Thailand, officially theKingdom of Thailand, and formerly known asSiam until 1939, is a country located inmainland Southeast Asia. It shares land borders withMyanmar to the west and northwest,Laos to the east and northeast,Cambodia to the southeast, andMalaysia to the south. Its maritime boundaries include theGulf of Thailand and theAndaman Sea, as well as maritime borders withVietnam,Indonesia, andIndia. Thailand has a population of nearly 66 million people, covers an area of approximately 513,115 km2 (198,115 sq mi). The country'scapital andlargest city isBangkok.
After the fall of Ayutthaya,King Taksin reunified the kingdom and established theThonburi Kingdom, which lasted only 15 years before he was overthrown byPhutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I), the founder of theChakri dynasty. King Rama I established theRattanakosin Kingdom and moved the capital to Bangkok in 1782. During the era ofWestern imperialism, Siam remained the only country in Southeast Asia to avoid colonization by European powers, although it ceded territory, trade rights, and legal privileges through severalunequal treaties. The governance system evolved into anabsolute monarchy centralized under the rule ofKing Chulalongkorn (Rama V). Siamadapted to international relations during the imperialist era and joinedWorld War I on the side of theAllies, a political decision aimed at revising the effects of unequal treaties and enhancing Siam's international status.
The kingdom governed based on themandala system. This allows for high-autonomy locally with the kingdom influencing and effectively ruling its area of suzerainty. At its zenith in 1805 to 1812, the Kingdom was composed of25 polities, ranging from duchies and principalities to federations and kingdoms. With the furthest extent reachingthe Shan States, southernYunnan,Laos,Cambodia, northernSi Rat Malai andKawthoung. The kingdom was founded byRama I of theChakri dynasty. The first half of this period was characterized by the consolidation of Siamese power in the center of Mainland Southeast Asia and was punctuated by contests and wars for regional supremacy with rival powersBurma andVietnam. The second period was one of engagements with thecolonial powers of Britain and France in which Siam remained the onlySoutheast Asian state to maintain its independence. (Full article...)
Thailand was relatively successful in containing the pandemic throughout most of 2020, but has been experiencing an uncontrolled resurgent outbreak since April 2021. An initial wave of infections, mostly traced to nightlife venues and a boxing match inBangkok, peaked on 22 March 2020 at 188 newly confirmed cases per day. As preventive measures were implemented, the outbreak subsided by May, and the country reported almost no locally transmitted infections until December, when it saw a surge of infections primarily clustered around large migrant worker communities inSamut Sakhon province. The new outbreak spread to many provinces, with a maximum daily of 959 cases reported on 26 January 2021, before partially subsiding in February. In April, however, a new wave of infections originated from Bangkok'sThong Lo–area nightlife venues and rapidly spread in Bangkok as well as throughout the country. It was identified to be of the highly transmissible Alpha variant first reported from the United Kingdom, and by 14 April, over a thousand cases per day were being identified, causing a shortage of hospital beds as government policy required admission of all confirmed cases. (Full article...)
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Location of Thailand (dark green)
InThailand,cannabis, known by the nameGanja (Thai:กัญชา;RTGS: kancha), was decriminalised in 2022. Cannabis extracts and products are officially limited to 0.2%tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content. Only medicinal use is legal, but in practice there is widespread recreational usage, with rules passed in July 2025 aiming to curb that usage.
Import and export of cannabis are still highly regulated. (Full article...)
Although warfare occupied most of Taksin's reign, he paid a great deal of attention to politics, administration, economy, and the welfare of the country. He promoted trade and fostered relations with foreign countries. He had roads built and canals dug. Apart from restoring and renovating temples, the king attempted to revive literature, and various branches of the arts such as drama, painting, architecture and handicrafts. He also issued regulations for the collection and arrangement of various texts to promote education and religious studies. (Full article...)
Buddhism is the largest-religion inThailand, followed by around 93.4% of the country's population. By sheer numbers, it has the world's largestBuddhist population followed byChina and Myanmar, with more than 64 million Buddhists. TheTheravada branch is practiced by most Buddhists and shares many similarities withSri Lankan Buddhism. Buddhism in Thailand has also become integrated withHinduism from millennia of Indian influence, andChinese religions from the largeThai Chinese population.Buddhist temples in Thailand are characterized by tall goldenstupas, and theBuddhist architecture of Thailand is similar to that in other Southeast Asian countries, particularlyCambodia andLaos, with which Thailand shares cultural and historical heritages. Thailand, Cambodia,Myanmar,Sri Lanka and Laos are countries with Theravada Buddhist majorities.
