Thailand Environment - 2024

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, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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

Land use

agricultural land: 41.2% (2018 est.)

arable land: 30.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 8.8% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 1.6% (2018 est.)

forest: 37.2% (2018 est.)

other: 21.6% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 53.6% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 1.43% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0.34% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0.03% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 24.64 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 283.76 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 86.98 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 26,853,366 tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 5,128,993 tons (2012 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 19.1% (2012 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

salt water lake(s): Thalesap Songkhla - 1,290 sq km

Major rivers (by length in km)

Mae Nam Khong (Mekong) (shared with China [s], Burma, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam [m]) - 4,350 km; Salween (shared with China [s] and Burma [m]) - 3,060 km; Mun - 1,162 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Indian Ocean drainage: Salween (271,914 sq km)
Pacific Ocean drainage: Mekong (805,604 sq km)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 2.74 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 2.78 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 51.79 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

438.61 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Geoparks

total global geoparks and regional networks: 2

global geoparks and regional networks: Khorat; Satun (2023)