Thailand (2007) | Germany (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 76 provinces (changwat, singular and plural); Amnat Charoen, Ang Thong, Buriram, Chachoengsao, Chai Nat, Chaiyaphum, Chanthaburi, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Chon Buri, Chumphon, Kalasin, Kamphaeng Phet, Kanchanaburi, Khon Kaen, Krabi, Krung Thep Mahanakhon (Bangkok), Lampang, Lamphun, Loei, Lop Buri, Mae Hong Son, Maha Sarakham, Mukdahan, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Sawan, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nan, Narathiwat, Nong Bua Lamphu, Nong Khai, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Pattani, Phangnga, Phatthalung, Phayao, Phetchabun, Phetchaburi, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Phrae, Phuket, Prachin Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Ranong, Ratchaburi, Rayong, Roi Et, Sa Kaeo, Sakon Nakhon, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Sara Buri, Satun, Sing Buri, Sisaket, Songkhla, Sukhothai, Suphan Buri, Surat Thani, Surin, Tak, Trang, Trat, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, Uthai Thani, Uttaradit, Yala, Yasothon | 16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen |
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:
15.57% (male 6,635,328; female 6,289,994) 15-64 years: 67.82% (male 28,619,237; female 27,691,698) 65 years and over: 16.61% (male 5,336,664; female 8,456,615) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, cassava (tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans | potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 106 (2007) | 613 (2000 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:
322 over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 55 1,524 to 2,437 m: 67 914 to 1,523 m: 63 under 914 m: 124 (2000 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:
291 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 53 under 914 m: 225 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 514,000 sq km
land: 511,770 sq km water: 2,230 sq km |
total:
357,021 sq km land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming | slightly smaller than 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. | As Western Europe's richest and most populous nation, Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed the country in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC and NATO, while the communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then Germany has expended considerable funds to bring eastern productivity and wages up to western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries formed a common European currency, the euro. |
Birth rate | 13.73 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.16 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $38.74 billion
expenditures: $36.61 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues:
$996 billion expenditures: $1.036 trillion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 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) |
Berlin |
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 and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm foehn wind |
Coastline | 3,219 km | 2,389 km |
Constitution | constitution signed by King PHUMIPHON (BHUMIBOL) on 24 August 2007 | 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 |
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:
Federal Republic of Germany conventional short form: Germany local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland local short form: Deutschland former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich |
Currency | - | deutsche mark (DEM); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Germany at a fixed rate of 1.95583 deutsche marks per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
Death rate | 7.1 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.42 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $59.93 billion (2006 est.) | $NA |
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 John C. KORNBLUM (was due to resign on 20 January 2001) embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265 telephone: [49] (30) 238-5174 FAX: [49] (30) 238-6290 consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich |
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 Juergen CHROBOG chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-8141 FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle consulate(s): Wellington (America Samoa) |
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 | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) |
Economic aid - recipient | $171.1 million (2005) | - |
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. | Germany possesses the world's third most technologically powerful economy after the US and Japan, but structural market rigidities - including the substantial non-wage costs of hiring new workers - have made unemployment a long-term, not just a cyclical, problem. Germany's aging population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy remains a costly long-term problem, with annual transfers from western Germany amounting to roughly $70 billion. Growth picked up to 3% in 2000, largely due to recovering global demand; newly passed business and income tax cuts are expected to keep growth strong in 2001. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are transforming the German economy to meet the challenges of European economic integration and globalization in general. |
Electricity - consumption | 117.7 billion kWh (2005) | 495.181 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 642 million kWh (2005) | 39.5 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 4.419 billion kWh (2005) | 40.5 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 124.6 billion kWh (2005) | 531.377 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
63.29% hydro: 3.59% nuclear: 30.3% other: 2.82% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m |
lowest point:
Freepsum Lake -2 m highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 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 | emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government currently attempting to define mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive |
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:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11% | German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Russian, Greek, Polish, Spanish) |
Exchange rates | baht per US dollar - 37.882 (2006), 40.22 (2005), 40.222 (2004), 41.485 (2003), 42.96 (2002) | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); deutsche marks per US dollar - 1.69 (January 1999), 1.7597 (1998), 1.7341 (1997), 1.5048 (1996) |
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 Johannes RAU (since 1 July 1999) head of government: Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27 October 1998) cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor elections: president elected for a five-year term by a Federal Convention including all members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held 23 May 1999 (next to be held 23 May 2004); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; election last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held in the fall of 2002) election results: Johannes RAU elected president; percent of Federal Convention vote - 57.6%; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly - 52.7% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $578 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | textiles and footwear, fishery products, rice, rubber, jewelry, automobiles, computers and electrical appliances | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles |
Exports - partners | US 15%, Japan 12.7%, China 9%, Singapore 6.4%, Hong Kong 5.5%, Malaysia 5.1% (2006) | EU 55.3% (France 11.3%, UK 8.3%, Italy 7.3%, Netherlands 6.3%, Belgium/Luxembourg 5.1%), US 10.1%, Japan 2.0% (1999) |
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 black (top), red, and gold |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.936 trillion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10.7%
industry: 44.6% services: 44.7% (2006 est.) |
agriculture:
