Thailand (2004) | Israel (2002) | |
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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 | 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 24.1% (male 7,985,724; female 7,631,337)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 21,998,552; female 22,538,765) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 2,167,421; female 2,543,724) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.1% (male 837,491; female 798,695)
15-64 years: 63% (male 1,905,677; female 1,889,525) 65 years and over: 9.9% (male 257,066; female 341,075) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, cassava (tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans | citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 109 (2003 est.) | 54 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 65
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.) |
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 44
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 28 (2004 est.) |
total: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total: 514,000 sq km
land: 511,770 sq km water: 2,230 sq km |
total: 20,770 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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. Thailand is currently facing armed violence in its three Muslim-majority southernmost provinces. | Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives (from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip) and Syria, to achieve a permanent settlement. But progress toward a permanent status agreement has been undermined by the outbreak of Palestinian-Israeli violence since September 2000. |
Birth rate | 16.04 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 18.91 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $24.41 billion
expenditures: $24.01 billion, including capital expenditures of $5 billion (2003 est.) |
revenues: $40 billion
expenditures: $42.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Bangkok | Jerusalem; note - Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv |
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 | temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas |
Coastline | 3,219 km | 273 km |
Constitution | new constitution signed by King PHUMIPHON on 11 October 1997 | no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Thailand
conventional short form: Thailand former: Siam |
conventional long form: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el |
Currency | baht (THB) | new Israeli shekel (ILS) |
Death rate | 6.94 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $53.75 billion (2003 est.) | $42.8 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph L. BOYCE
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel C. KURTZER
embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv mailing address: PSC 98, Box 29, APO AE 09830 telephone: [972] (3) 519-7457/7369/7454/7458/7453 FAX: [972] (3) 517-4390 consulate(s) general: Jerusalem; note - an independent US mission, established in 1928, whose members are not accredited to a foreign government |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: KASIT Piromya
chancery: 1024 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 401, Washington, DC 20007-3681 telephone: [1] (202) 944-3600 FAX: [1] (202) 944-3611 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel AYALON
chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 364-3607 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | a 1 kilometer segment at the mouth of the Golok River remains 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; Cambodia accuses Thailand of moving boundary markers and obstructing access to Preah Vihear temple ruins awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in 1962; 2003 anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh resulted in the destruction of the Thai Embassy and damage to 17 Thai-owned businesses and disputes over payments of full compensation persist; groups in Burma and Thailand express concern over China's construction of 13 hydroelectric dams on the Salween River in Yunnan Province | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights) |
Economic aid - recipient | $131.5 million (1998 est.) | NA |
Economy - overview | Thailand has a free-enterprise economy and welcomes foreign investment. Exports feature textiles and footwear, fishery products, rice, rubber, jewelry, automobiles, computers and electrical appliances. Thailand has recovered from the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis and was one of East Asia's best performers in 2002. Increased consumption and investment spending and strong export growth pushed GDP growth up to 6.3% in 2003 despite a sluggish global economy. The highly popular government has pushed an expansionist policy, including major support of village economic development. | Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel is largely self-sufficient in food production except for grains. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable current account deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the US, which is its major source of economic and military aid. The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR during the period 1989-99 coupled with the opening of new markets at the end of the Cold War, energized Israel's economy, which grew rapidly in the early 1990s. But growth began moderating in 1996 when the government imposed tighter fiscal and monetary policies and the immigration bonus petered out. Growth was a strong 6.4% in 2000. But the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict, increasingly the declines in the high-technology and tourist sectors, and fiscal austerity measures in the face of growing inflation have led to declines in GDP in 2001 and 2002. |
Electricity - consumption | 90.91 billion kWh (2001) | 34.897 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 200 million kWh (2001) | 1.27 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 350 million kWh (2001) | 12 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 97.6 billion kWh (2001) | 38.876 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m |
