FREE ESSAY ON THAILAND

THAILAND

IINTRODUCTION Thailand, formerly Siam, officially Kingdom of Thailand, kingdom in
Southeast Asia, bounded by Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) on the north and west, by
Laos on the northeast, by Cambodia and the Gulf of Thailand (Siam) on the southeast, by
Malaysia on the south, and by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar on the southwest. The total
area of Thailand is 513,115 sq km (198,115 sq mi). Bangkok is the capital and largest
city.
IILAND AND RESOURCES Thailand lies within the Indochinese Peninsula (see Indochina),
except for the southern extremity, which occupies a portion of the Malay Peninsula. The
country's extreme dimensions are about 1770 km (about 1100 mi) from north to south and
about 800 km (about 500 mi) from east to west. The physiography is highly diversified,
but the mountain systems are the predominant feature of the terrain. A series of parallel
ranges, with a north-south trend, occupy the northern and western portions of the
country. Extreme elevations occur in the westernmost ranges, which extend along the
Myanmar frontier and rise to 2595 m (8514 ft) atop Doi Inthanon, the highest point in
Thailand. The peninsular area, which is bordered by narrow coastal plains, reaches a high
point of 1790 m (5860 ft) atop Khao Luang. Another mountain system projects, in a
northern and southern direction, through central Thailand. At its southern extremity, the
system assumes an east-west trend and extends to the eastern frontier. Doi Pia Fai (1270
m/4167 ft) is its highest peak. The region to the north and east of this system consists
largely of a low, barren plateau, called the Khorat Plateau. Making up about one-third of
the country, the plateau is bordered by the Mekong River valley. Between the central and
western mountains is a vast alluvial plain traversed by the Chao Phraya, the chief river
of Thailand. This central plain, together with the fertile delta formed by the Chao
Phraya near Bangkok, is the richest agricultural and most densely populated section of
the kingdom.
AClimate Thailand has a moist, tropical climate, influenced chiefly by monsoon winds that
vary in direction according to the season. From April to October the winds are mainly
from the southwest and are moisture laden; during the rest of the year they blow from the
northeast. Temperatures are higher, ranging from about 26? to 37? C (about 78? to 98? F),
while the country is under the influence of the southwestern winds. During the remainder
of the year the range is from about 13? to 33? C (about 56? to 92? F). Temperatures are
somewhat higher inland than they are along the coast, except at points of great
elevation.
Annual rainfall is about 1520 mm (about 60 in) in the northern, western, and central
regions, about 2540 mm (about 100 in) or more on the Thai portion of the Malay Peninsula,
and about 1270 mm (about 50 in) or less on the Khorat Plateau. Most rain falls in summer
(June through October).
BNatural Resources. Thailand is rich in natural resources. Among the known mineral
deposits are coal, gold, lead, tin, tungsten, manganese, zinc, and precious stones. The
rich alluvial soil along the Chao Phraya and other rivers constitutes another important
resource. Natural gas deposits were discovered offshore in the 1970s, reducing Thailand's
reliance on imported petroleum.
CPlants and Animals Jungles and swamps, scattered through the coastal areas of Thailand,
have extensive tracts of tropical trees, including mangrove, rattan, ironwood,
sappanwood, ebony, and rosewood. The upland areas are also heavily wooded, the most
valuable species being teak, agalloch, and oak. In addition, a wide variety of tropical
plants and fruit trees, including orchid, gardenia, hibiscus, banana, mango, and coconut,
occur in Thailand. Many species of animal inhabit the jungles and forests. Elephants,
widely used as beasts of burden, are abundant. Other large animals include the
rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, gaur, water buffalo, and gibbon. The Siamese cat is, as its
name implies, indigenous to Thailand. Thailand has more than 50 species of snakes,
including several poisonous varieties. Crocodiles are numerous, as are various species of
fishes and birds.
IIIPOPULATION About 75 percent of the inhabitants of Thailand are Thai. The largest
minority group consists of the Chinese, who make up about 14 percent of the total
population, and most are Thai nationals. Other minority groups include the Malay-speaking
Muslims in the south, the hill tribes in the north, and Cambodian (Khmer) and Vietnamese
refugees in the east. The population of Thailand is 80 percent rural.
APopulation Characteristics The population of Thailand is about 59,450,818 (1997
estimate), yielding an overall population density of 116 persons per sq km (300 per sq
mi). The population is unevenly distributed, however, with the greatest concentration of
people in the central region.
BPolitical Divisions Thailand is divided into 76 provinces ( changwats). The provinces
are further subdivided into districts (amphurs), subdistricts (king amphurs), communes
(tambons), villages ( moobans), municipalities (tesabans), and sanitation districts
(sukhaphibans).
CPrincipal Cities Bangkok is the capital, chief seaport, and largest city (population,
1992 estimate, Bangkok Metropolis, 5,562,141). Other important towns include Chiang Mai
(170,269), the largest in northern Thailand; Songkhla (80,881), on the Malay Peninsula;
and Nakhon Si Thammarat (79,447), also on the Malay Peninsula.
DReligion Buddhism is the prevailing religion of Thailand. About 95 percent of all Thai
are Buddhist, and the country has approximately 18,000 Buddhist temples and 140,000
Buddhist priests. Nearly all Buddhist men in Thailand enter a wat (monastery) for at
least a few days or months. Muslims, the majority of whom live in the area just north of
Malaysia, constitute approximately 4 percent of the population, and the country also has
some small Christian and Hindu communities.
ELanguage Thai, a member of the Tai language family, is the chief language. Four regional
dialects are in use. Lao, Chinese, Malay, and Mon-Khmer are also spoken in Thailand.
English is taught in secondary schools and colleges and is also used in commerce and
government.
FEducation Education in Thailand is free and compulsory for all children between the ages
of 6 and 12, and 87 percent of the children are enrolled in either public primary schools
or those operated by Buddhist monasteries. Only 55 percent of all eligible children
attend secondary schools. Children are officially required to receive six years of
education, and the government has announced its intention to increase that number to nine
years. The literacy rate is 94 percent, higher than that of most other countries of
Southeast Asia.
F1Elementary and Secondary Schools In the 1995-1996 school year 6.0 million students
received primary education. Some 3.8 million students attended either lower- or
upper-level secondary schools.
F2Universities and Colleges In the early 1990s there were more than 600,000 students
enrolled in institutions of higher education in Thailand, including more than 300,000
students enrolled at two open universities. Thailand has 17 universities, the largest of
which include Chulalongkorn University (1917) in Bangkok and Chiang Mai University (1964)
in the north. In addition, the Asian Institute of Technology (1959), in Bangkok, offers
graduate degrees. In the early 1990s about 38,500 students attended 36 teacher-training
colleges, which also offer four-year degree programs.
GCulture Thailand is unique in Southeast Asia in that the country has never been a
dependency of another nation. Another notable difference is that Thai women, unlike women
of some other East Asian countries, are active in business affairs, the professions, and
the arts. No single culture has ever dominated the entire area. The first time a national
identity is thought to have been developed was during the Sukhothai kingdom. Formed in
the first half of the 13th century when several Thai municipalities united, the kingdom
survived until the late 14th to early 15th century, when it was absorbed by the Ayutthaya
kings. During its short existence, however, the Sukhothai kingdom established a new Thai
alphabet, which became the basis for modern Thai, and codified the Thai form of Theravada
Buddhism.
