Geographical Physical of Thailand
Thailand lies in the middle of Southeast Asia and covers 514000 square kilometres of land. Being in the central area, Thailand controls the only major route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore. The latitude and longitudinal extent of Thailand is 15 degrees north and 100 degrees east. The place is characterized by a tropical monsoon climate and a fertile floodplain. The country is divided into 4 regions and 75 provinces.
Topography: Thailand geography has mountains along its northern sides, an upland plateau in the northeastern part called the Khorat Plateau as well as a central plain. The Highest point in Thailand is Doi Inthanon which is 2576 meters and the lowest point is The Gulf of Thailand which is 0 meters.
Rivers: the two major rivers that run through the country are Chao Phraya River and the Mun River. The former empties into the Bay of Bangkok while the latter joins the South China Sea.
The four regions of Thailand:
North Thailand: The Northern Thailand is mainly mountainous and the cool temperature facilitates the growth of lychees and strawberries. Steep river valleys etch the mountains in this region.
Northeast Thailand: The northeast is constantly flooded and is not agriculturally very productive. The region suffers a long dry season and grows nothing but sparse grasses. The Northeastern part comprises of the Khaorat plateau and a few low hills.
Central Thailand: This is the most productive region of Thailand and is often referred to as the "Rice Bowl of Asia". Bangkok, the capital of the country is situated in this region.
South Thailand: The south is a narrow peninsula and is primarily devoted to rice cultivation and also rubber production. Large rivers are not to be found in this region and the area is mainly dominated by mountainous terrains.
Climatic features: Thailand is dominated by a tropical monsoon climate and the temperature ranges from 38 degree centigrade to 19 degree centigrade. May and July forms the rainy season while November and December are the dry months. The northeastern part receives a longer dry season.
Available resources: Tin, rubber, timber, lead, tungsten, tantalum, fluorite, lignite, gypsum, natural gas, fish and arable land are the natural resources available in Thailand.
Climate of Thailand
Thailand's climate is tropical, high both in temperature and humidity, and dominated by monsoons. April and May are the hottest months of the year, when even the locals are moved to complain about the heat. June sees the beginning of the South West Monsoon, and brings with it the rainy season, which continues intermittently until the end of October.
From November to the end of February the climate is much less trying with a cooling North East breeze and a reduction in the humidity level. This is also the main tourist season, and the best time to visit Thailand.
The north and north-east are generally cooler than Bangkok in winter, and hotter in summer. In the far north, around Mae Hong Son temperatures can occasionally drop as low as 2oC.
What to Wear
For the Western visitor there is no such thing as "cool". Just cooler than "hot" and "drier than humid", so light cotton clothing is the order of the day. Don't worry about bringing too much clothing with you, as almost everything can be purchased locally, at a fraction of the price you will pay at home. Do remember that the tropical sun can be quite fierce so a hat is useful, and don't forget to use a good sun screen.
Demography of Thailand
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Thailand, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Thailand's population is relatively homogeneous, however, this is changing due to immigration. More than 85% speak a Tai language and share a common culture. This core population includes the central Thai (33.7% of the population, including Bangkok's population), Northeastern Thai or Lao (34.2%), northern Thai (18.8%), and southern Thai (13.3%).
The language of the central Thai population is the educational language and administrative language. Several other small Tai groups include the Shan, Lue, and Phutai.
Thailand is also home to a significant number of registered foreigners from Asia, Europe, and North America, as well as an estimated several hundred thousand illegal immigrants, some of which are natives. Increasing numbers of migrants from Burma, Laos, and Cambodia as well as nations such as Nepal, India, along with those from the West and Japan have pushed the number of non-nationals residing in Thailand to close to 2 million in 2008, up from about 1.3 million in the year 2000. A rising awareness of minorities is slowly changing attitudes in a country where non-nationals, some having resided in what is now Thailand longer than the Thais themselves, are barred from numerous privileges ranging from healthcare, ownership of property, or schooling in their own language.
The population is mostly rural, concentrated in the rice-growing areas of the central, northeastern, and northern regions. However, as Thailand continues to industrialize, its urban population - 31.1% of the total population, principally in the Bangkok area - is growing.
Thailand's highly successful government-sponsored family planning program has resulted in a dramatic decline in population growth from 3.1% in 1960 to around 0.4% today. Life expectancy also has risen, a positive reflection of Thailand's efforts in executing public health policies. However, the AIDS epidemic has had a major impact on the Thai population. Today, over 700,000 Thais are HIV or AIDS positive - approximately 2% of adult men and 1.5% of adult women. Every year, 30,000-50,000 Thais die from HIV or AIDS-related causes. Ninety percent of them aged 20–24, the youngest range of the workforce. The situation could have been worse; an aggressive public education campaign in the early 1990s reduced the number of new HIV infections from 150,000 to 25,000 annually.
Theravada Buddhism is the official religion of Thailand and is officially the religion of about 97% of its people. However, the true figure lies closer to 85%, Muslims are some 10% and 5% other religions including Christianity, Hinduism, especially among immigrants. In addition to Malay and Yawi speaking Thais and other southerners who are Muslim, the Cham of Cambodia in recent years begun a large scale influx into Thailand. The government permits religious diversity, and other major religions are represented, though there is much social tension, especially in the South. Spirit worship and animism are widely practiced.
Population
According to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand has a population of about 66,000,000 peopleAge structure
0-14 years: 21.2% (male 7,104,776/female 6,781,453)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 22,763,274/female 23,304,793)
65 years and over: 8.5% (male 2,516,721/female 3,022,281) (2008 est.)
0-14 years: 20.8% (male 7,009,845/female 6,691,470)
15-64 years: 70.5% (male 22,977,945/female 23,512,538)
65 years and over: 8.7% (male 2,594,387/female 3,119,225) (2009 est.)
Population growth rate
- 0.64% (2008 est.)
- 0.615% (2009 est.)
Birth rate
13.57 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)In 2006, the birth rate was 10.85/1000 pop. NE had a TBR of 12.24, while Bangkok had 8.83.
Death rate
7.14 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) 56 migrant /1000 population (2008 est)Sex ratio
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate
18.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)total: 17.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.9 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 16.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 72.83 years
male: 70.51 years
female: 75.27 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility
- 1.64 children born/woman (2008 est.)
- 1.65 children born/woman (2010 est.)
Nationality
Ethnic groups
Thai (including Lao, who make up about ⅓ of the Thai population )75%, Chinese 14%, other 11%Religions
Buddhism 94.6%, Islam 4.6%, Christianity 0.7%, Hinduism 0.1%, other (including Judaism) 0.1% (2000)Languages
Thai (including Isan), English (secondary language), Vietnamese, Isan as well as other ethnic and regional languages and dialects.Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.6%
male: 94.9%
female: 90.5% (2002 est.)
THAILAND NATURAL RESOURCES
Thailand has begun a challenging transition from an impressive phase of agricultural expansion to an increasingly complex stage of diversification and industrialization. It is a strategic time for the nation to add to its institut ions a strong, independent think tank bringing together distinguished scholars and experienced policy makers in a non-academic, non-commercial, non-governmental setting. Such institutions can play a highly constructive role in modern, open societies. This role includes providing a forum for the leaders of government and business to discuss key policy issues on the basis of empirical research rather than pure rhetoric. Certainly senior government administ rators can appreciate the value of careful analysis by independent experts working without the constraints of day-to-day bureaucratic exigencies or usual academic disciplines. Both for Thailand and globally, perhaps no other set of emerging development problems are so far-reaching, or relatively neglected, as those concerning natural resources and environmental quality. And like Thailand, a long phase of America's economic history was devoted to growth and expansion of agriculture, fishing, logging and mining, of transportation networks, cities and industries. We have learned through sometimes bitter experience that growth itself is not always synonymous with genuine development. Our natural resource base was not unlimited or indestructible. Abandoned farmlands, disastrous floods, and the dust storms of the 1930s all reflected misutilization of natural resources, and missed opportunities for rational, sustained economic development.
