The Kingdom of Thailand has the greatest number of visitors to its shores than any other country in south-east Asia. It is renowned for its laid back smiling hospitality, splendid temples, magnificent cuisine and its fabulous ancient kingdoms. In addition, its radiant natural beauty provides scenery that can only be described as jaw dropping to those who love the out doors.

From the northern provinces of Chiang Mai and its surrounding villages to the mountains of Mae Hong Son down to the islands on the Andaman Sea, the pulse racing night life of Bangkok, and the tranquilly along the Mekong River, Thailand offers something to all kinds of travellers.

Early History

The Mons were believed to be the earliest civilization in central Thailand who brought with them the Buddhist culture from the Indian Subcontinent. The first Siamese capital was created by Thai princes in Sukhothai and later similar colonies formed in Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya.

Modern History

The 20th century saw great change in Thailand when in 1932 it converted the country into a constitutional monarchy. When World War II started the Thai government sided with the Japanese. After the war, the country was military run with repeated coups and countercoups. Finally, in 1979 democratic elections were held that established a strong government and a long period of stability and prosperity began as the power moved from the military to the business academics.

Population

Thailand, formally the Kingdom of Siam, named itself Thailand on 11th May 1949. The word Thai in the Thai language means “freedom” and so Thailand effectively means “Land of the free”. Thailand is a farming dependant economy slowly making a steady transition from its agricultural past to a mixed industrial based economy.

The last statistics taken officially in 2003 saw the population of Thailand at 63.5 million and is estimated to be rapidly heading towards a figure of 70 million by the year 2010. The demographics of this are that 50% of this future population will be between 0 and 30 years old.

Thailand’s main religion is Buddhism, practised by over 85% of the population. To the south belong communities of Muslims that make up a further 7% with a small Christian community of around 3%.