|
Thailand SOCIETY
Population: About 53 million in 1987; 1.9 percent
annual growth rate in 1986, down from 3.1 in 1960 and 2.5 in late
1970s. Level of urbanization 17 percent in 1987, mostly
concentrated in capital region. Bangkok metropolitan area
population estimated at 5.5 million in 1987; ten next largest
cities range between 80,000 and 110,000 in population. Overall
density 100.5 persons per square kilometer in 1987, varying from
62 in Chiang Mai Province to 3,292 in Bangkok.
Languages: More than 85 percent of population speak
dialect of Thai (a member of Tai language family); most prevalent
are Thai-Lao, spoken in Northeast, and Central Thai, which is
official language taught in schools and used in government. Other
languages spoken by members of ethnic minorities include Chinese
(chiefly Teochiu), Malay, Karen, and Khmer. Smaller groups speak
Tai languages such as Shan, Lua, and Phutai. Many minority
peoples, especially Chinese, also speak Thai.
Ethnic and Regional Groups: Four regional categories
make up core Thai population: Central Thai (32 percent); Thai-Lao
(30 percent); Northern Thai (17 percent); and Southern Thai (5
percent). Largest minority consists of Chinese (11 percent),
followed by Malay (3-4 percent), and Khmer (1 percent). Remaining
minority groups, including numerous hill tribes, together
constituted no more than 2 percent of the population.
Religion: Almost all core Thai, some other Tai
speakers, Khmer, and Mon practice Theravada Buddhism. Islam
represented chiefly among Malay. Christians found among hill
peoples and Vietnamese.
Education: Government supports universal free primary
education. Most children attend school several years at least,
and more than 85 percent of population literate. Fewer than three
out of ten children continue beyond elementary level. More than a
dozen universities and specialized postsecondary institutions
provide higher education for about 3 percent of youth.
Health: Access to modern medical care and trained
physicians chiefly in Bangkok and provincial towns, although
government developing rural health centers. Unavailability of
potable water for most of rural population contributes to
disease. In 1986 life expectancy at birth sixty-one years for
men, sixty-five years for women.
Data as of September 1987
|