HLibraries and Museums The largest library in Thailand is the National Library in
Bangkok. In addition, important technical collections are maintained in Bangkok at the
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Asian
Institute of Technology Library, and the Thai National Documentation Center. Thailand has
a National Museum in Bangkok, which houses a large collection of ancient artifacts
illustrating the development of Thai culture. Another important collection of Thai art
was assembled by Jim Thompson, an American businessman who lived in Bangkok from the late
1940s to the 1960s. His reconstructed Thai house, filled with art, furniture, and
ceramics, is now a museum.
ILiterature Classic Thai literature is based on tradition and history. The Ramakien, the
Thai version of the Hindu epic Ramayana, is the leading classic on which Thai art and
music are based. The main theme remains the same in the Thai version, although the
Ramakien is about 25 percent longer than the original Hindu version. Modern writing is
more Western in style. Thailand has many women among its authors of popular writing.
Kukrit Pramoj is one of Thailand's most famous novelists. In addition to his career as a
writer, he was Thailand's prime minister in 1975.
JArt Among the most celebrated works of architecture in Thailand are the wats in Bangkok.
Thai sculpture, dating from the 14th century, is a mixture of Chinese, Myanmar, Hindu,
and Khmer influences and is best seen in the temples and representations of Buddha. Thai
religious paintings have been less well preserved; paintings are rarely older than 150
years. Thailand is known for producing beautiful silk textiles.
KMusic and Dance Thai music is very intricate and is a usual accompaniment of Thai drama.
The instruments, primarily woodwind and percussion, are usually grouped in five- or
ten-piece ensembles. Musicians sit on the floor to play, and generally play by ear. The
dance in Thailand is equally intricate, following or deriving from Indian dancing and
involving a series of gestures and swaying that interpret a story. Even the smallest
movements reflect important story threads, carefully woven by performers dressed in
elaborate costumes and headgear.
IVECONOMY The cultivation, processing, and export of agricultural products, especially
rice, was traditionally the mainstay of the Thai economy. Although Thailand has long been
among the most prosperous of the Asian nations, its dependence on a single crop rendered
it exceedingly vulnerable to fluctuations in the world price of rice and to variations in
the harvest. The government has diminished this vulnerability by instituting a number of
development programs aimed at diversifying the economy and by promoting scientific
methods of farming, particularly controlled flooding of the rice fields, so that the rice
harvest might remain stable even in years of scant rainfall. Spurred largely by Japanese
investment, Thailand industrialized rapidly during the 1980s and early 1990s; however,
the economy experienced a downturn in the mid-1990s that worried both investors and the
Thai people. The estimated national budget in 1995 included revenue of $31.3 billion and
expenditure of $26.6 billion.
In 1997 Thailand suffered an economic crisis when it became clear that a number of the
country's financial institutions were near bankruptcy. Many had acquired bad debts during
the economic boom years of the 1980s and early 1990s. Investors lost confidence in the
value of the baht (the Thai currency), which began to fall sharply against the United
States dollar. As the crisis developed, many businesses failed, unemployment rose, and
the currencies and stock markets of other Southeast Asian nations were affected. The
International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided an aid package of loans to help Thailand
weather the crisis. To obtain the loans, Thailand agreed to take steps to stabilize its
economy, including making budget cuts, raising taxes, and closing unstable financial
institutions.
AAgriculture Thailand is one of the world's leading producers of rice, despite the fact
that the yield per hectare is low. In 1997 Thailand produced 21.8 million metric tons of
rice, up from about 11.3 million metric tons per year in the 1960s. The second most
important crop in value is rubber, which is raised mainly on plantations on the Malay
Peninsula. Thailand produced 2.3 million metric tons of natural rubber in 1997. Other
important crops included cassava (17.2 million metric tons), sugarcane (60.0 million),
maize (4.4 million), and fruits such as pineapples and coconuts (6.9 million). Thailand
is also a significant producer of kenaf, a fiber used in making canvas. Livestock totaled
8.0 million cattle, 4.8 million buffalo, 4.0 million pigs, and 131 million poultry.
BForestry and Fishing Forests cover 23 percent of Thailand's total land area. The most
valuable forest product is hardwood. The timber harvest in 1995 totaled 39.3 million cu m
(1.4 billion cu ft), nearly all of which was burned for fuel. Thailand was a major
exporter of teak until a ban on uncontrolled logging was instituted in 1989, following
severe flooding as a result of deforestation.
Fishing is rapidly growing in importance to the Thai economy. In 1995 the annual catch
included 3.3 million metric tons of prawns, fish, and shellfish. In the early 1990s
exports of ocean products, particularly prawns, accounted for about 10 percent of export
earnings.
CMining The development of extensive natural gas reserves has decreased Thailand's
dependence on energy imports. Production in 1996 was 13.2 billion cu m (468 billion cu
ft), 5 percent of the proven reserves. Gemstones, particularly diamonds, are the
principal mineral export of Thailand, producing 3.3 percent of export revenues. The
country's chief mineral products included (with annual output in the early 1990s) lignite
(14.5 million metric tons), zinc ore (496,000), lead concentrates (65,500), tin (14,200),
gypsum (7.2 million) and iron ore (240,100).
DManufacturing Thailand's increasingly diversified manufacturing sector is a central
component of the nation's economic expansion, growing by 9.4 percent annually during the
1980s and early 1990s. Industry, which includes manufacturing, construction, and mining,
employs 14 percent of the labor force. Food-processing industries, especially rice
milling and sugar refining; textile and clothing manufacture; and the electronics
industry predominate. Other important manufactured goods included cement (18 million
metric tons), motor vehicles (318,000 units), cigarettes (38.3 billion units), and
various chemicals and petroleum products.
EEnergy In 1996 Thailand produced 82 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, up from about
3 billion kilowatt-hours in 1968. Generating plants fueled by hydrocarbons produced 91 of
the electricity.
FCurrency and Banking The basic unit of currency of Thailand is the baht, which is
divided into 100 satang. In 1996 25.34 baht equaled U.S.$1 . After the onset of the 1997
economic crisis, the baht fell against the dollar by as much as 25 percent before making
a partial recovery in the first quarter of 1998. The Bank of Thailand, established in
1942, issues all currency. Thailand also has many commercial bank branches, as well as
several foreign banks. 
GForeign Trade and Tourism In 1995 Thai exports were valued at $56.4 billion, and imports
were valued at $73.7 billion. Principal exports were agricultural products, electronics,
clothing and footwear, and rubber. Thailand's primary trading partners were Japan, the
United States, Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, and South Korea. Tourism is Thailand's
chief source of foreign capital.
