Thailand (2007) | Turkey (2003) | |
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 | 81 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak |
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: 27.2% (male 9,422,242; female 9,082,840)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 22,978,251; female 22,243,477) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 2,013,926; female 2,368,733) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, cassava (tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans | tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock |
Airports | 106 (2007) | 120 (2002) |
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: 86
over 3,047 m: 16 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
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: 34
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 24 (2002) |
Area | total: 514,000 sq km
land: 511,770 sq km water: 2,230 sq km |
total: 780,580 sq km
land: 770,760 sq km water: 9,820 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming | slightly larger than Texas |
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. | Present-day Turkey was created in 1923 from the Turkish remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Soon thereafter, the country instituted secular laws to replace traditional religious fiats. In 1945 Turkey joined the UN, and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to protect Turkish Cypriots and prevent a Greek takeover of the island; the northern 37 percent of the island remains under Turkish Cypriot control. Relations between the two countries remain strained, but have begun to improve over the past few years. In 1984, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Marxist-Leninist, separatist group, initiated an insurgency in southeast Turkey, often using terrorist tactics to try to attain its goal of an independent Kurdistan. The group - whose leader, Abdullah OCALAN, was captured in Kenya in February 1999 - has observed a unilateral cease-fire since September 1999, although there have been occasional clashes between Turkish military units and some of the 4,000-5,000 armed PKK militants, most of whom currently are encamped in northern Iraq. The PKK changed its name to the Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK) in April 2002. |
Birth rate | 13.73 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 17.59 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $38.74 billion
expenditures: $36.61 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $42.4 billion
expenditures: $69.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001) |
Capital | name: Bangkok
geographic coordinates: 13 45 N, 100 31 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Ankara |
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, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior |
Coastline | 3,219 km | 7,200 km |
Constitution | constitution signed by King PHUMIPHON (BHUMIBOL) on 24 August 2007 | 7 November 1982 |
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 Turkey
conventional short form: Turkey local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti local short form: Turkiye |
Currency | - | Turkish lira (TRL) |
Death rate | 7.1 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $59.93 billion (2006 est.) | $118.3 billion (Yearend 2001) |
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 Eric S. EDELMAN
embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Kavaklidere, 06100 Ankara mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone: [90] (312) 455-5555 FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019 consulate(s) general: Istanbul consulate(s): Adana; note - there is a Consular Agent in Izmir |
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 Dr. Osman Faruk LOGOGLU
chancery: 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 612-6744 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York |
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 | complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece in the Aegean Sea; Cyprus question remains with Greece; Syria and Iraq protest Turkish hydrological projects to control upper Euphrates waters; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province; border with Armenia remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh |
Economic aid - recipient | $171.1 million (2005) | ODA, $300 million (2000) |
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. | Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in 2001 still accounted for 40% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The most important industry - and largest exporter - is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. In recent years the economic situation has been marked by erratic economic growth and serious imbalances. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in many years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. Meanwhile, the public sector fiscal deficit has regularly exceeded 10% of GDP - due in large part to the huge burden of interest payments, which account for more than 50% of central government spending. Inflation, in recent years in the high double-digit range, fell to 26% in 2003. Perhaps because of these problems, foreign direct investment in Turkey remains low - less than $1 billion annually. In late 2000 and early 2001 a growing trade deficit and serious weaknesses in the banking sector plunged the economy into crisis - forcing Turkey to float the lira and pushing the country into recession. Results in 2002-03 were much better, because of strong financial support from the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. Continued slow global growth and serious political tensions in the Middle East could result in negative growth in 2004. |
Electricity - consumption | 117.7 billion kWh (2005) | 112.6 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 642 million kWh (2005) | 433 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 4.419 billion kWh (2005) | 4.579 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 124.6 billion kWh (2005) | 116.6 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 79.3%
hydro: 20.4% nuclear: 0% other: 0.3% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 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 | water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic |
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, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11% | Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated) |
Exchange rates | baht per US dollar - 37.882 (2006), 40.22 (2005), 40.222 (2004), 41.485 (2003), 42.96 (2002) | NA (2002), 1,225,590 (2001), 625,218 (2000), 418,783 (1999), 260,724 (1998), 151,865 (1997) |
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 Ahmet Necdet SEZER (since 16 May 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (14 March 2003); note - Abdullah GUL resigned 11 March 2003; Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN was given a mandate to form a new government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister note: a National Security Council serves as an advisory body to the government composed of top military and cabinet officials and presided over by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a seven-year term; election last held 5 May 2000 (next to be held NA May 2007); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ahmed Necdet SEZER elected president on the third ballot; percent of National Assembly vote - 60% note: president must have a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly on the first two ballots and a simple majority on the third ballot |
Exports | NA bbl/day | 46,110 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | textiles and footwear, fishery products, rice, rubber, jewelry, automobiles, computers and electrical appliances | apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment |
Exports - partners | US 15%, Japan 12.7%, China 9%, Singapore 6.4%, Hong Kong 5.5%, Malaysia 5.1% (2006) | Germany 16.6%, US 9.2%, UK 8.5%, Italy 6.4%, France 6% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double width), white, and red | red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $489.7 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10.7%
industry: 44.6% services: 44.7% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 12.9%
industry: 30.4% services: 56.7% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $7,300 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2006 est.) | 7.8% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 100 00 E | 39 00 N, 35 00 E |
Geography - note | controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore | strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas; Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country |
Heliports | 3 (2007) | 8 (2002) |
Highways | - | total: 385,960 km