1.2% industry: 30.4% services: 68.4% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $23,400 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2006 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 100 00 E | 51 00 N, 9 00 E |
Geography - note | controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea |
Heliports | 3 (2007) | 59 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
656,140 km paved: 650,891 km (including 11,400 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,249 km (all-weather) (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 33.4% (2002) |
- |
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 | source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic drugs |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $505 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials, consumer goods, fuels | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals |
Imports - partners | Japan 20.1%, China 10.6%, US 6.7%, Malaysia 6.6%, UAE 5.6%, Singapore 4.5% (2006) | EU 52.2% (France 10.5%, Netherlands 7.6%, Italy 7.4%, UK 6.9%, Belgium/Luxembourg 5.6%), US 8.1%, Japan 4.9% (1999) |
Independence | 1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized) | 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991 |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (2006 est.) | 4.7% (2000) |
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 | among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages; shipbuilding; textiles |
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.) |
4.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.6% (2006 est.) | 2% (2000 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 | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 123 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 49,860 sq km (2003) | 4,750 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Sandika (judges appointed by the monarch) | Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat) |
Labor force | 36.55 million (2006 est.) | 40.5 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 49%
industry: 14% services: 37% (2000 est.) |
industry 33.4%, agriculture 2.8%, services 63.8% (1999) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,863 km
border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km |
total:
3,618 km border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 135 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km |
Land use | arable land: 27.54%
permanent crops: 6.93% other: 65.53% (2005) |
arable land:
33% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 31% other: 20% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects | German |
Legal system | based on civil law system, with influences of common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; 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 Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (656 seats usually, but 669 for the 1998 term; elected by popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain representation; members serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block)
elections: Federal Assembly - last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held by the fall of 2002); note - there are no elections for the Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - SPD 40.9%, Alliance '90/Greens 6.7%, CDU/CSU 35.1%, FDP 6.2%, PDS 5.1%; seats by party - SPD 298, Alliance '90/Greens 47, CDU/CSU 245, FDP 43, PDS 36; Federal Council - current composition - votes by party - SPD-led states 26, CDU-led states 28, grand coalitions 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.55 years
male: 70.24 years female: 74.98 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
77.61 years male: 74.47 years female: 80.92 years (2001 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: 99% (1977 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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:
457 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,414,724 GRT/7,952,776 DWT ships by type: cargo 169, chemical tanker 10, combination ore/oil 1, container 243, liquefied gas 2, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 7, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 12, short-sea passenger 7 (2000 est.) |
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, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm), Air Force, Medical Corps, Border Police, Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $32.8 billion (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2005 est.) | 1.5% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
20,851,022 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
17,760,412 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
482,318 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of King PHUMIPHON (BHUMIBOL), 5 December (1927) | Unity Day, 3 October (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Thai (singular and plural)
adjective: Thai |
noun:
German(s) adjective: German |
Natural hazards | land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts | flooding |
Natural resources | tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land | iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 3,760 km; refined products 379 km (2006) | crude oil 2,500 km (1998) |
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 | Alliance '90/Greens [Renate KUENAST and Fritz KUHN]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Wolfgang GERHARDT, chairman]; note - Wolfgang GERHARDT will probably be replaced by Guido WESTERWELLE in May 2001; Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Gabi ZIMMER]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Gerhard SCHROEDER, chairman] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups |
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.) |
83,029,536 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 10% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.663% (2007 est.) | 0.27% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 204, FM 334, shortwave 6 (1999) | AM 51, FM 767, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | - | 77.8 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 4,071 km
narrow gauge: 4,071 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
total:
40,826 km including at least 14,253 km electrified and 14,768 km double- or multiple-tracked (1998) note: since privatization in 1994, Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG) no longer publishes details of the tracks it owns; in addition to the DBAG system there are 102 privately owned railway companies which own an approximate 3,000 km to 4,000 km of the total tracks |
Religions | Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.1% (2000 census) | Protestant 38%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 1.7%, unaffiliated or other 26.3% |
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:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
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:
Germany has one of the world's most technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly backward system of the eastern part of the country has been modernized and integrated with that of the western part domestic: Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available and includes roaming service to many foreign countries international: satellite earth stations - 14 Intelsat (12 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), 2 Intersputnik (1 Atlantic Ocean region and 1 Indian Ocean region); 7 submarine cable connections; 2 HF radiotelephone communication centers; tropospheric scatter links |
Telephones - main lines in use | 7.073 million (2006) | 45.2 million (1997)
note: 46.5 million main lines were installed by yearend 1998 |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 40.816 million (2006) | 15.318 million (April 1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 111 (2006) | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south |
Total fertility rate | 1.64 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.38 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.1% (2006 est.) | 9.9% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 4,000 km
note: 3,701 km navigable by boats with drafts up to 0.9 m (2005) |
7,500 km
note: major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea (1999) |