HTransportation The Thai railroad system, which totals 3870 km (2405 mi) of track, is
owned and operated by the state. Consisting of a network of lines radiating from Bangkok,
the system extends as far north as Chiang Mai, southward to the frontier of Malaysia,
eastward to Ubon Ratchathani, and northeastward through Udon Thani to Nong Khai near the
Laos border. Another line extends northwestward to the Myanmar frontier. The Chao Phraya,
navigable for about 80 km (about 50 mi) from its mouth, is an important inland waterway.
The highway system was improved in the 1970s and now includes 64,600 km (40,100 mi) of
roads. Thai Airways operates both domestic and international services. Don Muang
International Airport in northern metropolitan Bangkok is the largest airport. In
addition, there are more than 20 smaller airports located throughout the country.
Thailand is also planning a second international airport for the Bangkok area; it is
expected to be completed around 2000. The port of Bangkok, one of the most modern in
Southeast Asia, also serves neighboring landlocked Laos.
ICommunications In 1995 Thailand had 189 radio receivers and 189 television sets for
every 1000 residents. Bangkok has 19 daily newspapers, including 2 in English and 5 in
Chinese, which have a combined circulation of more than 2.9 million. Periodicals are
published in Thai, English, and Chinese, and several weekly papers serve the provinces. A
press censorship law was repealed in Thailand in 1991.
JLabor In 1996 the labor force totaled 34.7 million. Agriculture engaged 64 percent of
the workers. Organized labor is represented by more than 530 unions with a combined total
of nearly 300,000 members.
VGOVERNMENT A revolution in 1932 transformed Thailand into a constitutional monarchy
after centuries of rule by absolute monarchs, but until recently the country was largely
controlled by the military. Although King Phumiphon Adunyadet has little direct power, he
exercises considerable influence on political leaders. The nation's 16th constitution
took effect in 1997. It is the first of Thailand's constitutions to be drafted by a
process involving public debate, and the first to include a bill of rights guaranteeing
equality to all citizens.
AExecutive Under the constitution the king is Thailand's head of state and commander in
chief of the armed forces. A cabinet is headed by a prime minister, who is the country's
chief executive official. 
BLegislature Legislative power in Thailand is vested in the bicameral National Assembly,
which consists of a 500-member House of Representatives and a 245-member Senate.
Representatives are directly elected to four-year terms. Prior to the 1997 constitution,
senators were appointed by the military; however, under the new constitution they too
will be directly elected to four-year terms. 
CJudiciary Thai citizens are guaranteed due process and equal justice under the law. The
highest court is the Sarn Dika (Supreme Court), sitting in Bangkok, which is the court of
final appeal in all civil, criminal, and bankruptcy cases. A single court of appeals
(Sarn Uthorn) has appellate jurisdiction in all cases. Courts of first instance include
magistrates' courts with limited civil and criminal jurisdiction, provincial courts with
unlimited jurisdiction, and civil and criminal courts with exclusive jurisdiction in
Bangkok proper and Thon Buri. Thailand's constitution recognizes the independence of the
judiciary.
DLocal Government Each of Thailand's 76 provinces, called changwats, are under the
control of a governor appointed by the Ministry of Interior, except Bangkok Metropolis,
where the governor is elected by popular vote. District (amphur) officials are also
appointed. Larger towns are governed by elected and appointed officials, and elected
heads hold power at local levels. 
EHealth and Welfare The Ministry of Public Health is charged with disaster relief, child
welfare, protection of the disabled and destitute, and development programs for northern
hill tribes. Special programs were initiated in the 1980s to assist refugees from Vietnam
and Cambodia in the east. The spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which causes
acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), is a serious public health problem in
Thailand. According to the Thai Ministry of Public Health, the number of estimated
HIV-infected people in Thailand was about 600,000 in 1994. Thailand's anti-AIDS campaign,
launched in 1991, was among the first in Southeast Asia. The campaign includes AIDS
awareness programs, encouraging Thai to avoid brothels and use condoms. Clinics offer
anonymous testing for HIV infection. Thailand has one physician for every 4288 residents
and one hospital bed for every 586 people.
FDefense Military service is compulsory for two years for all able-bodied men between the
ages of 21 and 30. In 1997 the armed forces included an army of 150,000 members, an air
force of 43,000, and a navy of 73,000.
VIHISTORY Present-day Thai are believed to be the descendants of Tai-speaking people who
lived in the Black River (Song Da) valley of northern Vietnam, the extreme northeastern
section of Laos, and neighboring sections of China around the 5th to 8th century AD.
These Tai people may have spread into Thailand between the 7th to 13th century. By the
end of the 13th century the Tai had formed a political entity and emerged as a nation
afterward known as the Thai. In 1350 a unified Thai kingdom was established by a ruler
known posthumously as Rama Tibodi. He founded the kingdom of Ayutthaya and made the city
of Ayutthaya his capital. Despite intermittent warfare with the Cambodians and the
Burmans, the Ayutthaya kingdom flourished during the next four centuries, conquering
Cambodia and the surviving states in the north. Meanwhile, the Thai had come into contact
that was not always friendly with various European and Asian nations, including Portugal,
the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and China.
ASovereignty Embattled In 1767, following a two-year siege, Myanmar troops captured and
destroyed Ayutthaya. The rule of Myanmar overlords in Thailand was shortly terminated
when General Pya Taksin proclaimed himself king. When Taksin was executed by his
ministers, the crown passed to General Pya Chakri, founder of the present dynasty of Thai
kings, who ruled from 1782 to 1809 as Rama I. The British and Thai governments concluded
a commercial treaty in 1826. Because of the rights and privileges obtained by this
agreement, British influence increased in Thailand throughout the remainder of the 19th
century.
Owing to the statesmanship of two rulers, however, Thailand was spared the fate of
colonization that befell its neighbors. Interested in Western science and civilization,
King Mongkut (Rama IV), who reigned from 1851 to 1868, invited many European advisers to
assist him in modernizing the country. His son, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who reigned
during the height of the onslaught of European colonization, continued the vigorous
modernization efforts of his father and managed to maintain the country's independence,
albeit at considerable cost in territorial concessions. For example, in 1893 Thailand
became embroiled in a boundary dispute with France, then the dominant power in Cochin
China, Annam, Tonkin, and Cambodia. The French dispatched warships to Bangkok and forced
the Thai to yield Cambodia and all of Laos east of the Mekong River. Additional Thai
territory, situated west of the Mekong, was acquired by France in 1904 and 1907. Thailand
gave up control over four states in the Malay Peninsula to the United Kingdom in 1909. In
exchange, the British relinquished most of their extraterritorial rights in the rest of
the kingdom. The Thai government entered World War I (1914-1918) on the side of the
Allies in July 1917. Thailand subsequently became a founding member of the League of
Nations.
In June 1932, during the reign of King Prajadhipok, a small group of Thai military and
political leaders organized a successful revolt against the government, until then an
absolute monarchy. The insurgents, led by Pridi Phanomyong and Colonel Phibun Songgram,
proclaimed a constitutional monarchy on June 27. Royalist opposition was finally overcome
in October 1933. King Prajadhipok, increasingly unhappy with the new government and in
ill health, abdicated in March 1935 in favor of his nephew, Prince Ananda Mahidol.
