Thailand in Brief

Thailand located in Southeast Asia borders Laos to the Northeast, Cambodia to the Southeast, Burma to the West and Northwest, and Malaysia to the South. It covers an area of 518,000 square kilometres. Its longest North to South distance is about 1,620 kilometres while its maximum dimension of East to West is about 730 kilometres.

According to the Thais, the shape of Thailand on the map has been compared to the ancient axe. The northern part serves as the top of the axe with the largest area of the central part as the axe itself; and the long lower part as its handle. Looking at the Northeastern plateau starting from Nakhon Ratchasima province, some people may think of the head of a decorated elephant whose trunk extends down the Malay peninsula. The Northern part from Uttaradit province up to Chiang Rai province is similar to the crown. The mouth of this elephant is the gulf of Thailand while its lower lip is the Southeast.

Majestic mountains and forests in the North and the West are the source of four major rivers in the North: Ping, Wang, Yom, Nan, which link up to form the great Chao Phya river which transverses the rice bowl area of the country.

In the ancient time, the Thais called their homeland “ Muang Thai,” while the seafarers took its name from the capital, “Aydhaya.” An Englishman, Sir James Lancaster, who voyaged to the Far East in 1593, first applied the name of “Siam” to Thailand. The word “Siam” appeared for the first time in Thai language when the trade treaty was made between Thailand and England in the reign of King Rama IV. Siam was changed to Thailand on June 24, 1939. The total population is approximately 62,000,000.