514,000 sq km, of which 38% cultivated and 20% forest

Population

62.94m (end-2001)

Main provinces

Population in m (local administration departments—December 2000)

Bangkok (Metropolitan; capital) 5.68 Chiang Mai 1.59

Nakhon Ratchasima 2.54 Nakorn Srithammarat 1.52

Ubon Ratchathani 1.77 Udon Thani 1.52

12 other Thai provinces have populations in excess of 1m

Climate

Subtropical

Weather in Bangkok (altitude 2 metres)

Hottest month, April, 35-40°C; coldest month, December, 20-31°C; driest months, January-March, no rain; wettest month in central and northern regions is September, 305 mm average rainfall, and in the south is December, 400 mm average rainfall

Language

Thai

Weights and measures

The metric system is officially used. For local dealings, traditional units are used:

1 pikul=60 kg 1 wah=2 metres

1 rai=1,600 sq metres 1 tang=20 litres

1 tical or baht (jeweller’s measure)=15.24 grams

Currency

1 baht (Bt)=100 satang. Average exchange rates in 2002: Bt42.96:US$1; Bt64.5:£1; average exchange rates on May 16th 2003: Bt42.20:US$1; Bt68.4:£1

Time

Seven hours ahead of GMT