Thailand invalidated all of its treaties with foreign nations in November 1936. Under the
provisions of new treaties negotiated in the following year, the government obtained
complete autonomy over its internal and external affairs.
BWorld War II With Japanese encouragement and support, Phibun's government made demands
on France, beginning in 1940, for the return of the territory ceded in and after 1893.
The dispute was settled, with Japanese mediation, in May 1941. By the terms of the
settlement, Thailand received about 54,000 sq km (about 21,000 sq mi) of territory,
including part of western Cambodia and all of Laos west of the Mekong River. The
relations between Japan and Thailand became increasingly friendly thereafter. On December
8, 1941, a few hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Thai government
granted Japan the right to move troops across the country to the Malayan frontier.
Thailand declared war on the United States and the United Kingdom on January 25, 1942.
Phibun's pro-Japanese government, however, was overthrown in July 1944; Pridi took over,
and under his leadership considerable sympathy for the Allied cause developed among the
Thai people.
Thailand concluded a treaty with the United Kingdom and India in January 1946,
renouncing, among other things, its claims to Malayan territory obtained during the war.
Diplomatic relations with the United States were resumed in the same month. In November
1946 Thailand reached an agreement with France providing for the return to France of the
territory obtained in 1941. Thailand was admitted to the United Nations (UN) on December
15, 1946, becoming the 55th member. Meanwhile, on June 9, 1946, King Ananda Mahidol had
died under mysterious circumstances. A regency was appointed to rule during the minority
of his brother and successor, King Rama IX.
CDomestic Instability On November 9, 1947, a military junta led by Phibun seized control
of the government. Except for a brief interlude early in 1948, Phibun thereafter retained
control of the government until 1957. His regime, essentially a dictatorship, based its
foreign policy on maintaining close relations with the United States and the United
Kingdom. King Rama IX assumed the throne on May 5, 1950. After the outbreak of the Korean
War in June 1950, Thailand assigned approximately 4000 men to the UN forces.
On November 29, 1951, a group of army officers seized control of the government in a
bloodless coup d'etat and reestablished the authoritarian constitution of 1932, with some
changes. Phibun was retained as premier. Meanwhile, a Free Thai movement, supported by
the Chinese Communists and nominally headed by Pridi, had been formed in China.
Thai representatives took part in the Geneva Conference of April 1954, which temporarily
ended the war in Indochina. In September 1954, Thailand was a founding member and Bangkok
became the headquarters of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).
In September 1957, Phibun's government was overthrown by a military coup d'etat led by
Marshall Sarit Thanarat, commander in chief of the Thai armed forces. A coalition
government was formed in January 1958 under the premiership of Lieutenant General Thanom
Kittikachorn. Another coup in October 1958, again headed by Sarit, overthrew the Thanom
government. The constitution was suspended, a state of martial law was proclaimed, and
all political parties were banned. In the early 1960s the government showed increasing
concern over a rapidly growing Communist guerrilla movement in the north. The increase in
terrorist attacks was one of the major problems faced by Thanom, who became prime
minister again on Sarit's death in December 1963. The new government was also concerned
about the deteriorating position of the pro-Western government in neighboring Laos and
about the Vietnam War (1959-1975).
DStruggle for Democracy On the political front, the government took gradual steps toward
the restoration of political rights suspended in 1958. Elections to municipal councils
were held for the first time in a decade in December 1967. A permanent constitution was
promulgated in June 1968. Parliamentary elections were held in February 1969, in which
the United Thai People's Party won a plurality of 75 seats in the house of
representatives. The largest opposition group, the Democratic Party, won 56 seats.
Beginning about 1969, the United States changed its role in Southeast Asia by gradually
withdrawing its forces from Vietnam and by seeking friendly relations with China. These
developments caused Thailand to establish a more flexible foreign policy, especially
toward China and North Vietnam. At the same time, Thailand continued to face guerrilla
activities in the north and along the border with Malaysia. The U.S. withdrawal from
Southeast Asia had an adverse effect on the Thai economy. The declining economy and
guerrilla activities were given as reasons for the establishment of a military government
in November 1971. The military, led by General Thanom, abolished the constitution and
dissolved parliament. In December 1972 a new constitution was proclaimed.
In 1973 a series of student-led demonstrations against the military government resulted
in Thanom's resignation in October and the appointment of a civilian cabinet. In late
1974 a new constitution was approved, and a freely elected government was formed in early
1975. Stability, however, remained elusive, and new elections in April 1976 made little
difference. In September of that year the return of former Prime Minister Thanom from
exile in Singapore led to bloody battles in Bangkok between leftist students and his
right-wing supporters. In early October, as disorder was spreading, a military group led
by Admiral Sa-ngad Chaloryu seized control of the country and installed a conservative
government. A year later, however, that government also was brought down by Sa-ngad and
his group. Sa-ngad instructed a new cabinet to try to bridge the divisions of Thai
society and improve relations with the neighboring Communist regimes. Yet another
constitution was promulgated in December 1978, and in April 1979 elections were held for
a new House of Representatives. The military-installed government, however, remained in
power until March 1980, when it was replaced by a new cabinet, headed by General Prem
Tinsulanonda. Elections in 1983 left General Prem as head of a new coalition government.
He dissolved the National Assembly in 1986 and called new elections. His party won,
without a majority, and he again formed a coalition government.
After elections in July 1988, Chatichai Choonhavan became prime minister. A military
junta ousted him in February 1991 and installed an interim civilian government. After
pro-military parties won the elections of March 1992, demonstrations in Bangkok calling
for democratic reforms were violently suppressed. New elections in September resulted in
another coalition government, with a veteran politician, Chuan Leekpai, as prime
minister. In February 1995 the government passed a sweeping package that amended almost
all the articles of the 1991 constitution. The prodemocracy changes included lowering the
voting age from 20 to 18 years and changing the number of representatives from a fixed
number to one based on population. In addition, Thai citizens were guaranteed due process
and equal justice under the law.
In May 1995 the Chuan Leekpai government collapsed amid accusations of wrongdoing in a
government land reform project. In July 1995, after new elections, the leader of Chart
Thai (Thai Nation Party), Banharn Silpa-archa, became prime minister. Less than a year
into Silpa-archa's government, accusations emerged of corruption among his appointees,
prompting investigation into bribes, abuse of authority, and questionable bank loans. In
1996, after a no confidence debate in parliament, Silpa-archa resigned as prime minister.
New elections secured a slim victory for the New Aspiration Party (NAP); its leader
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh became the next Thai prime minister. 
In 1997 Thailand's economy experienced a significant setback as the baht fell sharply
against the dollar, many financial institutions and other businesses failed, and
unemployment rose. The crisis then spread, affecting the economies of other Southeast
Asian nations. To prevent the crisis from spreading further, the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) agreed to provide an aid package of loans to Thailand. In return, Thailand
agreed to adopt a series of measures intended to stabilize its economy. 
In October 1997 Thailand adopted a new constitution, with provisions aimed at controlling
political corruption and expanding civil liberties. Facing criticism for his handling of
the economy, Yongchaiyudh resigned as prime minister in November, and Chuan Leekpai was
appointed to the post a second time.
IINTRODUCTION Thailand, formerly Siam, officially Kingdom of Thailand, kingdom in
Southeast Asia, bounded by Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) on the north and west, by
Laos on the northeast, by Cambodia and the Gulf of Thailand (Siam) on the southeast, by
Malaysia on the south, and by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar on the southwest. The total
area of Thailand is 513,115 sq km (198,115 sq mi). Bangkok is the capital and largest
city.
IILAND AND RESOURCES Thailand lies within the Indochinese Peninsula (see Indochina),
except for the southern extremity, which occupies a portion of the Malay Peninsula. The
country's extreme dimensions are about 1770 km (about 1100 mi) from north to south and
about 800 km (about 500 mi) from east to west. The physiography is highly diversified,
but the mountain systems are the predominant feature of the terrain. A series of parallel
ranges, with a north-south trend, occupy the northern and western portions of the
country. Extreme elevations occur in the westernmost ranges, which extend along the
Myanmar frontier and rise to 2595 m (8514 ft) atop Doi Inthanon, the highest point in
Thailand. The peninsular area, which is bordered by narrow coastal plains, reaches a high
point of 1790 m (5860 ft) atop Khao Luang. Another mountain system projects, in a
northern and southern direction, through central Thailand. At its southern extremity, the
system assumes an east-west trend and extends to the eastern frontier. Doi Pia Fai (1270
m/4167 ft) is its highest peak. The region to the north and east of this system consists
largely of a low, barren plateau, called the Khorat Plateau. Making up about one-third of
the country, the plateau is bordered by the Mekong River valley. Between the central and
western mountains is a vast alluvial plain traversed by the Chao Phraya, the chief river
of Thailand. This central plain, together with the fertile delta formed by the Chao
Phraya near Bangkok, is the richest agricultural and most densely populated section of
the kingdom.
AClimate Thailand has a moist, tropical climate, influenced chiefly by monsoon winds that
vary in direction according to the season. From April to October the winds are mainly
from the southwest and are moisture laden; during the rest of the year they blow from the
northeast. Temperatures are higher, ranging from about 26? to 37? C (about 78? to 98? F),
while the country is under the influence of the southwestern winds. During the remainder
of the year the range is from about 13? to 33? C (about 56? to 92? F). Temperatures are
somewhat higher inland than they are along the coast, except at points of great
elevation.
Annual rainfall is about 1520 mm (about 60 in) in the northern, western, and central
regions, about 2540 mm (about 100 in) or more on the Thai portion of the Malay Peninsula,
and about 1270 mm (about 50 in) or less on the Khorat Plateau. Most rain falls in summer
(June through October).
BNatural Resources. Thailand is rich in natural resources. Among the known mineral
deposits are coal, gold, lead, tin, tungsten, manganese, zinc, and precious stones. The
rich alluvial soil along the Chao Phraya and other rivers constitutes another important
resource. Natural gas deposits were discovered offshore in the 1970s, reducing Thailand's
reliance on imported petroleum.
CPlants and Animals Jungles and swamps, scattered through the coastal areas of Thailand,
have extensive tracts of tropical trees, including mangrove, rattan, ironwood,
sappanwood, ebony, and rosewood. The upland areas are also heavily wooded, the most
valuable species being teak, agalloch, and oak. In addition, a wide variety of tropical
plants and fruit trees, including orchid, gardenia, hibiscus, banana, mango, and coconut,
occur in Thailand. Many species of animal inhabit the jungles and forests. Elephants,
widely used as beasts of burden, are abundant. Other large animals include the
rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, gaur, water buffalo, and gibbon. The Siamese cat is, as its
name implies, indigenous to Thailand. Thailand has more than 50 species of snakes,
including several poisonous varieties. Crocodiles are numerous, as are various species of
fishes and birds.
IIIPOPULATION About 75 percent of the inhabitants of Thailand are Thai. The largest
minority group consists of the Chinese, who make up about 14 percent of the total
population, and most are Thai nationals. Other minority groups include the Malay-speaking
Muslims in the south, the hill tribes in the north, and Cambodian (Khmer) and Vietnamese
refugees in the east. The population of Thailand is 80 percent rural.
APopulation Characteristics The population of Thailand is about 59,450,818 (1997
estimate), yielding an overall population density of 116 persons per sq km (300 per sq
mi). The population is unevenly distributed, however, with the greatest concentration of
people in the central region.
BPolitical Divisions Thailand is divided into 76 provinces ( changwats). The provinces
are further subdivided into districts (amphurs), subdistricts (king amphurs), communes
(tambons), villages ( moobans), municipalities (tesabans), and sanitation districts
(sukhaphibans).
CPrincipal Cities Bangkok is the capital, chief seaport, and largest city (population,
1992 estimate, Bangkok Metropolis, 5,562,141). Other important towns include Chiang Mai
(170,269), the largest in northern Thailand; Songkhla (80,881), on the Malay Peninsula;
and Nakhon Si Thammarat (79,447), also on the Malay Peninsula.
DReligion Buddhism is the prevailing religion of Thailand. About 95 percent of all Thai
are Buddhist, and the country has approximately 18,000 Buddhist temples and 140,000
Buddhist priests. Nearly all Buddhist men in Thailand enter a wat (monastery) for at
least a few days or months. Muslims, the majority of whom live in the area just north of
Malaysia, constitute approximately 4 percent of the population, and the country also has
some small Christian and Hindu communities.
ELanguage Thai, a member of the Tai language family, is the chief language. Four regional
dialects are in use. Lao, Chinese, Malay, and Mon-Khmer are also spoken in Thailand.
English is taught in secondary schools and colleges and is also used in commerce and
government.
FEducation Education in Thailand is free and compulsory for all children between the ages
of 6 and 12, and 87 percent of the children are enrolled in either public primary schools
or those operated by Buddhist monasteries. Only 55 percent of all eligible children
attend secondary schools. Children are officially required to receive six years of
education, and the government has announced its intention to increase that number to nine
years. The literacy rate is 94 percent, higher than that of most other countries of
Southeast Asia.
F1Elementary and Secondary Schools In the 1995-1996 school year 6.0 million students
received primary education. Some 3.8 million students attended either lower- or
upper-level secondary schools.
F2Universities and Colleges In the early 1990s there were more than 600,000 students
enrolled in institutions of higher education in Thailand, including more than 300,000
students enrolled at two open universities. Thailand has 17 universities, the largest of
which include Chulalongkorn University (1917) in Bangkok and Chiang Mai University (1964)
in the north. In addition, the Asian Institute of Technology (1959), in Bangkok, offers
graduate degrees. In the early 1990s about 38,500 students attended 36 teacher-training
colleges, which also offer four-year degree programs.
GCulture Thailand is unique in Southeast Asia in that the country has never been a
dependency of another nation. Another notable difference is that Thai women, unlike women
of some other East Asian countries, are active in business affairs, the professions, and
the arts. No single culture has ever dominated the entire area. The first time a national
identity is thought to have been developed was during the Sukhothai kingdom. Formed in
the first half of the 13th century when several Thai municipalities united, the kingdom
survived until the late 14th to early 15th century, when it was absorbed by the Ayutthaya
kings. During its short existence, however, the Sukhothai kingdom established a new Thai
alphabet, which became the basis for modern Thai, and codified the Thai form of Theravada
Buddhism.
