of the Falkland Islands and have been under British administration since 1908, except for a brief period in 1982 when Argentina occupied them. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th and early 20th century whaling station. Famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the rest of his crew, stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in 1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today, the station houses scientists from the British Antarctic Survey. The islands have large bird and seal populations, and, recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993, extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 NM to 200 NM around each island. | 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. |
Birth rate | - | 16.63 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues:
$19 billion expenditures: $21 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | - | Bangkok |
Climate | variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow | 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 | NA km | 3,219 km |
Constitution | adopted 3 October 1985 | new constitution signed by King PHUMIPHON on 11 October 1997 |
Country name | conventional long form: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
conventional short form: none |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Thailand conventional short form: Thailand former: Siam |
Currency | - | baht (THB) |
Death rate | - | 7.54 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $90 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina; administered from the Falkland Islands by a commissioner, who is concurrently governor of the Falkland Islands, representing Queen ELIZABETH II; Grytviken, formerly a whaling station on South Georgia, is a scientific base | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Richard E. HECKLINGER embassy: 120/22 Wireless Road, Bangkok mailing address: APO AP 96546 telephone: [66] (2) 205-4000 FAX: [66] (2) 254-1171 consulate(s) general: Chiang Mai |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) | chief of mission:
Ambassador TEJ Bunnag 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 | briefly occupied by military force in 1982 - claimed by Argentina in constitution but declares it will no longer seek settlement by force | parts of the border with Laos are indefinite; parts of border with Cambodia are indefinite; sporadic border hostilities with Burma over border alignment and ethnic Shan rebels operating in cross-border region |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $131.5 million (1998 est.) |
Economy - overview | Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters. There is a potential source of income from harvesting finfish and krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in the UK, sale of fishing licenses, and harbor and landing fees from tourist vessels. Tourism from specialized cruise ships is increasing rapidly. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 83.991 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 200 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 1.02 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 89.431 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
91.17% hydro: 3.81% nuclear: 0% other: 5.02% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 m |
lowest point:
Gulf of Thailand 0 m highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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:
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 |
Ethnic groups | - | Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11% |
Exchange rates | - | baht per US dollar - 43.078 (January 2001), 40.112 (2000), 37.814 (1999), 41.359 (1998), 31.364 (1997), 25.343 (1996) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state:
King PHUMIPHON Adunyadet (since 9 June 1946) head of government: Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat (since NA January 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers note: there is also a Privy Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister designated from among the members of the House of Representatives; following a national election for the House of Representatives, the leader of the party that can organize a majority coalition usually becomes prime minister |
Exports | - | $68.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | - | computers and parts, textiles, integrated circuits, rice |
Exports - partners | - | US 22%, Japan 14%, Singapore 9%, Hong Kong 5%, Netherlands 4%, Malaysia 4%, UK 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a shield with a golden lion centered; the shield is supported by a fur seal on the left and a penguin on the right; a reindeer appears above the shield, and below it on a scroll is the motto LEO TERRAM PROPRIAM PROTEGAT (Let the Lion Protect its Own Land) | five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double width), white, and red |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $413 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture:
13% industry: 40% services: 47% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 4.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 54 30 S, 37 00 W | 15 00 N, 100 00 E |
Geography - note | the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in the 21st century, live on South Georgia | controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore |
Heliports | - | 2 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
64,600 km paved: 62,985 km unpaved: 1,615 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
2.5% highest 10%: 37.1% (1992) |
Illicit drugs | - | 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 | - | $61.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | - | capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials, consumer goods, fuels |
Imports - partners | - | Japan 26%, US 14%, Singapore 6%, China 5%, Malaysia 5%, Taiwan 5% (1999) |
Independence | - | 1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 3% (2000 est.) |
Industries | - | 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 | - | 30.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 2.1% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | - | APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 15 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 44,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court or Sandika (judges appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | - | 32.6 million (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 54%, industry 15%, services 31% (1996 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen) (1998 est.) |
arable land:
34% permanent crops: 6% permanent pastures: 2% forests and woodland: 26% other: 32% (1993 est.) |
Languages | - | Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply; the senior magistrate from the Falkland Islands presides over the Magistrates Court | based on civil law system, with influences of common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | - | 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, NAP 36, NDP 29, other 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population:
68.86 years male: 65.64 years female: 72.24 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93.8% male: 96% female: 91.6% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma |
Map references | Antarctic Region | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
294 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,845,972 GRT/2,923,914 DWT ships by type: bulk 36, cargo 133, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk 1, container 14, liquefied gas 20, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 61, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 5 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Royal Thai Army, Royal Thai Navy (includes Royal Thai Marine Corps), Royal Thai Air Force, Paramilitary Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $1.775 billion (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.4% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
17,717,268 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
10,646,818 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
567,659 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 14 June (1982) | Birthday of King PHUMIPHON, 5 December (1927) |
Nationality | - | noun:
Thai (singular and plural) adjective: Thai |
Natural hazards | the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism | land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts |
Natural resources | fish | tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land |
Net migration rate | - | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 67 km; natural gas 350 km |
Political parties and leaders | - | Democratic Party or DP (Prachathipat Party) [CHUAN Likphai]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP (Seri Tham) [PHINIT Charusombat]; Mass Party or MP [CHALERM Yoobamrung, SOPHON Petchsavang]; National Development Party or NDP (Chat Phattana) [KORN Dabbaransi]; New Aspiration Party or NAP (Khwamwang Mai) [Gen. CHAWALIT Yongchaiyut]; Phalang Dharma Party or PDP (Phalang Tham) [CHAIWAT Sinsuwong]; Social Action Party or SAP (Kitsangkhom Party) [leader vacant]; Solidarity Party or SP (Ekkaphap Party) [CHAIYOT Sasomsap]; Thai Citizen's Party or TCP (Prachakon Thai) [SAMAK Sunthonwet]; Thai Nation Party or TNP (Chat Thai Party) [BANHAN Sinlapa-acha]; Thai Rak Thai Party or TRT [THAKSIN Chinnawat] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: the small military garrison on South Georgia withdrew in March 2001, to be replaced by a permanent group of scientists of the British Antarctic Survey, which also has a biological station on Bird Island; the South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited (July 2003 est.) |
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.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 12.5% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | 0.91% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Grytviken | Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Pattani, Phuket, Sattahip, Si Racha, Songkhla |
Radio broadcast stations | 0 (2003) | AM 204, FM 334, shortwave 6 (1999) |
Radios | - | 13.96 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
3,940 km narrow gauge: 3,940 km 1.000-m gauge (99 km double track) |
Religions | - | Buddhism 95%, Muslim 3.8%, Christianity 0.5%, Hinduism 0.1%, other 0.6% (1991) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: coastal radiotelephone station at Grytviken |
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 | - | 5.4 million (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 2.3 million (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (2003) | 5 (all in Bangkok; plus 131 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes | central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.87 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 3.7% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | 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 |