Thailand Geography Profile 2008

Location

Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma

Geographic coordinates

15 00 N, 100 00 E

Map references

Southeast Asia

Area

total: 514,000 sq km
land: 511,770 sq km
water: 2,230 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming

Land boundaries

total: 4,863 km
border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km

Coastline

3,219 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate

tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid

Terrain

central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m

Natural resources

tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land

Land use

arable land: 27.54%
permanent crops: 6.93%
other: 65.53% (2005)

Irrigated land

49,860 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

409.9 cu km (1999)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 82.75 cu km/yr (2%/2%/95%)
per capita: 1,288 cu m/yr (2000)

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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note

controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore