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Friday, January 25, 2008

Thailand Facts #17 (170 facts and statistics to date)

“The fewer clear facts you have in support of an opinion, the stronger your emotional attachment to that opinion”.
Anonymous


• Thailand's food exports are expected to grow by 7.2% to 664.52 billion baht this year against 9.9% growth last year.
(National Food Institute)

• Thailand's tourism revenue in 2007 increased by 10 per cent year on year to Bt530 billion of which Bt377.8 billion was generated within the country.
(Minister Suvit Yodmani, Tourism and Sports Ministry)

• There are 41 species of native bamboo plants in Thailand.
(“Native Plants and Their Scientific Names”, Dr Tem Smitinand)

• Thailand produces around 1.4 million tones of crude palm oil each year, of which 800,000 to 850,000 tonnes go to cooking oil production and 500,000 for export.
(Bangkok Post, January 16, 2008)

• Dong Phya Yen-Khao Yai forest complex and Thungyai-Huay Kha Kaeng forest complex are the only two areas in Thailand designated as Natural World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

• The Bangkok subway line running from Hua Lamphong to Bang Sue currently carries 195,000 passengers per day. It requires 300,000 daily passengers to generate a profit.
(Bangkok Post, January 21 2008)

• An estimated 60,000 iPhones have been smuggled into Thailand selling for around 22,000 baht each compared with 14,000 baht each in the United States.
(Sanchai Thiewprasertkul, AIS)

• AP Honda sold 1.6 million motorcycles in 2007 down 17% from 2006.
(Zenjiro Sakurai, AP Hondo Co)

• Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power.

• The size of Thailand’s labour force is 37.12 million (2007 est.)
(CIA World Factbook)

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Thailand Facts #16 (160 facts and statistics to date)

“Nothing in education is so astonishing as the amount of ignorance it accumulates in the form of inert facts.”
Henry Adams


• The first King of the Chakri Dynasty was Phra Phutthayotfa (Rama 1) who reigned for 27 years from 1782 to 1809.

• A total of 1.042 trillion baht worth of transactions were made online through the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 2007 up 99.62% from 2006.
(Bangkok Post, January 14 2008)

• At present Bangkok has three rail lines – two elevated and one underground, carrying 600,000 passengers per day.
(Bangkok Post, January 14 2008)

• A total of 5 million tourists visited Phuket last year and the island has 36,000 hotel rooms.
(TAT)

• There are a total of 47,660 franchised outlets in Thailand with the largest groups being food and beverage (22,000 outlets), education (1,500), services (4,200), retailing (7,500) and the beauty industry (1,550).
(Somjit Likitsataporn, Franchise Focus Ltd)

• 91 teachers have been killed in the three southern provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani since 2004.
(TNA)

• There is an estimated 1.8million migrant workers in Thailand with Burmese nationals making up around 75%.
(Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare)

• Thailand is the 54th freest economy in the world (50th in 2006). Hong Kong is the freest followed by Singapore and Ireland. North Korea is ranked as having the least freest economy.
(Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal annual report)

• Power consumption in Thailand for the peak period from the end of March to mid-April is expected to reach 23,344 megawatts, up 2.3% year-on-year, or 13.5 billion kilowatt-hours (units).
(Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand)

• More than 50% of household electricity bills in Thailand are from air-conditioners.
(Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand)

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Thailand Facts #15 (150 facts and statistics to date)

“Practical observation commonly consists of collecting a few facts and loading them with guesses.”
Anonymous

• Housing sales are estimated to have reached 72,000 units last year, down from 78,000 in 2006. The average price per housing unit would remain as last year, at Bt2.3 million.
(The Nation, January 11, 2008)

• Foreign direct investment in Thailand for 2007 consisted of 846 projects worth 502.73 billion baht.
(BOI)

• Ranong is the least most populous province in Thailand and Mae Hong Son is the least mostly densely populated province in Thailand.

• According to Thai belief the following colours are associated with the days people are born – red for Sunday, yellow for Monday, pink for Tuesday, green for Wednesday, orange for Thursday, blue for Friday and purple for Saturday. This belief is thought to have originated from Hindu custom and astrology.

• Thailand shrimp production is expected to reach 530,000 tonnes this year, up from 500,000 tonnes in 2007 with 370,000 tonnes forecasted to be exported.
(Thai Shrimp Association)

• From September 2006 to September 2007 Suvarnabhumi airport handled 41.3 million passengers. It is expected to reach its capacity of 45 million passengers this year.
(Bangkok Post, January 9, 2008)

• In 2007, Thailand produced 1.24 million tonnes of crude palm oil. While 859,363 tonnes were for domestic consumption, 150,000 were exported and 251,130 were for other purposes.
(The Nation, January 14 2008)

• The province of Nan currently has the lowest minimum daily wage rate in Thailand at 143 baht per day.
(BOI)

• Siam Park in Bangkok which opened in 1980 is the oldest running theme park in Thailand.

