Thailand (2007) | Bolivia (2005) | |
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 | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 21.6% (male 7,195,750/female 6,870,858)
15-64 years: 70.1% (male 22,547,238/female 23,092,881) 65 years and over: 8.2% (male 2,437,640/female 2,923,782) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 35.7% (male 1,613,049/female 1,551,023)
15-64 years: 59.8% (male 2,591,328/female 2,701,892) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 178,486/female 222,092) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, cassava (tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber |
Airports | 106 (2007) | 1,065 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 65
over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 6 (2007) |
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 41
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 28 (2007) |
total: 1,049
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 60 914 to 1,523 m: 207 under 914 m: 778 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 514,000 sq km
land: 511,770 sq km water: 2,230 sq km |
total: 1,098,580 sq km
land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming | slightly less than three times the size of Montana |
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 separatist violence in its southern ethnic Malay-Muslim provinces. | Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and counter-coups. Comparatively democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production. Current goals include attracting foreign investment, strengthening the educational system, resolving disputes with coca growers over Bolivia's counterdrug efforts, and waging an anticorruption campaign. |
Birth rate | 13.73 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 23.76 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $38.74 billion
expenditures: $36.61 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $2.264 billion
expenditures: $2.769 billion, including capital expenditures of $741 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: Bangkok
geographic coordinates: 13 45 N, 100 31 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) |
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 | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid |
Coastline | 3,219 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | constitution signed by King PHUMIPHON (BHUMIBOL) on 24 August 2007 | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Thailand
conventional short form: Thailand local long form: Ratcha Anachak Thai local short form: Prathet Thai former: Siam |
conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form: Bolivia local long form: Republica de Bolivia local short form: Bolivia |
Death rate | 7.1 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 7.64 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $59.93 billion (2006 est.) | $5.439 billion (June 2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph L. BOYCE
embassy: 120-122 Wireless Road, Bangkok 10330 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 David N. GREENLEE
embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] (2) 2430120, 2430251 FAX: [591] (2) 2433900 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador KRIT Kanchanakunchon (KRIT Garnjana-Goonchorn)
chancery: 1024 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 401, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 944-3600 FAX: [1] (202) 944-3611 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jaime APARICIO Otero
chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410 FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York, and San Francisco |
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; talks continue on completion of demarcation with Laos but disputes remain over several islands in the Mekong River; despite continuing border committee talks, Thailand must deal with Karen and other ethnic rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities, and as of 2006, over 116,000 Karen, Hmong, and other refugees and asylum seekers from Burma; Cambodia and Thailand dispute sections of historic 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; Thailand is studying the feasibility of jointly constructing the Hatgyi Dam on the Salween river near the border with Burma; in 2004, international environmentalist pressure prompted China to halt construction of 13 dams on the Salween River that flows through China, Burma, and Thailand | Chile rebuffs Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, offering instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile for Bolivian natural gas and other commodities |
Economic aid - recipient | $171.1 million (2005) | $681 million (2002) |
Economy - overview | With a well-developed infrastructure, a free-enterprise economy, and pro-investment policies, Thailand appears to have fully recovered from the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis. The country was one of East Asia's best performers from 2002-04. Boosted by increased consumption and strong export growth, the Thai economy grew 6.9% in 2003 and 6.1% in 2004 despite a sluggish global economy. Bangkok has pursued preferential trade agreements with a variety of partners in an effort to boost exports and to maintain high growth. 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. In 2006, investment stagnated as investors, spooked by the THAKSIN administration's political problems, stayed on the sidelines. The military coup in September brought in a new economic team led by the former central bank governor. In December, the Thai Board of Investment reported the value of investment applications from January to November had declined by 27% year-on-year. On the positive side, exports have performed at record levels, rising nearly 17% in 2006. Export-oriented manufacturing - in particular automobile production - and farm output are driving these gains. | Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, reformed its economy after suffering a disastrous economic crisis in the early 1980s. The reforms spurred real GDP growth, which averaged 4 percent in the 1990s, and poverty rates fell. Economic growth, however, lagged again beginning in 1999 because of a global slowdown and homegrown factors such as political turmoil, civil unrest, and soaring fiscal deficits, all of which hurt investor confidence. In 2003, violent protests against the pro-foreign investment economic policies of President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA led to his resignation and the cancellation of plans to export Bolivia's newly discovered natural gas reserves to large northern hemisphere markets. Foreign investment dried up as companies adopted a wait-and-see attitude regarding new President Carlos MESA's willingness to protect investor rights in the face of increased demands by radical groups that the government expropriate foreign-owned assets. Real GDP growth in 2003 and 2004 - helped by increased demand for natural gas in neighboring Brazil - was positive, but still below the levels seen during the 1990s. Bolivia remains dependent on foreign aid from multilateral lenders and foreign governments. |
Electricity - consumption | 117.7 billion kWh (2005) | 3.848 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 642 million kWh (2005) | 3 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 4.419 billion kWh (2005) | 9 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 124.6 billion kWh (2005) | 4.132 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m |
lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 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 | the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection |
Ethnic groups | Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11% | Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15% |
Exchange rates | baht per US dollar - 37.882 (2006), 40.22 (2005), 40.222 (2004), 41.485 (2003), 42.96 (2002) | bolivianos per US dollar - 7.9363 (2004), 7.6592 (2003), 7.17 (2002), 6.6069 (2001), 6.1835 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: King PHUMIPHON Adunyadet (BHUMIBOL Adulyadej) (since 9 June 1946)
head of government: Prime Minister SURAYUT Chulanon (SURAYUD Chulanont) (since 1 October 2006); Deputy Prime Minister KHOSIT Panpiamrat (KHOSIT Panpiemras) (since 8 October 2006); Deputy Prime Minister SONTHI Boonyaratglin (SOHTHI Boonyaratkalin) (since 1 October 2007); Deputy Prime Minister PHAIBUN Wattanasiritham (PAIBOON Wattanasiritham) (since 8 March 2007) note: Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat (THAKSIN Shinawatra) was overthrown on 19 September 2006 in a coup led by General SONTHI Boonyaratglin (SONTHI Boonyaratkalin) cabinet: Council of Ministers note: there is also a Privy Council elections: none; monarch is hereditary; according to 2007 constitution, prime minister is designated from among members of House of Representatives; following national elections for House of Representatives, leader of party that could organize a majority coalition usually was appointed prime minister by king; prime minister is limited to two 4-year terms |
chief of state: President Eduardo RODRIGUEZ Veltze (since 9 June 2005); Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Eduardo RODRIGUEZ Veltze (since 9 June 2005); Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 30 June 2002 (next to be held June 2007) election results: as a result of no candidate winning a majority in the 30 June 2002 election, Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante was chosen president by Congress; congressional votes - Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante 84, Evo MORALES 43; note - following the resignation of the elected president on 17 October 2003 and Vice President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert on 9 June 2005, Eduardo RODRIGUEZ Veltze, President of the Supreme Court and constitutional successor, became president. |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA |
Exports - commodities | textiles and footwear, fishery products, rice, rubber, jewelry, automobiles, computers and electrical appliances | natural gas, soybeans and soy products, crude petroleum, zinc ore, tin |
Exports - partners | US 15%, Japan 12.7%, China 9%, Singapore 6.4%, Hong Kong 5.5%, Malaysia 5.1% (2006) | Brazil 40%, US 13.9%, Colombia 8.7%, Peru 6.3%, Japan 4.5% (2004) |
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), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10.7%
industry: 44.6% services: 44.7% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 13%
industry: 28% services: 59% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2006 est.) | 3.7% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 100 00 E | 17 00 S, 65 00 W |
Geography - note | controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru |
Heliports | 3 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 60,282 km
paved: 3,979 km unpaved: 56,303 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 33.4% (2002) |
lowest 10%: 1.3%
highest 10%: 32% (1999) |
Illicit drugs | a minor producer of opium, heroin, and marijuana; transit point for illicit 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 methamphetamine production for regional consumption; major consumer of methamphetamine since the 1990s despite a series of government crackdowns | world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 28,450 hectares under cultivation in June 2003, a 23% increase from June 2002; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported mostly to or through Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to European and US drug markets; eradication and alternative crop programs under the MESA administration have been unable to keep pace with farmers' attempts to increase cultivation; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trade, especially along the borders with Brazil and Paraguay |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials, consumer goods, fuels | petroleum products, plastics, paper, aircraft and aircraft parts, prepared foods, automobiles, insecticides, soybeans |
Imports - partners | Japan 20.1%, China 10.6%, US 6.7%, Malaysia 6.6%, UAE 5.6%, Singapore 4.5% (2006) | Brazil 29.7%, Argentina 17.6%, US 10.8%, Chile 7.7%, Peru 7.3% (2004) |
Independence | 1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized) | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (2006 est.) | 5.7% (2004 est.) |
Industries | tourism, textiles and garments, agricultural processing, beverages, tobacco, cement, light manufacturing such as jewelry and electric appliances, computers and parts, integrated circuits, furniture, plastics, automobiles and automotive parts; world's second-largest tungsten producer and third-largest tin producer | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 18.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.13 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 53.11 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 56.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 49.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.6% (2006 est.) | 4.9% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, BIS, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC (observer), ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | CAN, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 49,860 sq km (2003) | 1,280 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Sandika (judges appointed by the monarch) | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges appointed for 10-year terms by National Congress); District Courts (one in each department); provincial and local courts (to try minor cases) |
Labor force | 36.55 million (2006 est.) | 3.8 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 49%
industry: 14% services: 37% (2000 est.) |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 4,863 km
border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km |
total: 6,743 km
border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km |
Land use | arable land: 27.54%
permanent crops: 6.93% other: 65.53% (2005) |
arable land: 2.67%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 97.14% (2001) |
Languages | Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) |
