Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and formerly known as Siam, is a country in Southeast Asia. Located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, it is composed of 76 provinces, and covers an area of 513,120 square kilometres. Nominally, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy; however, in recent history, its government has experienced multiple coups and periods of military dictatorships.
About Thailand in brief
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and formerly known as Siam, is a country in Southeast Asia. Located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, it is composed of 76 provinces, and covers an area of 513,120 square kilometres. It is the world’s 50th-largest country by land area, and the 22nd-most-populous country in the world. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, a special administrative area. Nominally, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy; however, in recent history, its government has experienced multiple coups and periods of military dictatorships. With a high level of human development, the country is the second-largest economy inoutheast Asia and the 20th- largest in theworld by PPP. Thailand is classified as a newly industrialized economy; manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy. The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens, but by outsiders, prior to 1949, it was usually known by the exonym Siam, also spelled Siemâm, or Syâm. The word may have originated from Pali or Sanskrit, but it is not known if it is a word from the same root as the Thai word for “sea” or “people” (Thai: “mueang” means “sea”, or “man” in Thai). It is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). It was a satellite of Japan in World War II, and played a key anti-communist role in the region.
It has been caught in a bitter political conflict between supporters and opponents of Thaksin Shinawatra, which culminated in two coups, most recently in 2014 and the establishment of its current and 20th constitution and faces the ongoing 2020 Thai protests. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest. Thailand became a major ally of the U.S. during World War I siding with the allies, a political decision to amend the unequal treaties. In the late 1950s, a military coup under Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat revived the monarchy’s historically influential role in politics. It played a major role in supporting the United States during the Korean War. It was also a founding member of ASEAN and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in the 1960s and 1970s, and was a key ally in the fight against the Soviet Union in the 1980s. It became a regional power by the end of the 15th century. The name Siam is believed to be a corruption of the word “Siam” (Sai) or “Muean”, which means “land” in the Thai language, and may have been used by the Thai people to refer to the region’s ancient history. The current Chakri dynasty was established in 1782 by Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.
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This page is based on the article Thailand published in Wikipedia (as of Jan. 09, 2021) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