In recent decades we have also made considerable progress in attacking a new generation of problems of pollution control and environmental quality. Thailand's recent, impressive progress has similarly been one of rapid expansion and exploitation of plentiful resources. It is only in the past few years that questions of conservation and its relationship to the sustainabiLity of that progress have begun to capture some attention. Half of Thailand's forests have been cleared since 1960, the Gulf has been severely overfished, and soil erosion, water pollution, and industrial wastes are all becoming front page news. just as in the U.S., these issues are becoming a part of the public agenda and TDRI can play a vital role in addressing them. Our U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program here has recently undertaken with the Royal Thai Government an Action Dialogue on Natural Resources and Environment. We hope that the activities and technical exchanges planned under this program may improve awareness, understanding, and capability for solving the emerging issues of resources and environment. This dialogue in deeds as well as words complements our efforts over the past several years to put into place a major effort to advance Thailand's capabilities in science and technology for development. As the first step in this collaboration on resources and environment, USAID and the National Environment Board have turned to TDRI for an overview assessment or profile of the status and the major issues of Thailand's natural resources management and environmental protection. An impressive team of Thai experts has been assembled to prepare the profile. It is noteworthy that Dr. Anat has personally led this undertaking as Director of TDRI's Program of Natural Resources and Environment. Together with Dr. Dhira Phantumvanit, he is shaping a strong program of resource policy research, int roduction of new analytical methods, and management of information sources. All of this will be of direct service to the priorities recently proposed by the NESDB and NEB for natural resources and environment work under the Sixth Plan.
Through USAID and other American channels we hope to support this work with appropriate assistance, drawn from American's own experience and expertise. Effective management of natural resources and environment will be a vital factor in Thailand's future economic growth. Largely neglected, far-reaching, multifaceted, and full of difficult dilemmas, this is just the kind of tough development problem that institutions such as TDRI can help that institution such as TDRI can help resolves.
Geography Physical of Vietnam
Land
Several district regions make up Vietnam. They are Southern Lowland; the Annam Cordillera; the Coastal Plain; the Tonkin Lowland; and the Northern Highlands.
The Southern Lowland consists of the densely populated Mekong Delta and the adjacent area to the north. A low, fertile plain only slightly above sea level, it is one of Asia's great rice-producing regions.
The Annam Cordillera is a long mountain chain forming much of the Laos-Vietnam border. In the north the mountains are narrow and have rugged peaks reaching almost 9,000 feet (2,740 m) above sea level. The southern section spreads out to form the Central Highlands, a wide plateau ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 feet (610 to 1,220 m) in altitude, but with peaks up to 7,900 feet (2,410 m).
The Coastal Plain, lying between the Annam Cordillera and the sea, extends approximately from Nha Trang northward to Thanh Hoa. Narrow and in places disappearing altogether toward the south, the plain widens to 40 miles (60 km) in its northern portion.
The Tonkin Lowland is the heart of northern Vietnam. It includes the lower valley and delta of the Red River and the surrounding area. Like its counterpart, the Southern Lowland, it is a broad, flat region, thickly settled and intensively cultivated.
The Northern Highlands, bordering the Tonkin Lowland on its landward sides, occupy much of the wide portion of northern Vietnam. The highest peaks, exceeding 10,000 feet (3,050 m), are in the west and northwest. Most of the region's people live in the deep, narrow valleys of the Red River and its tributaries.
Water
Vietnam has two great river systems: the Mekong in the south and the Red River in the north. Both have large delta plains that are subject to heavy seasonal flooding, and both are crossed by complex canal networks. Of the other rivers, the largest are the Ca and Ma, in the north, and the Dong Nai, in the south.
Vegetation
More than half the original forest that once covered Vietnam has long since vanished, largely because of cutting and burning to create new farmland. The remaining forest, chiefly in the mountains, consists of broadleaf evergreen and deciduous trees. Smaller patches of forest are scattered throughout the lowlands.
CLIMATE OF VIETNAM
The climate of Vietnam varies greatly from one region of the country to another. The south of Vietnam is a mere 8 degrees north of the Equator, whereas the most northern point is almost on the tropic of Cancer. One can't really say that there is one average temperature for all of the country because it is so variable. Most of Vietnam has a sub tropical climate and is hot, at least in the summer, and wet most of the year.
Southern Vietnam experiences very little seasonal temperature change. It has a tropical, hot and humid, climate, and has only two real seasons - the monsoon season and the dry season. The monsoon season brings lots of rain, heat, and regular floods. All of Vietnam is affected by monsoons from May until October or November. The average yearly temperature for this southern region is around 80 or 90 degrees F (27-32 degrees C). Northern Vietnam, along the Red River, has hot, wet summers (80-90 F, 27-32 C), similar to those in the south. Winters, lasting from November to April, are drier and much cooler, with temperatures in the 40's and 50's (F) (5-10 degrees C). Winters have scattered showers. The mountainous regions of Vietnam, between the two lowland deltas, and forming a northern border between Vietnam and China are generally cooler. They still get lots of rain, and jungle plants still abound. The mountains, and the coastal areas are subject to seasonal typhoons.
