Thailand - Country facts
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Location
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma
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 armed violence in its three Muslim-majority southernmost provinces.
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
Terrain
central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere
Population
65,444,371
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to A
Ethnic Groups
Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11%
Religions
Buddhism 95%, Muslim 3.8%, Christianity 0.5%, Hinduism 0.1%, other 0.6%
Languages
Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects
Map of Thailand
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