paved: 131,226 km (including 1,749 km of expressways) unpaved: 254,734 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 33.4% (2002) |
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 32.3% (1994) |
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 | key transit route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe and - to a far lesser extent the US - via air, land, and sea routes; major Turkish, Iranian, and other international trafficking organizations operate out of Istanbul; laboratories to convert imported morphine base into heroin are in remote regions of Turkey as well as near Istanbul; government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate |
Imports | NA bbl/day | 616,500 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials, consumer goods, fuels | machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment |
Imports - partners | Japan 20.1%, China 10.6%, US 6.7%, Malaysia 6.6%, UAE 5.6%, Singapore 4.5% (2006) | Germany 13.7%, Italy 8.1%, Russia 7.6%, US 6%, France 5.9%, UK 4.8%, Switzerland 4.1% (2002) |
Independence | 1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized) | 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (2006 est.) | 8.5% (2002 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 | textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper |
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: 44.2 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 47.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 40.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.6% (2006 est.) | 45.2% (2002 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 | AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 50 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 49,860 sq km (2003) | 42,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Sandika (judges appointed by the monarch) | Constitutional Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeals and Council of State (judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors) |
Labor force | 36.55 million (2006 est.) | 23.8 million
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (2001 3rd quarter) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 49%
industry: 14% services: 37% (2000 est.) |
agriculture 39.7%, services 37.9%, industry 22.4% (3rd quarter, 2001) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,863 km
border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km |
total: 2,648 km
border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, Syria 822 km |
Land use | arable land: 27.54%
permanent crops: 6.93% other: 65.53% (2005) |
arable land: 34.53%
permanent crops: 3.36% other: 62.11% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek |
Legal system | based on civil law system, with influences of common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | derived from various European continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 |
unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 3 November 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); note - a special rerun of the General Election in the province of Siirt on 9 March 2003 resulted in the election of Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN to a seat in parliament, a prerequisite for becoming prime minister on 13 March 2003 election results: percent of vote by party - AKP 34.3%, CHP 19.4%, DYP 9.6%, MHP 8.3%, ANAP 5.1%, DSP 1.1%, and others; seats by party - AKP 363, CHP 178, independents 9; note - parties surpassing the 10% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.55 years
male: 70.24 years female: 74.98 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 71.8 years
male: 69.41 years female: 74.3 years (2003 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: 86.5% male: 94.3% female: 78.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma | southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria |
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 |
exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only: to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR
territorial sea: 6 NM in the Aegean Sea; 12 NM in Black Sea and in Mediterranean Sea |
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: 525 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,306,506 GRT/8,424,837 DWT
ships by type: bulk 125, cargo 229, chemical tanker 44, combination bulk 3, combination ore/oil 3, container 34, liquefied gas 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 35, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 26, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 5 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belize 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 2, Greece 1, Italy 1, Thailand 1, UK 11 (2002 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) | Land Forces, Navy (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard, Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $8.1 billion (2002 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2005 est.) | 4.5% (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 19,534,455 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 11,801,267 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 679,882 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of King PHUMIPHON (BHUMIBOL), 5 December (1927) | Independence Day, 29 October (1923) |
Nationality | noun: Thai (singular and plural)
adjective: Thai |
noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish |
Natural hazards | land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts | very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van |
Natural resources | tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land | antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 3,760 km; refined products 379 km (2006) | gas 3,177 km; oil 3,562 km (2003) |
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 | Democratic Left Party or DSP [Bulent ECEVIT]; Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayip ERDOGAN]; Motherland Party or ANAP [Ahmet Mesut YILMAZ]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; True Path Party (sometimes translated as Correct Way Party) or DYP [Tansu CILLER]; Young Party or GP [Cem UZAN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK [Sami EVREN]; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Suleyman CELEBI]; Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Erol YARAR]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Muharrem KAYHAN]; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Refik BAYDUR]; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Bayram MERAL]; Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK [Dervis GUNDAY; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU] |
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.) |
68,109,469 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 10% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.663% (2007 est.) | 1.16% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 204, FM 334, shortwave 6 (1999) | AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001) |
Railways | total: 4,071 km
narrow gauge: 4,071 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
total: 8,607 km
standard gauge: 8,607 km 1.435-m gauge (2,131 km electrified) (2002) |
Religions | Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.1% (2000 census) | Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews) |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 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: undergoing rapid modernization and expansion, especially with cellular telephones
domestic: additional digital exchanges are permitting a rapid increase in subscribers; the construction of a network of technologically advanced intercity trunk lines, using both fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay is facilitating communication between urban centers; remote areas are reached by a domestic satellite system; the number of subscribers to mobile cellular telephone service is growing rapidly international: international service is provided by three submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, linking Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia; also by 12 Intelsat earth stations, and by 328 mobile satellite terminals in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems (2002) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 7.073 million (2006) | 19.5 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 40.816 million (2006) | 17.1 million (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 111 (2006) | 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere | high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges |
Total fertility rate | 1.64 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.03 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.1% (2006 est.) | 10.8% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 4,000 km
note: 3,701 km navigable by boats with drafts up to 0.9 m (2005) |
1,200 km (approximately) |