Page last updated on January 27, 2020
Location:
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma
Geographic coordinates:
15 00 N, 100 00 E
Map references:
Southeast Asia
Area:
total: 513,120 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 510,890 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 2,230 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
52
Area - comparative:
about three times the size of Florida; slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming
Area comparison map:
about three times the size of Florida; slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming
Land boundaries:
total: 5,673 km
[see also: Land boundaries - total country ranks ]
border countries (4):
Burma 2416 km, Cambodia 817 km, Laos 1845 km, Malaysia 595 km
Coastline:
3,219 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12
nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
exclusive economic zone: 200
nm
[see also: Maritime claims - exclusive economic zone country ranks ]
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
[see also: Maritime claims - continental shelf country ranks ]
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
More Climate Details
Terrain:
central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere
Elevation:
mean elevation: 287 m
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
lowest point:
Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point:
Doi Inthanon 2,565 m
Natural resources:
tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land
Land use:
agricultural land: 41.2%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
arable land: 30.8%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 8.8%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
permanent pasture: 1.6%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent pasture country ranks ]
forest: 37.2%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 21.6%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use country ranks ]
Irrigated land:
64,150 sq km
(2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]
Population distribution:
highest population density is found in and around Bangkok; significant population clusters found througout large parts of the country, particularly north and northeast of Bangkok and in the extreme southern region of the country
Natural hazards:
land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts
Environment - current issues:
air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from organic and factory wastes; water scarcity; deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by illegal hunting; hazardous waste disposal
Environment - international agreements:
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
Law of the Sea
Geography - note:
controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore; ideas for the construction of a canal across the Kra Isthmus that would create a bypass to the Strait of Malacca and shorten shipping times around Asia continue to be discussed
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Thailand on this page is re-published from the 2020 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Thailand Geography 2020 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Thailand Geography 2020 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may have the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assigns counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order.
This page was last modified 27-Jan-20
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