Legal system | based on civil law system, with influences of common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Assembly or Rathasapha consisted of the Senate or Wuthisapha (150 seats; 76 members elected by popular vote representing 76 provinces, 74 appointed by judges and independent government bodies; all serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Sapha Phuthaen Ratsadon (480 seats; 400 members elected from 157 multi-seat constituencies and 80 elected on proportional party-list basis of 10 per eight zones or groupings of provinces; all serve four-year terms); after coup in September 2006, coup leaders appointed an interim National Assembly with 250 members to act as Senate and House of Representatives
elections: Senate - last held on 19 April 2006; House of Representatives - last valid election held on 6 February 2005; elections held on 2 April 2006 invalidated by court ruling; next general election will be held on 23 December 2007 election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; House of Representatives - (2005 election) percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - TRT 376, DP 97, TNP 25, PP 2 |
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; 68 are directly elected from their districts and 62 are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 30 June 2002 (next to be held June 2007) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNR 11, MAS 8, MIR 5, NFR 2, other 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNR 36, MAS 27, MIR 26, NFR 25, others 16 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.55 years
male: 70.24 years female: 74.98 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 65.5 years
male: 62.89 years female: 68.25 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.6% male: 94.9% female: 90.5% (2000 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.2% male: 93.1% female: 81.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma | Central South America, southwest of Brazil |
Map references | Southeast Asia | South America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 405 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,640,857 GRT/4,043,938 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 53, cargo 140, chemical tanker 16, container 21, liquefied gas 30, passenger/cargo 9, petroleum tanker 101, refrigerated cargo 32, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: 15 (China 1, Japan 4, Malaysia 3, Russia 1, Singapore 2, Taiwan 1, UK 3) registered in other countries: 34 (Bahamas 1, Indonesia 1, Mongolia 1, Panama 10, Singapore 20, Tuvalu 1) (2007) |
total: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 413,407 GRT/699,901 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 16, chemical tanker 1, container 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: 11 (Argentina 1, Egypt 2, Eritrea 1, Germany 1, Iran 1, Singapore 2, United Kingdom 1, United States 2) (2005) |
Military branches | Royal Thai Army (RTA), Royal Thai Navy (RTN, includes Royal Thai Marine Corps), Royal Thai Air Force (Knogtap Agard Thai, RTAF) (2006) | Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval; includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana) (2004) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $132.2 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2005 est.) | 1.6% (2004) |
National holiday | Birthday of King PHUMIPHON (BHUMIBOL), 5 December (1927) | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun: Thai (singular and plural)
adjective: Thai |
noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian |
Natural hazards | land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts | flooding in the northeast (March-April) |
Natural resources | tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 3,760 km; refined products 379 km (2006) | gas 4,860 km; liquid petroleum gas 47 km; oil 2,457 km; refined products 1,589 km; unknown (oil/water) 247 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Democrat Party or DP (Prachathipat Party) [ABHISIT Wetchachiwa] (ABHISIT Vejjajiva); People's Party or PP (Mahachon Party) [ANEK Laothamatas]; People Power Party (Palang Prachachon Party) or PPP [SAMAK Sunthorawet] (SAMAK Sundaravej]; Thai Nation Party or TNP (Chat Thai Party) [BARNHARN SILPA-ARCHA]; Thai Party (Thai Rak) or TRT [CHATURON Chaisang]; note - dissolved by Constitutional Tribunal on 30 May 2007 | Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB [Romel PANTOJA]; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Franz BARRIOS]; Marshal of Ayacucho Institutional Vanguard or VIMA [Freddy ZABALA]; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ Zamora]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Evo MORALES]; Movement Without Fear or MSM [Juan DEL GRANADO]; Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN [Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez]; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [leader NA]; New Republican Force or NFR [Manfred REYES-VILLA]; Pachakuti Indigenous Movement or MIP [Felipe QUISPE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jeres JUSTINIANO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Roman LOAYZA] |
Population | 65,068,149
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 2007 est.) |
8,857,870 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 10% (2004 est.) | 64% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.663% (2007 est.) | 1.49% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Puerto Aguirre (on the Paraguay/Parana waterway, at the Bolivia/Brazil border); also, Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 204, FM 334, shortwave 6 (1999) | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) |
Railways | total: 4,071 km
narrow gauge: 4,071 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
total: 3,519 km
narrow gauge: 3,519 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.1% (2000 census) | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.047 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.976 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.834 male(s)/female total population: 0.979 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single) |
Telephone system | general assessment: high quality system, especially in urban areas like Bangkok
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, 1 Pacific Ocean); landing country for APCN submarine cable |
general assessment: new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile cellular telephone use expanding rapidly
domestic: primary trunk system, which is being expanded, employs digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic cable; mobile cellular systems are being expanded international: country code - 591; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 7.073 million (2006) | 600,100 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 40.816 million (2006) | 1,401,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 111 (2006) | 48 (1997) |
Terrain | central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin |
Total fertility rate | 1.64 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.94 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.1% (2006 est.) | 9.2% in urban areas
note: widespread underemployment (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 4,000 km
note: 3,701 km navigable by boats with drafts up to 0.9 m (2005) |
10,000 km (commercially navigable) (2004) |