HLibraries and Museums The largest library in Thailand is the National Library in
Bangkok. In addition, important technical collections are maintained in Bangkok at the
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Asian
Institute of Technology Library, and the Thai National Documentation Center. Thailand has
a National Museum in Bangkok, which houses a large collection of ancient artifacts
illustrating the development of Thai culture. Another important collection of Thai art
was assembled by Jim Thompson, an American businessman who lived in Bangkok from the late
1940s to the 1960s. His reconstructed Thai house, filled with art, furniture, and
ceramics, is now a museum.
ILiterature Classic Thai literature is based on tradition and history. The Ramakien, the
Thai version of the Hindu epic Ramayana, is the leading classic on which Thai art and
music are based. The main theme remains the same in the Thai version, although the
Ramakien is about 25 percent longer than the original Hindu version. Modern writing is
more Western in style. Thailand has many women among its authors of popular writing.
Kukrit Pramoj is one of Thailand's most famous novelists. In addition to his career as a
writer, he was Thailand's prime minister in 1975.
JArt Among the most celebrated works of architecture in Thailand are the wats in Bangkok.
Thai sculpture, dating from the 14th century, is a mixture of Chinese, Myanmar, Hindu,
and Khmer influences and is best seen in the temples and representations of Buddha. Thai
religious paintings have been less well preserved; paintings are rarely older than 150
years. Thailand is known for producing beautiful silk textiles.
KMusic and Dance Thai music is very intricate and is a usual accompaniment of Thai drama.
The instruments, primarily woodwind and percussion, are usually grouped in five- or
ten-piece ensembles. Musicians sit on the floor to play, and generally play by ear. The
dance in Thailand is equally intricate, following or deriving from Indian dancing and
involving a series of gestures and swaying that interpret a story. Even the smallest
movements reflect important story threads, carefully woven by performers dressed in
elaborate costumes and headgear.
IVECONOMY The cultivation, processing, and export of agricultural products, especially
rice, was traditionally the mainstay of the Thai economy. Although Thailand has long been
among the most prosperous of the Asian nations, its dependence on a single crop rendered
it exceedingly vulnerable to fluctuations in the world price of rice and to variations in
the harvest. The government has diminished this vulnerability by instituting a number of
development programs aimed at diversifying the economy and by promoting scientific
methods of farming, particularly controlled flooding of the rice fields, so that the rice
harvest might remain stable even in years of scant rainfall. Spurred largely by Japanese
investment, Thailand industrialized rapidly during the 1980s and early 1990s; however,
the economy experienced a downturn in the mid-1990s that worried both investors and the
Thai people. The estimated national budget in 1995 included revenue of $31.3 billion and
expenditure of $26.6 billion.
In 1997 Thailand suffered an economic crisis when it became clear that a number of the
country's financial institutions were near bankruptcy. Many had acquired bad debts during
the economic boom years of the 1980s and early 1990s. Investors lost confidence in the
value of the baht (the Thai currency), which began to fall sharply against the United
States dollar. As the crisis developed, many businesses failed, unemployment rose, and
the currencies and stock markets of other Southeast Asian nations were affected. The
International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided an aid package of loans to help Thailand
weather the crisis. To obtain the loans, Thailand agreed to take steps to stabilize its
economy, including making budget cuts, raising taxes, and closing unstable financial
institutions.
AAgriculture Thailand is one of the world's leading producers of rice, despite the fact
that the yield per hectare is low. In 1997 Thailand produced 21.8 million metric tons of
rice, up from about 11.3 million metric tons per year in the 1960s. The second most
important crop in value is rubber, which is raised mainly on plantations on the Malay
Peninsula. Thailand produced 2.3 million metric tons of natural rubber in 1997. Other
important crops included cassava (17.2 million metric tons), sugarcane (60.0 million),
maize (4.4 million), and fruits such as pineapples and coconuts (6.9 million). Thailand
is also a significant producer of kenaf, a fiber used in making canvas. Livestock totaled
8.0 million cattle, 4.8 million buffalo, 4.0 million pigs, and 131 million poultry.
BForestry and Fishing Forests cover 23 percent of Thailand's total land area. The most
valuable forest product is hardwood. The timber harvest in 1995 totaled 39.3 million cu m
(1.4 billion cu ft), nearly all of which was burned for fuel. Thailand was a major
exporter of teak until a ban on uncontrolled logging was instituted in 1989, following
severe flooding as a result of deforestation.
Fishing is rapidly growing in importance to the Thai economy. In 1995 the annual catch
included 3.3 million metric tons of prawns, fish, and shellfish. In the early 1990s
exports of ocean products, particularly prawns, accounted for about 10 percent of export
earnings.
CMining The development of extensive natural gas reserves has decreased Thailand's
dependence on energy imports. Production in 1996 was 13.2 billion cu m (468 billion cu
ft), 5 percent of the proven reserves. Gemstones, particularly diamonds, are the
principal mineral export of Thailand, producing 3.3 percent of export revenues. The
country's chief mineral products included (with annual output in the early 1990s) lignite
(14.5 million metric tons), zinc ore (496,000), lead concentrates (65,500), tin (14,200),
gypsum (7.2 million) and iron ore (240,100).
DManufacturing Thailand's increasingly diversified manufacturing sector is a central
component of the nation's economic expansion, growing by 9.4 percent annually during the
1980s and early 1990s. Industry, which includes manufacturing, construction, and mining,
employs 14 percent of the labor force. Food-processing industries, especially rice
milling and sugar refining; textile and clothing manufacture; and the electronics
industry predominate. Other important manufactured goods included cement (18 million
metric tons), motor vehicles (318,000 units), cigarettes (38.3 billion units), and
various chemicals and petroleum products.
EEnergy In 1996 Thailand produced 82 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, up from about
3 billion kilowatt-hours in 1968. Generating plants fueled by hydrocarbons produced 91 of
the electricity.
FCurrency and Banking The basic unit of currency of Thailand is the baht, which is
divided into 100 satang. In 1996 25.34 baht equaled U.S.$1 . After the onset of the 1997
economic crisis, the baht fell against the dollar by as much as 25 percent before making
a partial recovery in the first quarter of 1998. The Bank of Thailand, established in
1942, issues all currency. Thailand also has many commercial bank branches, as well as
several foreign banks. 
GForeign Trade and Tourism In 1995 Thai exports were valued at $56.4 billion, and imports
were valued at $73.7 billion. Principal exports were agricultural products, electronics,
clothing and footwear, and rubber. Thailand's primary trading partners were Japan, the
United States, Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, and South Korea. Tourism is Thailand's
chief source of foreign capital.
HTransportation The Thai railroad system, which totals 3870 km (2405 mi) of track, is
owned and operated by the state. Consisting of a network of lines radiating from Bangkok,
the system extends as far north as Chiang Mai, southward to the frontier of Malaysia,
eastward to Ubon Ratchathani, and northeastward through Udon Thani to Nong Khai near the
Laos border. Another line extends northwestward to the Myanmar frontier. The Chao Phraya,
navigable for about 80 km (about 50 mi) from its mouth, is an important inland waterway.
