, 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% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 44,000 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from
the depletion of the water table; droughts

Environment--current issues: air pollution from vehicle emissions;
water pollution from organic and factory wastes; deforestation; soil
erosion; wildlife populations threatened by illegal hunting

Environment--international agreements:
party to: Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes,
Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Law of the Sea

Geography--note: controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia
and Singapore

People

Population: 60,609,046 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 24% (male 7,364,411; female 7,095,428)
15-64 years: 70% (male 20,878,602; female 21,493,735)
65 years and over: 6% (male 1,664,113; female 2,112,757) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.93% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 16.46 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 7.16 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 29.54 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.21 years
male: 65.58 years
female: 73.01 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Thai (singular and plural)
adjective: Thai

Ethnic groups: Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11%

Religions: Buddhism 95%, Muslim 3.8%, Christianity 0.5%, Hinduism
0.1%, other 0.6% (1991)

Languages: Thai, English (secondary language of the elite),
ethnic and regional dialects

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.8%
male: 96%
female: 91.6% (1995 est.)

Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Thailand
conventional short form: Thailand

Data code: