Thailand (2002) | Sudan (2003) | |
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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 | 26 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al Khartum, Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash Shamaliyah, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al Ghazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan, Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur, Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.3% (male 7,404,227; female 7,121,083)
15-64 years: 69.9% (male 21,469,186; female 22,090,520) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 1,868,632; female 2,400,754) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 44% (male 8,562,412; female 8,195,201)
15-64 years: 53.8% (male 10,260,581; female 10,246,045) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 468,898; female 381,023) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, cassava (tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans | cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock |
Airports | 110 (2001) | 63 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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) |
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 49
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 31 (2002) |
total: 51
1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 24 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
Area | total: 514,000 sq km
land: 511,770 sq km water: 2,230 sq km |
total: 2,505,810 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,810 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming | slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US |
Background | 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. | Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for all but 10 years of this period (1972-82). The wars are rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. Since 1983, the war and war- and famine-related effects have led to more than 2 million deaths and over 4 million people displaced. The ruling regime is a mixture of military elite and an Islamist party that came to power in a 1989 coup. Some northern opposition parties have made common cause with the southern rebels and entered the war as a part of an anti-government alliance. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-03 with the signing of several accords, including a cease-fire agreement. |
Birth rate | 16.39 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 36.48 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $19 billion
expenditures: $21 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $1.6 billion
expenditures: $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Bangkok | Khartoum |
Climate | tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid | tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season varies by region (April to November) |
Coastline | 3,219 km | 853 km |
Constitution | new constitution signed by King PHUMIPHON on 11 October 1997 | 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989; new constitution implemented on 30 June 1998 partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Thailand
conventional short form: Thailand former: Siam |
conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan
conventional short form: Sudan local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan local short form: As-Sudan former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan |
Currency | baht (THB) | Sudanese dinar (SDD) |
Death rate | 7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.59 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $69.4 billion (2001 est.) | $15.8 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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) 254-1171 consulate(s) general: Chiang Mai |
US Embassy in Khartoum is located on Sharia Abdul Latif Avenue; mailing address - P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829; telephone - [249] (11) 774611 or 774700; FAX - [249] (11) 774137 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge D'Affairs, Ad Interim Khidir Haroun AHMED (since April 2001)
chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406 |
Disputes - international | a one km stretch of Malaysia-Thailand territory at the mouth of the Kolok river remains in dispute, despite overall success in boundary redemarcation; Cambodia accuses Thailand of moving or destroying boundary markers and encroachment, of not respecting its claims, and of sealing off access to the Preah Vihear temple ruin awarded to Cambodia by the ICJ in 1962; demarcation of boundary with Laos is nearing completion, but Mekong River islets remain in dispute; Laos also protests Thai squatters; despite renewed border committee talks, significant differences remain with Burma over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic guerrilla rebels, refugees, smuggling, and drug trafficking in cross-border region | the north-south civil war has drawn Sudan's neighbors into the fighting, sheltering refugees, and infiltration by rebel groups - Kenya and Uganda have acted as mediators; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia have been delayed by fighting in Sudan; Kenya's administrative boundary still extends into the Sudan, creating the "Ilemi triangle"; Egypt and Sudan retain claims to administer the triangular areas that extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel, but have withdrawn their military presence; Egypt is economically developing the "Hala'ib triangle" |
Economic aid - recipient | $131.5 million (1998 est.) | $187 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | 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 4.4% 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, however, slowed growth in 2001 to 1.4%. | Sudan has turned around a struggling economy with sound economic policies and infrastructure investments, but it still faces formidable economic problems, notably the low level of per capita output. From 1997 to date, Sudan has been implementing IMF macroeconomic reforms. In 1999 Sudan began exporting crude oil and in the last quarter of 1999 recorded its first trade surplus, which, along with monetary policy, has stabilized the exchange rate. Increased oil production, revived light industry, and expanded export processing zones helped maintain GDP growth at 5.1% in 2002. Agriculture production remains Sudan's most important sector, employing 80% of the work force and contributing 43% of GDP, but most farms remain rain-fed and susceptible to drought. Chronic domestic instability, lagging reforms, adverse weather, and weak world agricultural prices - but, above all, the low starting point - ensure that much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years. |
Electricity - consumption | 90.261 billion kWh (2000) | 2.222 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 151 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 2.7 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 94.314 billion kWh (2000) | 2.389 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 92%
hydro: 6% nuclear: 0% other: 1% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 52.1%
hydro: 47.9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m |
lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from organic and factory wastes; deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by illegal hunting | inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought |
Environment - international agreements | 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11% | black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | baht per US dollar - 43.982 (January 2002), 43.432 (2001), 40.112 (2000), 37.814 (1999), 41.359 (1998), 31.364 (1997) | Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 263.31 (2002), 258.7 (2001), 257.12 (2000), 252.55 (1999), 200.8 (1998) |
Executive branch | 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 |
chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the National Congress Party or NCP (formerly the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates al-BASHIR's cabinet elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR 86.5%, Ja'afar Muhammed NUMAYRI 9.6%, three other candidates received a combined vote of 3.9%; election widely viewed as rigged; all popular opposition parties boycotted elections because of a lack of guarantees for a free and fair election note: Lt. Gen. al-BASHIR assumed supreme executive power in 1989 and retained it through several transitional governments in the early and mid-1990s before being popularly elected for the first time in March 1996 |
Exports | $65.3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | computers, transistors, seafood, clothing, rice | oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar |
Exports - partners | US 23%, Japan 14%, Singapore 8%, China 6%, Hong Kong 5%, Malaysia 4% (2000) | China 55.7%, Japan 14%, Saudi Arabia 4.9% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double width), white, and red | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $410 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $52.9 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11%
