Country · Asia
Thailand
Kingdom of Thailand
Thailand is a country in South-Eastern Asia. About 69.4 million people live there, in an area of 513 120 square kilometres. Its capital city is Bangkok.
Picture credit: Preecha.MJ (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY 4.0) · Preecha.MJ (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Marcin Konsek (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Thailand?
Thailand lies in South-Eastern Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 1 670 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 3 219 km long.
It shares a border with 4 countries: Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Myanmar.
How big is Thailand?
Thailand covers 513 120 square kilometres.
That is about 12 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 50th largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 135.3 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Thailand?
About 69.4 million people live in Thailand.
That is the 20th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Thai.
They pay with the Thai baht (฿).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 69 years.
The land of Thailand
The land of Thailand sits on average 287 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 3 219 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 161 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Thailand different?
Dishes the country is known for: Pad Thai and Tom Yum Goong.
Websites from here often end in .th.
Thailand and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 9 live in Thailand.
It takes up about 0.38 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 13th of 46 by size, and 11th by population.
Thailand and its neighbours
Myanmar, its largest neighbour, is about 1.3 times bigger.
More people live in Thailand than in Myanmar — 69.4 million against 53.7 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 13 live wild in Thailand: Tiger, Clownfish, King cobra, Reticulated python, Chicken, Stick insect and more. The highest mountain in the country is Doi Inthanon, at 2 565 metres. The longest river in the country is the Chi. The largest lake in the country is Nong Han Lake.
Tiger
Clownfish
King cobra
Reticulated python
Chicken
Stick insect
Pufferfish
Mudskipper
Water buffalo
Gaur
Asian tiger mosquito
Sun bear
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Thailand compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 18 times as big as Thailand: 9 372 610 km² against 513 120 km². See both on one map
- Thailand is about 2.1 times as big as the United Kingdom: 513 120 km² against 242 900 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Thailand?
The capital of Thailand is Bangkok. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Thailand?
About 69.4 million people live in Thailand, which makes it the 20th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Thailand?
How big is Thailand?
Thailand covers 513 120 square kilometres, making it the 50th largest country in the world. That is about 12 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Thailand?
The highest mountain in Thailand is Doi Inthanon, 2 565 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Thailand?
The longest river in Thailand is the Chi, about 765 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Thailand?
The largest lake in Thailand is Nong Han Lake. It covers about 125 km².
Which continent is Thailand in?
Thailand is in Asia, in the part called South-Eastern Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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