The climate in Southern Vietnam is excellent for growing rice. Rice is grown all over, but mainly in the northern and southern deltas. The mountains, with cooler temperatures, and poorer soil, are used to grow cash crops such as rubber, coffee and even a form of poppy used to make heroine. The people in Vietnam are prepared for all that the weather brings them. They expect and need the rains to supply water to their rice, and have built dikes to help protect their homes from flooding. To combat the sun and heat, most Vietnamese can be seen wearing conical hats, and staying indoors or in the shade during the hottest hours of the day.
Demography of Vietnam
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Vietnam, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Originating in what is now southern China and northern Vietnam, the Vietnamese people pushed southward over two millennia to occupy the entire eastern seacoast of the Indochinese Peninsula. Ethnic Vietnamese, or Viet (known officially as Kinh), live in the lowlands and speak the Vietnamese language. This group dominates much of the cultural and political landscape of Vietnam. The Khmer Krom are found in the delta of the Mekong River, in the south of Vietnam, where they form in many areas the majority of the rural population. Official Vietnamese figures put the Khmer Krom at 1.3 million people. However, estimates vary from 1.1 to 7 million.Vietnam's approximately 1 million ethnic Chinese, constitute one of Vietnam's largest minority groups. Long important in the Vietnamese economy, Vietnamese of Chinese ancestry have been active in rice trading, milling, real estate, and banking in the south and shopkeeping, stevedoring, and mining in the north. Restrictions on economic activity following reunification in 1975 and the subsequent but unrelated general deterioration in Vietnamese-Chinese relations sent chills through the Chinese-Vietnamese community.
The relation between China and Vietnam also declined in this period, with Vietnam siding with the Soviet Union against China in the Chinese-Soviet split. In 1978-79, some 450,000 ethnic Chinese left Vietnam by boat as refugees (many officially encouraged and assisted) or were expelled across the land border with China. However in recent years the government has performed an about turn and is encouraging overseas Hoa to return and invest.
The central highland peoples commonly termed Degar or Montagnards (mountain people) comprise two main ethnolinguistic groups--Malayo-Polynesian and Mon-Khmer. About 30 groups of various cultures and dialects are spread over the highland territory.
Vietnamese is the official language of the country. It is a language pertaining to the Austroasiatic language family, a language family also including Khmer, Mon, etc. Vietnamese was spoken by 65.8 million people in Vietnam at the 1999 census. Another 1.6 million Vietnamese speakers are found outside of Vietnam.
Thus Vietnamese is the most spoken language of the Austroasiatic family, being spoken by three times more people than the second most spoken language of the family, Khmer. Vietnamese was heavily influenced by Chinese and a great part of the Vietnamese vocabulary is Chinese, while Khmer was heavily influenced by Sanskrit and Pali and a great part of its vocabulary is now made up of Indian words, so that both languages look very dissimilar on the surface. Since the early 20th century, the Vietnamese have used a Romanized script introduced by the French
Population
Year | Population (July est.) | Growth rate (est.) | |
2010 | 89,571,130 | 1.096% | |
2009 | 88,576,758 | 0.977% | |
2008 | 86,116,560 | 0.99% | |
2007 | 85,262,356 | 1.004% | |
2006 | 84,402,966 | 1.02% | |
2005 | 83,535,576 | 1.04% | |
2004 | 82,689,518 | 1.3% | |
Source: CIA Factbooks 2000-2010.
Age structure
0-14 years: 25.6% (male 11,418,642/female 10,598,184)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 29,341,216/female 29,777,696)
65 years and over: 5.8% (male 1,925,609/female 3,055,212)
(2008 est.)Birth rate
16.47 births/2 population (2008 est.)Death rate
6.18 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)Net migration rate
-0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)Sex ratio
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female
(2008 est.)Infant mortality rate
total: 23.61 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.01 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 23.19 deaths/1,000 live births
(2008 est.)Life expectancy at birth
total population: 71.33 years
male: 68.52 years
female: 74.33 years
(2008 est.)Total fertility rate
1.86 children born/woman (2008 est.)
1.93 children born/woman (2010 est.)
Nationality
noun: Vietnamese (singular and plural)
adjective: Vietnamese
Ethnic groups
Kinh (Viet) 86.2%, Tay 1.9%, Thai 1.7%, Muong 1.5%, Khmer 1.4%, Hoa 1.1%, Nùng 1.1%, Hmong 1%, others 4.1% (1999 census)Religions
- Buddhism - 85%
- Secular/Triple religions - 80%
- Hoa Hao - 3%
- Theravada Buddhism - 2%
- Christianity - 8%
- Roman Catholic - 7%
- Protestant - 1%
- Cao Dai - 3%
- Other Religions 4%
Languages
Vietnamese (official), English (most taught second language in schools), French, Russian, tribal languages (Kradai, Cham, and Malayo-Polynesian)Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94% (2004 consensus)
male: 96.9%
female: 91.9% (2012)
VIETNAM NATURAL RESOURCES
Although Vietnam is relatively rich in natural resources, the country's protracted state of war has precluded their proper exploitation. Coal reserves, located mainly in the North, have been estimated at 20 billion tons. With Soviet assistance, coal mining has been expanded somewhat. Commercially exploitable metals and minerals include iron ore, tin, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, manganese, titanium, chromite, tungsten, bauxite, apatite, graphite, mica, silica sand, and limestone. Vietnam is deficient, however, in coking coal, which, prior to the outbreak of hostilities with China in 1979, it traditionally imported from the Chinese. Gold deposits are small.
Vietnam's production of crude oil and natural gas was in very preliminary stages in the late 1980s and the amounts of commercially recoverable reserves were not available to Western analysts. With the cooperation of the Soviet Union, Vietnam began exploitation of a reported 1-billion-ton offshore oil find southeast of the Vung Tau-Con Dao Special Zone. By early 1987, the Vietnamese were exporting crude oil for the first time in shipments to Japan. Production remained low, estimated at about 5,000 barrels per day, although Vietnam's minimum domestic oil requirements totaled 30,000 barrels per day. Despite optimistic plans for developing offshore fields, Vietnam was likely to remain dependent on Soviet-supplied petroleum products through the 1990s.
Vietnam's ability to exploit its resources diminished in the early 1980s, as production fell from the levels attained between 1976 and 1980. In the 1980s, the need to regulate investment and focus spending on projects with a short-term payoff pointed to continued slow development of the country's resource base, with the exception of areas targeted by the Soviet Union for economic assistance, such as oil, gas, coal, tin, and apatite.
Vietnam's fisheries are modest, even though the country's lengthy coast provides it with a disproportionately large offshore economic zone for its size. In the 1980s, Vietnam claimed a 1-million-square- kilometer offshore economic zone and an annual catch of 1.3 to 1.4 million tons. More than half the fish caught, however, were classified as being of low-quality. Schools of fish reportedly were small and widely dispersed.
As the 1990s approached,it seemed increasingly likely that Vietnam's economy would remain predominantly agricultural. This trend, however, did not necessarily limit attainable economic growth since Vietnam processed a significant amount of unused land with agricultural potential. According to Vietnamese statistics of the mid 1980s, agricultural land then in use theoretically could be expanded by more than 50 percent to occupy nearly one-third of the nation. Funds and equipment for expensive land-reclamation projects were scarce, however, and foreign economists believed that a projected increase in agricultural land use of about 20 to 25 percent was more realistic. Even if the reclaimed land were only minimally productive, an increase in land use would increase agricultural output substantially.
Both the availability of land and the density of settlement in traditional agricultural areas--about 463 persons per square kilometer in the Red River Delta and 366 persons per square kilometer in the Mekong Delta-- explained much of the government's commitment to the building of new economic zones (see Glossary) in less-settled areas. During the period from 1976 to 1980, only 1.5 million out of the 4 million persons targeted for relocation actually were moved to new economic zones. The government's Third Five-Year Plan (1981-85) called for the relocation of 2 million people by 1985, and subsequent plans projected the resettlement of as many as 10 million by 1999. By the end of 1986, however, the Vietnamese reported that fewer than 3 million people had been resettled since the program began. Slow progress in bringing new land into production, low yields on reclaimed land, and hardships endured by resettled workers-- particularly former city dwellers, many of whom chose to return home--testified to the problems inherent in the resettlement program.
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