Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0366/03666.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 40KB | 657 lines

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$Title{Thailand
Front Matter}
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$Author{Barbara Leitch LePoer}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{thai
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$Date{1987}
$Log{Map of Thailand*0366603.scf
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Country:     Thailand
Book:        Thailand, A Country Study
Author:      Barbara Leitch LePoer
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1987

Front Matter

Acknowledgments

     The editor and authors are grateful to numerous individuals in the
international community, in various agencies of the United States government,
and in private organizations who gave of their time, research materials, and
special knowledge to provide data and perspective for this study.

     The authors also wish to express their appreciation to staff members of
the Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, whose high standards and
dedication helped shape this volume. These include Martha E. Hopkins, who
managed editing and book production, as well as editing portions of the text,
Marilyn L. Majeska, who edited parts of the manuscript and the accompanying
figures and tables, and editorial assistants Barbara Edgerton and Izella
Watson. David P. Cabitto and Kimberly A. Lord prepared the book's graphics,
Susan M. Lender reviewed the maps, and Arvies J. Staton contributed to the
charts on military rank and insignia.

     The following individuals are gratefully acknowledged as well: Ruth
Nieland, Vincent Ercolano, and Mary Ann Saour for editing various chapters;
Catherine Schwartzstein for the final prepublication editorial review; Shirley
Kessell of Communicators Connection for preparing the index.Special thanks go
to Teresa E. Kamp, who designed the illustrations for the cover of the volume
and the title pages of the chapters. The inclusion of photographs in this book
was made possible by the generosity of various individuals and public and
private agencies.

     Finally, the editor and authors wish to thank Federal Research Division
staff members Mervin J. Shello and Ly H. Burnham for sharing their expertise
in telecommunications and demography; Tracy M. Henry for her assistance in
word processing; Meridel M. Jackson for her economic insights and computer
expertise; and Russell R. Ross, Robert L. Worden, and Richard F. Nyrop for
reviewing all parts of the book.

Preface

     The Area Handbook for Thailand, first published in 1971, was revised in
1981 as Thailand: A Country Study. This volume, a revision of the 1981
edition, recounts developments in Thailand during the 1980s, a period of
relative political stability and respectable economic growth. Recently
Thailand's attention has focused increasingly on regional concerns as, in
concert with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), it has attempted to deal with the problem of the Vietnamese
occupation of Cambodia.

     Like its predecessors, this study is an attempt to present an objective
and concise account of the dominant social, economic, political, and national
security concerns of contemporary Thailand, as well as to provide a historical
framework for this overview. The 1981 edition, which this volume replaces, was
prepared by a team composed of Robert Rinehart, Irving Kaplan, Donald P.
Whitaker, Rinn-Sup Shinn, and Harold D. Nelson and led by Frederica M. Bunge.

     The current Thailand: A Country Study results from the combined efforts
of a multidisciplinary team. The authors obtained information from a variety
of sources, including scholarly studies, official reports of government and
international organizations, and foreign and domestic newspapers and
periodicals. Brief commentary on some of the more useful and readily
accessible English-language sources appears at the end of each chapter. Full
references to these and other sources used by the authors are listed in the
Bibliography.

     The authors have tried to limit the use of foreign and technical terms,
which are defined when they first appear in the study. Readers are also
referred to the Glossary at the back of the book. In general, Thai personal
names conform to the system of romanization followed by the Library of
Congress. Certain exceptions have been made, including names of the monarchs
of the Chakkri Dynasty (see table 2, Appendix) and those of certain other
persons more familiar to Western readers in variant forms. Some religious and
social terms are given in Thai; others are in Sanskrit, following usage in
Webster's Third New International Dictionary (unabridged edition), or in Pali,
the language of Theravada Buddhist scriptures. Contemporary place-names used
in this study are those approved by the United States Board on Geographic
Names. All measurements are given in the metric system (see table 1,
Appendix).

Country Profile

[See Map of Thailand: Courtesy of Royal Thai Embassy, Washington DC.]

Country

Formal Name: Kingdom of Thailand.

Short Form: Thailand (formerly Siam).

Term for Citizens: Thai.

Capital: Bangkok.

Geography

Size: Approximately 514,000 square kilometers.

Topography: Chief topographic features include central plain dominated by Mae
Nam (river) Chao Phraya and its tributaries. To northeast rises dry,
undulating Khorat Plateau bordered on east by Mekong River. Mountains along
northern and western borders with Burma extend south into narrow, largely
rain-forested Malay Peninsula. Network of rivers and canals associated with
northern mountains and central plain drain, via Chao Phraya, into Gulf of
Thailand. Mae Nam Mun and other northeastern streams drain via Mekong into
South China Sea. Soils vary. Topography and drainage define four regions:
North, Northeast, Center, and South.

Climate: Tropical monsoon climate. Southwest monsoons arriving between May and
July signal start of rainy season lasting until October. Cycle reverses with
northeast monsoon in November and December, ushering in dry season. Cooler
temperatures give way to extremely hot, dry weather March through May. In
general, rainfall heaviest in South, lightest in Northeast.

Society

Population: About 53 million in 1987; 1.9 percent annual growth rate in 1986,
down from 3.1 in 1960 and 2.5 in late 1970s. Level of urbanization 17 percent
in 1987, mostly concentrated in capital region. Bangkok metropolitan area
population estimated at 5.5 million in 1987; ten next largest cities range
between 80,000 and 110,000 in population. Overall density 100.5 persons per
square kilometer in 1987, varying from 62 in Chiang Mai Province to 3,292 in
Bangkok.

Languages: More than 85 percent of population speak dialect of Thai (a member
of Tai language family); most prevalent are Thai-Lao, spoken in Northeast, and
Central Thai, which is official language taught in schools and used in
government. Other languages spoken by members of ethnic minorities include
Chinese (chiefly Teochiu), Malay, Karen, and Khmer. Smaller groups speak Tai
languages such as Shan, Lua, and Phutai. Many minority peoples, especially
Chinese, also speak Thai.

Ethnic and Regional Groups: Four regional categories make up core Thai
population: Central Thai (32 percent); Thai-Lao (30 percent); Northern Thai
(17 percent); and Southern Thai (5 percent). Largest minority consists of
Chinese (11 percent), followed by Malay (3-4 percent), and Khmer (1 percent).
Remaining minority groups, including numerous hill tribes, together
constituted no more than 2 percent of the population.

Religion: Almost all core Thai, some other Tai speakers, Khmer, and Mon
practice Theravada Buddhism. Islam represented chiefly among Malay. Christians
found among hill peoples and Vietnamese.

Education: Government supports universal free primary education. Most children
attend school several years at least, and more than 85 percent of population
literate. Fewer than three out of ten children continue beyond elementary
level. More than a dozen universities and specialized postsecondary
institutions provide higher education for abou