The highway system was improved in the 1970s and now includes 64,600 km (40,100 mi) of
roads. Thai Airways operates both domestic and international services. Don Muang
International Airport in northern metropolitan Bangkok is the largest airport. In
addition, there are more than 20 smaller airports located throughout the country.
Thailand is also planning a second international airport for the Bangkok area; it is
expected to be completed around 2000. The port of Bangkok, one of the most modern in
Southeast Asia, also serves neighboring landlocked Laos.
ICommunications In 1995 Thailand had 189 radio receivers and 189 television sets for
every 1000 residents. Bangkok has 19 daily newspapers, including 2 in English and 5 in
Chinese, which have a combined circulation of more than 2.9 million. Periodicals are
published in Thai, English, and Chinese, and several weekly papers serve the provinces. A
press censorship law was repealed in Thailand in 1991.
JLabor In 1996 the labor force totaled 34.7 million. Agriculture engaged 64 percent of
the workers. Organized labor is represented by more than 530 unions with a combined total
of nearly 300,000 members.
VGOVERNMENT A revolution in 1932 transformed Thailand into a constitutional monarchy
after centuries of rule by absolute monarchs, but until recently the country was largely
controlled by the military. Although King Phumiphon Adunyadet has little direct power, he
exercises considerable influence on political leaders. The nation's 16th constitution
took effect in 1997. It is the first of Thailand's constitutions to be drafted by a
process involving public debate, and the first to include a bill of rights guaranteeing
equality to all citizens.
AExecutive Under the constitution the king is Thailand's head of state and commander in
chief of the armed forces. A cabinet is headed by a prime minister, who is the country's
chief executive official. 
BLegislature Legislative power in Thailand is vested in the bicameral National Assembly,
which consists of a 500-member House of Representatives and a 245-member Senate.
Representatives are directly elected to four-year terms. Prior to the 1997 constitution,
senators were appointed by the military; however, under the new constitution they too
will be directly elected to four-year terms. 
CJudiciary Thai citizens are guaranteed due process and equal justice under the law. The
highest court is the Sarn Dika (Supreme Court), sitting in Bangkok, which is the court of
final appeal in all civil, criminal, and bankruptcy cases. A single court of appeals
(Sarn Uthorn) has appellate jurisdiction in all cases. Courts of first instance include
magistrates' courts with limited civil and criminal jurisdiction, provincial courts with
unlimited jurisdiction, and civil and criminal courts with exclusive jurisdiction in
Bangkok proper and Thon Buri. Thailand's constitution recognizes the independence of the
judiciary.
DLocal Government Each of Thailand's 76 provinces, called changwats, are under the
control of a governor appointed by the Ministry of Interior, except Bangkok Metropolis,
where the governor is elected by popular vote. District (amphur) officials are also
appointed. Larger towns are governed by elected and appointed officials, and elected
heads hold power at local levels. 
EHealth and Welfare The Ministry of Public Health is charged with disaster relief, child
welfare, protection of the disabled and destitute, and development programs for northern
hill tribes. Special programs were initiated in the 1980s to assist refugees from Vietnam
and Cambodia in the east. The spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which causes
acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), is a serious public health problem in
Thailand. According to the Thai Ministry of Public Health, the number of estimated
HIV-infected people in Thailand was about 600,000 in 1994. Thailand's anti-AIDS campaign,
launched in 1991, was among the first in Southeast Asia. The campaign includes AIDS
awareness programs, encouraging Thai to avoid brothels and use condoms. Clinics offer
anonymous testing for HIV infection. Thailand has one physician for every 4288 residents
and one hospital bed for every 586 people.
FDefense Military service is compulsory for two years for all able-bodied men between the
ages of 21 and 30. In 1997 the armed forces included an army of 150,000 members, an air
force of 43,000, and a navy of 73,000.
VIHISTORY Present-day Thai are believed to be the descendants of Tai-speaking people who
lived in the Black River (Song Da) valley of northern Vietnam, the extreme northeastern
section of Laos, and neighboring sections of China around the 5th to 8th century AD.
These Tai people may have spread into Thailand between the 7th to 13th century. By the
end of the 13th century the Tai had formed a political entity and emerged as a nation
afterward known as the Thai. In 1350 a unified Thai kingdom was established by a ruler
known posthumously as Rama Tibodi. He founded the kingdom of Ayutthaya and made the city
of Ayutthaya his capital. Despite intermittent warfare with the Cambodians and the
Burmans, the Ayutthaya kingdom flourished during the next four centuries, conquering
Cambodia and the surviving states in the north. Meanwhile, the Thai had come into contact
that was not always friendly with various European and Asian nations, including Portugal,
the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and China.
ASovereignty Embattled In 1767, following a two-year siege, Myanmar troops captured and
destroyed Ayutthaya. The rule of Myanmar overlords in Thailand was shortly terminated
when General Pya Taksin proclaimed himself king. When Taksin was executed by his
ministers, the crown passed to General Pya Chakri, founder of the present dynasty of Thai
kings, who ruled from 1782 to 1809 as Rama I. The British and Thai governments concluded
a commercial treaty in 1826. Because of the rights and privileges obtained by this
agreement, British influence increased in Thailand throughout the remainder of the 19th
century.
Owing to the statesmanship of two rulers, however, Thailand was spared the fate of
colonization that befell its neighbors. Interested in Western science and civilization,
King Mongkut (Rama IV), who reigned from 1851 to 1868, invited many European advisers to
assist him in modernizing the country. His son, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who reigned
during the height of the onslaught of European colonization, continued the vigorous
modernization efforts of his father and managed to maintain the country's independence,
albeit at considerable cost in territorial concessions. For example, in 1893 Thailand
became embroiled in a boundary dispute with France, then the dominant power in Cochin
China, Annam, Tonkin, and Cambodia. The French dispatched warships to Bangkok and forced
the Thai to yield Cambodia and all of Laos east of the Mekong River. Additional Thai
territory, situated west of the Mekong, was acquired by France in 1904 and 1907. Thailand
gave up control over four states in the Malay Peninsula to the United Kingdom in 1909. In
exchange, the British relinquished most of their extraterritorial rights in the rest of
the kingdom. The Thai government entered World War I (1914-1918) on the side of the
Allies in July 1917. Thailand subsequently became a founding member of the League of
Nations.
In June 1932, during the reign of King Prajadhipok, a small group of Thai military and
political leaders organized a successful revolt against the government, until then an
absolute monarchy. The insurgents, led by Pridi Phanomyong and Colonel Phibun Songgram,
proclaimed a constitutional monarchy on June 27. Royalist opposition was finally overcome
in October 1933. King Prajadhipok, increasingly unhappy with the new government and in
ill health, abdicated in March 1935 in favor of his nephew, Prince Ananda Mahidol.
Thailand invalidated all of its treaties with foreign nations in November 1936. Under the
provisions of new treaties negotiated in the following year, the government obtained
complete autonomy over its internal and external affairs.
