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THAILAND
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India's excellent relations with Thailand are an important and integral component of India's strategic partnership with ASEAN. India's 'Act East' policy is complemented by Thailand's 'Look West' policy in bringing the two countries closer. Sustained high level bilateral exchanges and regular meetings of bilateral institutional mechanisms have provided a major fillip to India-Thailand relations and achieved progress in key areas of cooperation such as security, defence, commerce, science & technology and education. India and Thailand have strong economic synergies and the diversifying profile of growing bilateral trade and investment reflects the growth and maturity of the interaction between the two economies. Extensive people-to-people contacts are central to the India-Thailand relationship. In 2015, more than 1 million Indian tourists visited Thailand and over 100,000 Thai tourists visited India.
The interim military government created several interim institutions to promote reform and draft a new constitution, which was passed in a national referendum in August 2016. Elections are tentatively set for mid-2018. King PHUMIPHON Adunyadet passed away in October 2016 after 70 years on the throne; his only son, WACHIRALONGKON Bodinthrathepphayawarangkun, ascended the throne in December 2016. He signed the new constitution in April 2017. Thailand has also experienced violence associated with the ethno-nationalist insurgency in its southern Malay-Muslim majority provinces.
At a Glance
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Country Name
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Kingdom of Thailand
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Area
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5,13,120, sq.km
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Capital
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Bangkok
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Government type
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Constitutional Monarchy Note: interim military-run government since May 2014
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Administrative divisions
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76 provinces
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National Holidays
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Birthday of King Maha WACHIRALONGKORN, 28 July (1952)
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Fiscal year
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1 October - 30 September
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Currency
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Baht (THB)
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King
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King WACHIRALONGKON Bodinthrathepphayawarangkun (since 1 December 2016)
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Prime Minister
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Gen Prayut Chan-Ocha (since 25 August 2014)
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Population
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68,414,135 (July 2017 est.)
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Net migration rate
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0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
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GDP (purchasing power parity)
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$1.165 trillion (2016 est.)
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GDP - composition by sector
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Agriculture: 8.9 %
Industry: 35.9%
Services: 55.3% (2016 est.)
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Agriculture- Products
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Rice, cassava (manioc, tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, palm oil, pineapple, livestock, fish products
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Industries
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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, agricultural machinery, air conditioning and refrigeration, ceramics, aluminum, chemical, environmental management, glass, granite and marble, leather, machinery and metal work, petrochemical, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, printing, pulp and paper, rubber, sugar, rice, fishing, cassava, world's second-largest tungsten producer and third-largest tin producer
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Major Exports |
Automobiles and parts, computer and parts, jewelry and precious stones, polymers of ethylene in primary forms, refine fuels, electronic integrated circuits, chemical products, rice, fish products, rubber products, sugar, cassava, poultry, machinery and parts, iron and steel and their products
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Major Exports - Partners
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US 11.2%, China 11.1%, Japan 9.4%, Hong Kong 5.5%, Malaysia 4.8%, Australia 4.6%, Vietnam 4.2%, Singapore 4.1% (2015)
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Major Imports |
Machinery and parts, crude oil, electrical machinery and parts, chemicals, iron & steel and product, electronic integrated circuit, automobile’s parts, jewelry including silver bars and gold, computers and parts, electrical household appliances, soybean, soybean meal, wheat, cotton, dairy products
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Major Importers Partners
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China 20.3%, Japan 15.4%, US 6.9%, Malaysia 5.9%, UAE 4% (2015)
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Natural Resources
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Tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land
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Languages
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Thai (official) 90.7%, Burmese 1.3%, other 8% English is a secondary language of the elite (2010 est.)
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Ethnic groups
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Thai 97.5%, Burmese 1.3%, other 1.1%, unspecified <.1% (2015 est.)
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Climate
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Tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid.
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Location |
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma
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