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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Thailand Facts #21 (225 facts and statistics to date)

“Where facts are few, experts are many”.
Donald R. Gannon


• The Privy Council was established in 1874 at the command of King Rama V to offer advice to the king. Currently there are 16 councillors and former PM Prem Tinsulanonda is the council president.
(The Nation, March 17 2008)

• International reserves have reached an all-time high at $100.5 billion baht as of February 29, 2008.
(Bank of Thailand)

• Thailand's workforce now is seven times that of the retired population, and is projected to drop to 4:1 within 20 years and 2:1 within 40 years,
(Bangkok Post March 28 2008)

• Thaksin Shinawatra is Thailand’s fourth richest person.
(Forbes)

• Global Thai food exports reached $10.75 billion in 2007, a 12.7% increase from 2006.
(Export Promotion Department)

• Thailand’s total current workforce is 36.26 million people.
(National Economic and Social Development Board)

• The number of credit cards in use in Thailand as of the end of January surged by 995,763. Of this, 4,668,072 cards were issued by local commercial banks, up by 258,153 cards from the corresponding period of the previous year, 1,301,989 by foreign bank branches, up by 81,842, and 6,028,768 by non-banking institutions, a rise of 655,768 cards.
(TNA, March 3 2008)

• There is estimated to be over 4,000 community radio stations in Thailand.
(National Telecommunications Commission)

• Thailand has 130 million rai of cultivated land and of this 3 million rai is dedicated to palm trees.
(Bangkok Post, March 12 2008)

• Thailand imported 2.1 million tonnes of soybean meal last year worth 20 billion baht a year. Domestic production was only 823,000 tonnes, an increase from 774,000 tonnes a year earlier.
(Bangkok Post, March 13 2008)

• The number of people involved in the agricultural industry in Thailand has fallen significantly to about 25.2 million nationwide, or about 40% of the population compared to 55-60% ten years ago.
(Office of Agricultural Economics)

• 12,492 people died in road accidents in Thailand in 2007.
(Don’t Drive Drunk Foundation)

• Bangkok, a city of 5.7 million vehicles, has reserved less than 5% of its space for roads.
(Time Magazine)

• More than 2,000 vehicles are added to Bangkok's roads each day.
(Time Magazine)

• There are more than 500 franchisers in Thailand and 50,000 to 60,000 franchisees.
(The Nation, March 17 2008)

Monday, March 3, 2008

Thailand Facts #20 (210 facts and statistics to date)

“Comments are free but facts are sacred".
Charles Prestwich Scott


• In 2007 out of all provinces Kamphaeng Phet residents were the heaviest in debt at Bt49,465.70 per family per year while Phuket residents were the least in debt at Bt484.40 per family.
(Community Development Department)

• Upon completion Ocean Tower 1 at Jomtien Beach, Pattaya will be Thailand’s tallest residential building. It will have 91 stories and will be 327 metres high.
(Bangkok Post, February 13, 2008)

• The current ex-farm price of pork in Thailand is 59-61 baht a kilogramme with the retail price at 115-120 baht. Last year the price was 44-45 baht ex-farm and 115-120 baht retail.
(Bangkok Post, February 18 2008)

• 2,835 people have fallen ill from dengue fever this year with 4 fatalities. In 2007 there were around 60,000 cases with 29 fatalities.
(Health Ministry)

• There are four types of dengue fever in Thailand.

• 4,373 new companies were registered in Thailand in January.
(Commerce Ministry)

• Over 4.1 million Thais are expected to travel overseas this year, an increase of 10.2 per cent from last year with Laos ,Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea being the most popular destinations.
(Kasikorn Research Center)

• Thailand's exports of agricultural products to Australia in 2007 almost doubled from the previous year with a trade surplus of 2.4 billion baht. Major agricultural products exported to Australia were canned tuna, rice, frozen shrimp, pet food and tropical fruits.
(Office of Agricultural Economics)

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

• Thailand’s internet penetration rate is around 15%. Malaysia’s is over 60%.
(Vicahi Bencharongkul, Benchachinda Holdings)

• There are 167 local pharmaceutical makers in Thailand. Imported medicines account for 70% of total pharmaceutical sales.
(Thai Pharmaceutical Club)

• Thailand has 300,000 hotel rooms.
(TAT)

• There are at least 20,000 new cases of lung and breast cancer each year in Thailand.
(Public Health Ministry and National Health Security Office)

• Thailand is the 12th largest food exporter in the world
(Bangkok Post, February 27 2008)

• Koh Samui airport handles around 600,000 passengers a year with a maximum of 36 flights per day. Following the upgrade the airport can now handle 16,000 passengers a day.
(Bangkok Post, March 3 2008)