Buddhism is believed to have come to what is nowThailand as early as the 3rd centuryBCE, in the time of the Indian EmperorAshoka. Since then, Buddhism has played a significant role in Thai culture and society. Buddhism and theThai monarchy have often been intertwined, with Thai kings historically seen as the mainpatrons of Buddhism in Thailand. Although politics and religion were generallyseparated for most of Thai history, Buddhism's connection to the Thai state would increase in the middle of the 19th century following the reforms ofKing Mongkut that would lead to the development of a royally-backed sect of Buddhism and increased centralization of the Thaisangha under the state, with state control over Buddhism increasing further after the2014 coup d'état. (Full article...)
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Location of the Gulf of Thailand
TheGulf of Thailand (Thai:อ่าวไทย), historically known as theGulf of Siam (Thai:อ่าวสยาม), is a shallow inlet adjacent to the southwesternSouth China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores ofmainland Southeast Asia and the northern half of theMalay Peninsula. It is around 800 km (500 mi) in length and up to 560 km (350 mi) in width, and has a surface area of 320,000 km2 (120,000 sq mi). The gulf is surrounded on the north, west and southwest by the coastlines ofThailand (hence the name), on the northeast byCambodia and theMekong Delta region ofVietnam, and opens to the South China Sea in the southeast. (Full article...)
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The Emerald Buddha adorned in winter season attire
Image 7Wat Arun, the most prominent temple of the Thonburi period, derives its name from the Hindu godAruṇa. Its main prang was constructed later in the Rattanakosin period. (fromHistory of Thailand)
Image 14Display of respect of the younger towards the elder is a cornerstone value in Thailand. A family during theBuddhist ceremony for young men who are to beordained asmonks. (fromCulture of Thailand)
Image 40Map showing linguistic family tree overlaid on a geographic distribution map of Tai-Kadai family. This map only shows general pattern of the migration of Tai-speaking tribes, not specific routes, which would have snaked along the rivers and over the lower passes. (fromHistory of Thailand)
Image 55Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, the royal reception hall built in European architectural style. Construction was started by Rama V, but was completed in 1915. (fromHistory of Thailand)
This is aGood article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.
A Man Will Rise (originally known asLocal Hero) is an incompletecomedywestern film directed byTony Jaa and Vitidnan Rojanapanich, and starring Jaa,Dolph Lundgren,Conan Stevens, and Byron Gibson. Set in 1950s Thailand, the film follows a local gangster who terrorizes a town. When a young man opposes him, the gangster hires a group of foreign hit men to kill the rebel and silence the town.
In January 2013,Jean-Claude Van Damme was rumored to be co-starring alongside Jaa; in reality, he was never available due to scheduling issues, and as a result, Lundgren was cast as an alternative. The film entered production in April 2013, but came to an abrupt halt after three months of filming.Sahamongkol Film International filed a $49–50 million lawsuit against Jaa,Universal Pictures, andUnited International Pictures, claiming Jaa was in breach of his contract by accepting a role inFast and Furious 7. After two years of legal proceedings, Sahamongkol dropped the lawsuit in July 2015. Despite this, production ofA Man Will Rise has not continued, and the film remains incomplete. (Full article...)
... that the performers in the Thai drag showCalypso Cabaret impressedLady Gaga with their ability to be open about their identities?
... that the first batch ofAction Computer Enterprise's Discovery 1600, one of the firstmulti-user microcomputers, was delivered to a tobacco-growing business in Thailand?
Pla ra (Thai:ปลาร้า,pronounced[plāːráː];Northeastern Thai:ปลาแดก,pronounced[pàːdɛ̀ːk]), similar topadaek inLaos, is a traditionalThai seasoning produced by fermenting fish withrice bran or roastedrice flour and salt fermented in a closed container for at least six months. Fermented fish seasoning are commonly found in Cambodian,Lao,Mon, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine.Pla ra has a very strong smell, which is considered unpleasant by some people. Its flavors are salty and sour, depending on the amount of salt put in andlactic acid resulting fromfermentation process. (Full article...)
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