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 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 | limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11% | Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born 14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%), non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab) (1996 est.) |
Exchange rates | baht per US dollar - 41.4846 (2003), 42.9601 (2002), 44.4319 (2001), 40.1118 (2000), 37.8137 (1999) | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.2757 (December 2001), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997) |
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 CHATURON Chaisaeng, Gen. CHAWALIT Yongchaiyut (Ret.), PURACHAI Piamsombun, VISHANU Krua-ngam (since 8 November 2003); LIPTAPANLOP Suwat (since 1 July 2004); SOMSAK Thepsuthin, PHINIT Charusombat (since 6 October 2004) 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 Moshe KATSAV (since 31 July 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ariel SHARON (since 7 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset elections: president elected by the Knesset for a seven-year term; election last held 31 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2007); following legislative elections, the president assigns a Knesset member - traditionally the leader of the largest party - the task of forming a governing coalition; election last held 28 January 2003 (next to be held fall of 2007) election results: Moshe KATSAV elected president by the 120-member Knesset with a total of 60 votes, other candidate, Shimon PERES, received 57 votes (there were three abstentions); Ariel SHARON continues as prime minister after Likud Party victory in January 2003 Knesset elections; Likud won 38 seats and then formed coalition government with Shinui, the National Religious Party, and the National Union |
Exports | NA (2001) | $28 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | computers, office machine parts, transistors, rubber, vehicles (cars and trucks), plastic, seafood (2002) | machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel |
Exports - partners | US 17%, Japan 14.2%, Singapore 7.3%, China 7.1%, Hong Kong 5.4%, Malaysia 4.8% (2003) | US 42.8%, Benelux 7.4%, Hong Kong 6.8%, Germany 4.8%, UK 4.8%, Japan 3.2% (2001) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double width), white, and red | white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $477.5 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $122 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9.8%
industry: 44% services: 46.3% (2003) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 30% services: 67% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,400 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.7% (2003 est.) | -1.1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 100 00 E | 31 30 N, 34 45 E |
Geography - note | controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore | there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 25 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.); Sea of Galilee is an important freshwater source |
Heliports | 3 (2003 est.) | 3 (2002) |
Highways | total: 64,600 km
paved: 62,985 km unpaved: 1,615 km (1999 est.) |
total: 15,965 km
paved: 15,965 km (including 56 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 28% (1992) (1997) |
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 | increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and increasingly Jordan |
Imports | NA (2001) | $30.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials, consumer goods, fuels (2000) | raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Japan 24.1%, US 9.5%, China 8%, Malaysia 6%, Singapore 4.3%, Taiwan 4.2% (2003) | US 23.5%, Benelux 10.2%, Germany 7.9%, uk 6.7%, Switzerland 6.0%, Italy 5.2% (2001) |
Independence | 1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized) | 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 12.3% (2003 est.) | -1.5% (2002 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 | high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, diamond cutting |
Infant mortality rate | total: 21.14 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.49 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
7.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.8% (2003 est.) | 5.7% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | BSEC (observer), CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 21 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 47,490 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,990 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Sandika (judges appointed by the monarch) | Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president) |
Labor force | 34.9 million (2003 est.) | 2.4 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 49%, industry 14%, services 37% (2000 est.) | public services 31%, manufacturing 20%, finance and business 13%, commerce 13%, construction 8%, personal and other services 6%, transport, storage, and communications 6%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 3% (1996) (1996) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,863 km
border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km |
total: 1,017 km
border countries: Egypt 266 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km |
Land use | arable land: 29.36%
permanent crops: 6.46% other: 64.18% (2001) |
arable land: 17.02%
permanent crops: 4.17% other: 78.81% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects | Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language |
Legal system | based on civil law system, with influences of common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; in December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept 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 six-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 by March 2006); House of Representatives - last held 6 January 2001 (next to be held 6 February 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 |
