The Kingdom of Thailand is situated in the heart of the Southeast Asian mainland.  The north of Thailand borders the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Myanmar.  Cambodia and the Gulf of Thailand are to the east.  The west borders Myanmar and the Indian Ocean and the south borders Malaysia.

                 The country is divided into four regions.  The North is a mountainous region with forests and deep, narrow valleys.  The Central region, which is at the basin of the Chao Phraya River, is a fertile valley.  It is often called the "Rice Bowl of Asia".  The Northeast region is characterized by a rolling surface and undulating hills.  Finally, the South region is also mountainous and thick with forests.
 

     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

    NATURAL RESOURCES:   tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite

    LAND USE:        arable land 34%
                               permanent crops 6%
                               permanent pastures 2%
                               forests and woodland 26%
                               other 32%

    POPULATION:    6 million (est. 1998)

    ETHNIC GROUPS:      Thai 75%
                                        Chinese 14%
                                        Other 11%

    RELIGIONS:                 Buddhism  95%
                                         Muslim  3.8%
                                         Christianity  0.5%
                                         Hinduism  0.1%
                                         Other  0.6%
 
 

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