BWorld War II With Japanese encouragement and support, Phibun's government made demands
on France, beginning in 1940, for the return of the territory ceded in and after 1893.
The dispute was settled, with Japanese mediation, in May 1941. By the terms of the
settlement, Thailand received about 54,000 sq km (about 21,000 sq mi) of territory,
including part of western Cambodia and all of Laos west of the Mekong River. The
relations between Japan and Thailand became increasingly friendly thereafter. On December
8, 1941, a few hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Thai government
granted Japan the right to move troops across the country to the Malayan frontier.
Thailand declared war on the United States and the United Kingdom on January 25, 1942.
Phibun's pro-Japanese government, however, was overthrown in July 1944; Pridi took over,
and under his leadership considerable sympathy for the Allied cause developed among the
Thai people.
Thailand concluded a treaty with the United Kingdom and India in January 1946,
renouncing, among other things, its claims to Malayan territory obtained during the war.
Diplomatic relations with the United States were resumed in the same month. In November
1946 Thailand reached an agreement with France providing for the return to France of the
territory obtained in 1941. Thailand was admitted to the United Nations (UN) on December
15, 1946, becoming the 55th member. Meanwhile, on June 9, 1946, King Ananda Mahidol had
died under mysterious circumstances. A regency was appointed to rule during the minority
of his brother and successor, King Rama IX.
CDomestic Instability On November 9, 1947, a military junta led by Phibun seized control
of the government. Except for a brief interlude early in 1948, Phibun thereafter retained
control of the government until 1957. His regime, essentially a dictatorship, based its
foreign policy on maintaining close relations with the United States and the United
Kingdom. King Rama IX assumed the throne on May 5, 1950. After the outbreak of the Korean
War in June 1950, Thailand assigned approximately 4000 men to the UN forces.
On November 29, 1951, a group of army officers seized control of the government in a
bloodless coup d'etat and reestablished the authoritarian constitution of 1932, with some
changes. Phibun was retained as premier. Meanwhile, a Free Thai movement, supported by
the Chinese Communists and nominally headed by Pridi, had been formed in China.
Thai representatives took part in the Geneva Conference of April 1954, which temporarily
ended the war in Indochina. In September 1954, Thailand was a founding member and Bangkok
became the headquarters of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).
In September 1957, Phibun's government was overthrown by a military coup d'etat led by
Marshall Sarit Thanarat, commander in chief of the Thai armed forces. A coalition
government was formed in January 1958 under the premiership of Lieutenant General Thanom
Kittikachorn. Another coup in October 1958, again headed by Sarit, overthrew the Thanom
government. The constitution was suspended, a state of martial law was proclaimed, and
all political parties were banned. In the early 1960s the government showed increasing
concern over a rapidly growing Communist guerrilla movement in the north. The increase in
terrorist attacks was one of the major problems faced by Thanom, who became prime
minister again on Sarit's death in December 1963. The new government was also concerned
about the deteriorating position of the pro-Western government in neighboring Laos and
about the Vietnam War (1959-1975).
DStruggle for Democracy On the political front, the government took gradual steps toward
the restoration of political rights suspended in 1958. Elections to municipal councils
were held for the first time in a decade in December 1967. A permanent constitution was
promulgated in June 1968. Parliamentary elections were held in February 1969, in which
the United Thai People's Party won a plurality of 75 seats in the house of
representatives. The largest opposition group, the Democratic Party, won 56 seats.
Beginning about 1969, the United States changed its role in Southeast Asia by gradually
withdrawing its forces from Vietnam and by seeking friendly relations with China. These
developments caused Thailand to establish a more flexible foreign policy, especially
toward China and North Vietnam. At the same time, Thailand continued to face guerrilla
activities in the north and along the border with Malaysia. The U.S. withdrawal from
Southeast Asia had an adverse effect on the Thai economy. The declining economy and
guerrilla activities were given as reasons for the establishment of a military government
in November 1971. The military, led by General Thanom, abolished the constitution and
dissolved parliament. In December 1972 a new constitution was proclaimed.
In 1973 a series of student-led demonstrations against the military government resulted
in Thanom's resignation in October and the appointment of a civilian cabinet. In late
1974 a new constitution was approved, and a freely elected government was formed in early
1975. Stability, however, remained elusive, and new elections in April 1976 made little
difference. In September of that year the return of former Prime Minister Thanom from
exile in Singapore led to bloody battles in Bangkok between leftist students and his
right-wing supporters. In early October, as disorder was spreading, a military group led
by Admiral Sa-ngad Chaloryu seized control of the country and installed a conservative
government. A year later, however, that government also was brought down by Sa-ngad and
his group. Sa-ngad instructed a new cabinet to try to bridge the divisions of Thai
society and improve relations with the neighboring Communist regimes. Yet another
constitution was promulgated in December 1978, and in April 1979 elections were held for
a new House of Representatives. The military-installed government, however, remained in
power until March 1980, when it was replaced by a new cabinet, headed by General Prem
Tinsulanonda. Elections in 1983 left General Prem as head of a new coalition government.
He dissolved the National Assembly in 1986 and called new elections. His party won,
without a majority, and he again formed a coalition government.
After elections in July 1988, Chatichai Choonhavan became prime minister. A military
junta ousted him in February 1991 and installed an interim civilian government. After
pro-military parties won the elections of March 1992, demonstrations in Bangkok calling
for democratic reforms were violently suppressed. New elections in September resulted in
another coalition government, with a veteran politician, Chuan Leekpai, as prime
minister. In February 1995 the government passed a sweeping package that amended almost
all the articles of the 1991 constitution. The prodemocracy changes included lowering the
voting age from 20 to 18 years and changing the number of representatives from a fixed
number to one based on population. In addition, Thai citizens were guaranteed due process
and equal justice under the law.
In May 1995 the Chuan Leekpai government collapsed amid accusations of wrongdoing in a
government land reform project. In July 1995, after new elections, the leader of Chart
Thai (Thai Nation Party), Banharn Silpa-archa, became prime minister. Less than a year
into Silpa-archa's government, accusations emerged of corruption among his appointees,
prompting investigation into bribes, abuse of authority, and questionable bank loans. In
1996, after a no confidence debate in parliament, Silpa-archa resigned as prime minister.
New elections secured a slim victory for the New Aspiration Party (NAP); its leader
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh became the next Thai prime minister. 
In 1997 Thailand's economy experienced a significant setback as the baht fell sharply
against the dollar, many financial institutions and other businesses failed, and
unemployment rose. The crisis then spread, affecting the economies of other Southeast
Asian nations. To prevent the crisis from spreading further, the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) agreed to provide an aid package of loans to Thailand. In return, Thailand
agreed to adopt a series of measures intended to stabilize its economy. 
In October 1997 Thailand adopted a new constitution, with provisions aimed at controlling
political corruption and expanding civil liberties. Facing criticism for his handling of
the economy, Yongchaiyudh resigned as prime minister in November, and Chuan Leekpai was
appointed to the post a second time.
Bibliography
Thailand, Microsoft? Encarta? Encyclopedia 99. ? 1993-1998 Microsoft Corporation. All
rights reserved.