unicameral Knesset or parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 January 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Likud Party 29.4%, Labor 14.5%, Shinui 12.3%, Shas 8.2%, National Union 5.5%, Meretz 5.2%, United Torah Judaism 4.3%, National Religious Party 4.2%, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3.0%, One Nation 2.8%, National Democratic Alliance 2.3%, YBA 2.2%, United Arab List 2.1%, Green Leaf Party 1.2%, Herut 1.2%, other 1.6%; seats by party - Likud 38, Labor 19, Shinui 15, Shas 11, National Union 7, Meretz 6, National Religious Party 6, United Torah Judaism 5, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3, One Nation 3, National Democratic Alliance 3, YBA 2, United Arab List 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.41 years
male: 69.23 years female: 73.71 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 78.86 years
male: 76.82 years female: 81.01 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.6% male: 94.9% female: 90.5% (2002) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95% male: 97% female: 93% (1992 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 339 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,038,597 GRT/3,104,712 DWT
by type: bulk 40, cargo 135, chemical tanker 5, combination bulk 2, combination ore/oil 1, container 19, liquefied gas 22, multi-functional large load carrier 2, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 79, refrigerated cargo 22, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea/passenger 2, specialized tanker 6, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: Egypt 1, Germany 3, Indonesia 1, Japan 4, Norway 38, Panama 2, Singapore 3 registered in other countries: 43 (2004 est.) |
total: 16 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 595,319 GRT/704,544 DWT
ships by type: container 15, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Thai Army, Royal Thai Navy (including Royal Thai Marine Corps), Royal Thai Air Force | Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (includes ground, naval, and air components with Air Defense Forces), Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal); note - historically there have been no separate Israeli military services |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.775 billion (FY00) | $8.97 billion (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2003) | 8.75% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 17,944,151 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,542,835
females age 15-49: 1,499,830 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 10,735,354 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,262,973
females age 15-49: 1,223,939 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 531,511 (2004 est.) | males: 51,666
females: 49,207 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of King PHUMIPHON, 5 December (1927) | Independence Day, 14 May (1948); note - Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May |
Nationality | noun: Thai (singular and plural)
adjective: Thai |
noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli |
Natural hazards | land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes |
Natural resources | tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 2.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 3,112 km; refined products 265 km (2004) | crude oil 708 km; petroleum products 290 km; natural gas 89 km |
Political parties and leaders | Democrat Party or DP (Prachathipat Party) [BANYAT Bantadtan]; People's Party or PP (Mahachon Party) [ANEK Laothamatas]; Thai Nation Party or TNP (Chat Thai Party) [BARNHARN SILPA-ARCHA]; Thai Rak Thai Party or TRT [THAKSIN Chinnawat] | Center Party [Dan MERIDOR]; Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) [Muhammad BARAKA]; Democratic Movement [Roman BRONFMAN]; Gesher [David LEVI]; Herut [michael KLEINER]; Labor Party [Binyamin BEN-ELIEZER]; Likud Party [Ariel SHARON]; Meimad [Rabbi Michael MELCHIOR]; Meretz [Yossi SARID]; National Democratic Alliance (Balad) [Azmi BISHARA]; National Religious Party [Yitzhak LEVY]; National Union [Benyamin ELON] (includes Tekuma and Moledet); One Israel [Ra'anan COHEN]; One Nation [Amir PERETZ]; Shas [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Shinui [Tommy LAPID]; United Arab List [Abd al-Malik DAHAMSHAH]; United Torah Judaism [Meir PORUSH]; Yisra'el Ba'Aliya or YBA [Natan SHARANSKY]; Yisra'el Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Yesha (settler) Council promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise; B'Tselem monitors human rights abuses |
Population | 64,865,523
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 2004 est.) |
6,029,529 (July 2002 est.)
note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, more than 5,000 in the Gaza Strip, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (February 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 10.4% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.91% (2004 est.) | 1.48% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Pattani, Phuket, Sattahip, Si Racha, Songkhla | Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 204, FM 334, shortwave 6 (1999) | AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3.07 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 4,071 km
narrow gauge: 4,071 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
total: 647 km
standard gauge: 647 km 1.435-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | Buddhism 95%, Muslim 3.8%, Christianity 0.5%, Hinduism 0.1%, other 0.6% (1991) | Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other 3.2% (1996 est.) |
Sex ratio | 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 (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
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: country code - 66; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: most highly developed system in the Middle East although not the largest
domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all systems are digital international: 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6.6 million (2003) | 2.8 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 16.117 million (2002) | 2.5 million (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (all in Bangkok; plus 131 repeaters) (1997) | 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere | Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley |
Total fertility rate | 1.89 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.54 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.2% (2003 est.) | 10.4% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 4,000 km
note: 3,701 km navigable by boats with drafts up to 0.9 m (2003) |
none |