Thailand (2005) | Tokelau (2008) | |
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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 | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.9% (male 7,988,529/female 7,633,405)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 22,195,625/female 22,731,767) 65 years and over: 7.5% (male 2,251,112/female 2,643,933) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% |
Agriculture - products | rice, cassava (tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats; fish |
Airports | 109 (2004 est.) | - |
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.) |
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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.) |
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Area | total: 514,000 sq km
land: 511,770 sq km water: 2,230 sq km |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
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. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | 15.7 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA |
Budget | revenues: $30.86 billion
expenditures: $31.94 billion, including capital expenditures of $5 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million (1987 est.) |
Capital | Bangkok | none; each atoll has its own administrative center
time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 3,219 km | 101 km |
Constitution | new constitution signed by King PHUMIPHON on 11 October 1997 | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948; amended in 1970 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Thailand
conventional short form: Thailand former: Siam |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
Death rate | 7.02 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA |
Debt - external | $50.59 billion (2004 est.) | - |
Dependency status | - | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelau and New Zealand have agreed to a draft constitution as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand; a UN sponsored referendum on self governance in October 2007 did not produce the two-thirds majority vote necessary for changing the political status |
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 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
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 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim southern provinces prompt border closures and controls with Malaysia to stem terrorist activities; southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; Laos and Thailand pledge to complete demarcation of their boundary in 2005; 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 and Thailand dispute sections of boundary with missing boundary markers; Cambodia claims Thai encroachments into Cambodian territory and obstructing access to Preah Vihear temple ruins awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in 1962; ethnic Karens from Burma flee into Thailand to escape fighting between Karen rebels and Burmese troops resulting in Thailand sheltering about 118,000 Burmese refugees in 2004; Karens also protest Thai support for a Burmese hydroelectric dam construction on the Salween River near the border; environmentalists in Burma and Thailand remain concerned about China's construction of hydroelectric dams upstream on the Nujiang/Salween River in Yunnan Province | Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island (Olohega) in its 2006 draft constitution |
Economic aid - recipient | $72 million (2002) | - |
Economy - overview | Thailand has a well developed infrastructure, a free-enterprise economy, and welcomes foreign investment. Thailand has fully recovered from the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis and was one of East Asia's best performers in 2002-04. Increased consumption and investment spending and strong export growth pushed GDP growth up to 6.9% in 2003 and 6.1% in 2004 despite a sluggish global economy. The highly popular government's expansionist policy, including major support of village economic development, has raised concerns about fiscal discipline and the health of financial institutions. Bangkok has pursued preferential trade agreements with a variety of partners in an effort to boost exports and maintain high growth, and in 2004 began negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement with the US. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took 8,500 lives in Thailand and caused massive destruction of property in the southern provinces of Krabi, Phangnga, and Phuket. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | 106.1 billion kWh (2003) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 188 million kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - imports | 600 million kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - production | 118.9 billion kWh (2003) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 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 natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11% | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | baht per US dollar - 40.222 (2004), 41.485 (2003), 42.96 (2002), 44.432 (2001), 40.112 (2000) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.3811 (2007), 1.5408 (2006), 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003) |
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 CHITCHAI Wannasathi (since 11 March 2005), PHINIT Charusombat (since 6 October 2004), SOMKHIT Chatusiphithak (since 11 March 2005), SURAKIAT Sathianthai (since 11 March 2005); SURIYA Chungrungruankit (since 3 August 2005), SUWAT Liptapanlop (since 3 August 2005), WISANU Kruangam (since 8 November 2003) 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General of New Zealand Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006); New Zealand is represented by Administrator David PAYTON (since 17 October 2006)
head of government: Pio TUIA (since 23 February 2008); note - position rotates annually among the three Faipule (village leaders) cabinet: the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau, consisting of three Faipule (village leaders) and three Pulenuku (village mayors), functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | NA | $0 |
Exports - commodities | textiles and footwear, fishery products, rice, rubber, jewelry, automobiles, computers and electrical appliances | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | US 15.9%, Japan 13.9%, China 7.3%, Singapore 7.2%, Malaysia 5.4%, Hong Kong 5.1% (2004) | New Zealand (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double width), white, and red | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 44.3% services: 46.7% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,100 (2004 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.1% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 100 00 E | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
Geography - note | controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore | consists of three atolls (Atafu, Fakaofo, Nukunonu), each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over 3 m above sea level |
Heliports | 3 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 57,403 km
paved: 56,542 km unpaved: 861 km (2000 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
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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 | NA | $969,200 c.i.f. (2002) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials, consumer goods, fuels | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | Japan 23.6%, China 8.6%, US 7.6%, Malaysia 5.8%, Singapore 4.4%, Taiwan 4.1% (2004) | New Zealand (2006) |
Independence | 1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.5% (2004 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 | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 20.48 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.83 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2004 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | APEC, APT, 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 | PIF (observer), SPC, UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Irrigated land | 47,490 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Sandika (judges appointed by the monarch) | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 36.43 million (November 2004 est.) | 440 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 49%, industry 14%, services 37% (2000 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | total: 4,863 km
border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 29.36%
permanent crops: 6.46% other: 64.18% (2001) |
arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | based on civil law system, with influences of common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | New Zealand and local statutes |
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 February 2005 (next to be held in February 2009) 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 376, DP 97, TNP 25, PP 2 |
unicameral General Fono (20 seats; based upon proportional representation from the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; Atafu has seven seats, Fakaofo has seven seats, Nukunonu has six seats); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono
elections: last held 17-19 January 2008 (next to be held in 2011) election results: independents 20 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.95 years
male: 69.65 years female: 74.37 years (2005 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.6% male: 94.9% female: 90.5% (2002) |
NA |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 386 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,038,597 GRT/3,104,712 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 57, cargo 142, chemical tanker 12, combination ore/oil 1, container 21, liquefied gas 25, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 89, refrigerated cargo 30, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 55 (Indonesia 1, Japan 3, Norway 45, Singapore 6) registered in other countries: 35 (2005) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Royal Thai Army, Royal Thai Navy (includes Royal Thai Marine Corps), Royal Thai Air Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.775 billion (FY00) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2003) | - |
National holiday | Birthday of King PHUMIPHON, 5 December (1927) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Thai (singular and plural)
adjective: Thai |
noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA |
Pipelines | gas 3,112 km; refined products 265 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democrat Party or DP (Prachathipat Party) [ABHISIT Wetchachiwa]; 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] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 65,444,371
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 2005 est.) |
1,449 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 10% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.87% (2005 est.) | -0.018% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Prachuap Port, Si Racha | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 204, FM 334, shortwave 6 (1999) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA (one radio station provides service to all islands) (2002) |
Railways | total: 4,071 km
narrow gauge: 4,071 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
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Religions | Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.1% (2000 census) | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
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 (2005 est.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: high quality system, especially in urban areas like Bangkok; WTO requirement for privatization of telecom sector is planned to be complete by 2006
domestic: fixed line system provided by both a government owned and commercial provider; wireless service expanding rapidly and outpacing fixed lines international: country code - 66; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean); landing country for APCN submarine cable |
general assessment: modern satellite-based communications system
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6,617,400 (2003) | 300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 26.5 million (2005) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (all in Bangkok; plus 131 repeaters) (1997) | - |
Terrain | central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 1.88 children born/woman (2005 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 1.5% (November 2004 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 4,000 km
note: 3,701 km navigable by boats with drafts up to 0.9 m (2003) |
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