industry: 40% services: 49% (2001) |
agriculture: 43%
industry: 17% services: 40% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.4% (2001 est.) | 5.1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 100 00 E | 15 00 N, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore | largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries |
Heliports | 2 (2002) | 2 (2002) |
Highways | total: 64,600 km
paved: 62,985 km unpaved: 1,615 km (1996) |
total: 11,900 km
paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 32% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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 | $62.3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials, consumer goods, fuels | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat |
Imports - partners | Japan 24%, US 11%, Singapore 10%, Malaysia 6%, China 4%, Taiwan 4% (2000) | China 19.7%, Saudi Arabia 7.4%, Germany 5.5%, India 5.5%, UK 5.4%, Indonesia 4.7%, Australia 4% (2002) |
Independence | 1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized) | 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 8.5% (1999 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 | oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly |
Infant mortality rate | 29.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 65.59 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 66.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 64.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.6% (2001) | 9.2% (2002 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, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 15 (2000) | 2 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 47,490 sq km (1998 est.) | 19,500 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Sandika (judges appointed by the monarch) | Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts |
Labor force | 33.4 million (2001 est.) | 11 million (1996 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 54%, industry 15%, services 31% (1996 est.) | agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 7%, government 13% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,863 km
border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km |
total: 7,687 km
border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km |
Land use | arable land: 32.88%
permanent crops: 7% other: 60.12% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 7.03%
permanent crops: 0.08% other: 92.89% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects | Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process |
Legal system | based on civil law system, with influences of common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 |
unicameral National Assembly (360 seats; 270 popularly elected, 90 elected by supra assembly of interest groups known as National Congress; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 13-22 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004) election results: NCP 355, others 5 note: on 12 December 1999, BASHIR dismissed the National Assembly during an internal power struggle between the president and the speaker of the National Assembly Hassan al-TURABI |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.18 years
male: 66 years female: 72.51 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 57.73 years
male: 56.59 years female: 58.93 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.8% male: 96% female: 91.6% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 61.1% male: 71.8% female: 50.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma | Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 18 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 297 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,661,314 GRT/2,564,820 DWT
ships by type: bulk 34, cargo 133, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk 1, container 14, liquefied gas 20, multi-functional large-load carrier 2, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 65, refrigerated cargo 16, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 4 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.) |
total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 29,854 GRT/39,084 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, livestock carrier 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | 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) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.775 billion (FY00) | $581 million (2001 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY00) | 2.5% (1999) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 17,766,501 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 9,032,834 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 10,660,530 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 5,558,462 (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: 567,659 (2002 est.) | males: 429,334 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of King PHUMIPHON, 5 December (1927) | Independence Day, 1 January (1956) |
Nationality | noun: Thai (singular and plural)
adjective: Thai |
noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Sudanese |
Natural hazards | land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts | dust storms and periodic persistent droughts |
Natural resources | tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land | petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 67 km; natural gas 350 km | gas 156 km; oil 2,297 km; refined products 810 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party or DP (Prachathipat Party) [CHUAN Likphai]; Mass Party or MP [CHALERM Yoobamrung, SOPHON Petchsavang]; National Development Party or NDP (Chat Phattana) [KORN Dabbaransi]; Phalang Dharma Party or PDP (Phalang Tham) [CHAIWAT Sinsuwong]; 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]
note: the Liberal Democratic Party or LDP (Seri Tham) and the New Aspiration Party or NAP (Khwamwang Mai) no longer exist as separate parties; elements of the two parties joined the Thai Rak Thai Party or TRT |
the government allows political "associations" under a 1998 law revised in 2000; to obtain government approval parties must accept the constitution and refrain from advocating or using violence against the regime; approved parties include the National Congress Party or NCP [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR], Popular National Congress or PNC [Hassan al-TURABI], and over 20 minor, pro-government parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Democratic Unionist Party [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI]; National Congress Party [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR]; National Democratic Alliance [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI, chairman]; Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army [Dr. John GARANG]; Umma [Sadiq al-MAHDI] |
Population | 62,354,402
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 2002 est.) |
38,114,160 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 13% (1998 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.88% (2002 est.) | 2.71% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Pattani, Phuket, Sattahip, Si Racha, Songkhla | Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 204, FM 334, shortwave 6 (1999) | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 13.96 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 4,071 km
narrow gauge: 4,071 km 1.000-m gauge (`2001) |
total: 5,978 km
narrow gauge: 4,578 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km 0.600-m gauge plantation line (2002) |
Religions | Buddhism 95%, Muslim 3.8%, Christianity 0.5%, Hinduism 0.1%, other 0.6% (1991) | Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum) |
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 (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.23 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 17 years of age; universal, but noncompulsory |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: large, well-equipped system by regional standards and being upgraded; cellular communications started in 1996 and have expanded substantially
domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 5.6 million (2000) | 400,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3.1 million (2002) | 20,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (all in Bangkok; plus 131 repeaters) (1997) | 3 (1997) |
Terrain | central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere | generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in far south, northeast and west; desert dominates the north |
Total fertility rate | 1.86 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.1 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.9% (2001 est.) | 18.7% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 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 |
5,310 km |