• Thailand is the world’s largest producer of rambutan. A typical rambutan tree can yield 5000 pieces of fruit.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Thailand Facts #14

“What are the facts? Again and again and again - what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what "the stars fortell", avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable "verdict of history" - what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts!”
Time Enough for Love,
Robert Heinlein


• Thailand produces around 29 million tonnes of paddy annually which is the equivalent to 18 million tonnes of milled rice.

• An estimated 40,000 new small and medium-sized enterprises will emerge in Thailand this year
(Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion )

• The Mekong river originates from the Tangula Mountains of the Tibetan-Chinghai plateau, approximately 4,975 metres above the sea level.

• The oldest on-going publication in Thailand is the Royal Gazette first published 149 years ago during the reign of King Rama IV.

• Thailand (then Siam) annexed what is now the North-East region of the country in 1827.

• An estimated 8 million Thais pay tax with 1% of taxpayers falling in the 37% bracket.
(Bangkok Post, January 7 2008)

• Bangkok has the fifth cheapest office cost per workstation in the world. Surabaya in Indonesia is the cheapest and London is the most expensive.
(Global Office Occupancy Costs Survey 2008, DTZ Debenham Tie Leung)

• Thailand’s VAT (Value Added Tax) rate is 7%.

• Organic plantations in Thailand currently cover 140,953 rai.
(Bangkok Post, January 9 2008)

• Thailand’s geographic coordinates are 15 00 N, 100 00 E.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Thailand Facts #13

“Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable”.
Mark Twain

• King Rama 1 (1782-1809) moved his capital across to the east side of the Chaophraya river to what is now the current site of Bangkok in order to avoid being vunerable to any Burmese attack from the west.

• Bangkok has 102 private hospitals with combined bed capacity of 15,000, or 43.3% of the country's total beds.
(Bangkok Post, December 27, 2007)

• There are 106 airports in Thailand.

• The least expensive property in Bangkok in 2007 was in Nong Chok district, at 260 baht per square wah.
(Thailand Treasury Department)

• There are around 10 million credit cards circulating in the Thai economy.
(Economic and Business Forecasting Center of University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce)

• A single jackfruit can weigh up to 35kg.

• Thailand is forecasted to export 8.7 million tonnes of rice this year.
(Rice Exporters Association)

• The distance from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is approximately 695 kms.

• 401 people were killed in road accidents nationwide during the seven-day New Year period December 28, 2007 to January 3, 2008.

• 14% of Thailand’s population is Chinese.
(CIA World Fact Book)

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Thailand Facts #12

“We can have facts without thinking but we cannot have thinking without facts”.
John Dewey

• King Ramkhamhaeng, who ruled at the end of the thirteenth century, created the first Thai alphabet.

• The top three killers of Thais are aging, heart disease and cancer.
(National Statistics Office)

• Ninety-eight per cent of Thai children enter primary school and 80% secondary school.
(National Statistics Office)

• There are about 20,000 alcohol related deaths in Thailand each year.
(Public Health Ministry)

• Oil consumption has dropped for three consecutive years, from 2.3% in 2005 and 2006 to 1.6% in 2007.
(Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO)

• Thailand’s population growth rate is 0.663%.
(CIA World Fact Book 2007 est)

• A typical rambutan tree can yield around 5,000 pieces of fruit.

• Approximately 49% of Thailand’s labour force is engaged in agriculture. Agriculture contributes 10.7% of the country’s GDP.
(CIA World Fact Book)

• 10.4% of Thai people are considered to be living below the poverty line.
(National Statistical Office and Bank of Thailand)

• Baiyoke Tower 2 in Bangkok at 997 feet is Thailand’s tallest building.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Thailand Facts #11

“The trouble with facts is that there are so many of them”.
Samuel McChord Crothers


• A law was passed in 1921 decreying that all white elephants automatically belong to the King, making it illegal for them to be bought, sold or used commercially.

• The Stock Exchange of Thailand rose 26% in 2007.

• Tee Law Su Waterfall in Tak province, is the highest waterfall in Thailand

• The Accor Group is the largest hotel chain operating in Thailand with 34 hotels and 8,770 rooms.

• An estimated 1.673 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) will be consumed in 2008 in Thailand.
(Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO)

• Silom Road, in Bangkok has the most expensive property in Thailand at up to 650,000 baht per square wah.
(Thailand Treasury Department)

• Thailand has 344 hospitals with 35,806 beds.
(Bangkok Post, December 27 2007)

• Only 5.4% of Thai mothers provide six months of breast feeding, compared with 20% in Vietnam, 35% in the Philippines, 60% in Cambodia and nearly 70% in South Korea.
(National Statistics Office)

• The mobile phone penetration rate in Thailand has reached 52 million people, or 80% of the population.
(Bangkok Post, 28 December 2007)

• There are more than one million Burmese working in Thailand.