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Thursday, May 1, 2008

Thailand Facts #24 (285 facts and statistics to date)

“Get the facts, or the facts will get you. And when you get them, get them right, or they will get you wrong.”
Dr. Thomas Fuller


• Bangkok and it’s neighbouring provinces of Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Pathum Thani, Nakhon Phanom and Nonthaburi have the highest daily minimum wage in Thailand at Bt195 while Nan and Phayao provinces in the north have the lowest at Bt144.
(Labour Ministry)

• In 2007 there were 327 accidents killing 45 people and injuring 143 at Thailand’s railway crossings.
(State Railway of Thailand)

• Thailand’s first woman member of parliament was elected in 1949.

• Approximately 30% of Thailand’s population are carriers of Thalassaemia disease.
(Bangkok Post, April 8 2008)

• Thailand is the third most popular international travel destination for Indian tourists behind Singapore and the United States. 536,356 Indians visited Thailand in 2007.
(Tourism Authority of Thailand)

• Approximately 1 million Chinese visited Thailand in 2007, a decrease of 2.9% from 2006.
(Tourism Authority of Thailand)

• There are approximately 3.6 million rice farming families in Thailand totally around 20 million people.
(Bangkok Post, April 23 2008)

• There are approximately 30,000 registered internet cafes in Thailand using 450,000 computers.
(Mahidol University Institute for Child and Family Development)

• More than 13,000 prisoners of war and 200,000 Asian labourers died during the construction of the “Death Railway” linking Thanbyuzayat in Burma with Ban Pong in Thailand.
(Bangkok Post, April 25 2008)

• Since 2003 there have been 1,006 people reported missing in Thailand, 589 being children and teenagers. 80 children have been reported missing in the first three months of 2008.
(Missing Persons Centre)

• Bhumibol dam in Tak province is Thailand’s largest dam. The current level is 2.89 billion cubic metres.
(Bangkok Post, April 25 2008)

• In 2007 there was an estimated16 million computers users in Thailand (26.8% of the population) up from 15.39 million in 2006.
(Thailand National Statistics Office)

• In 2007 there was an estimated 9 million internet users up from 8 million in 2006.
(Thailand National Statistics Office)

• Thailand's household indebtedness rose to an average Bt116,681 (US$3,700) per family last year from Bt68,405 (US$2166) in 2000.
(Thailand National Statistics Office)

• 757,734 Scandinavians visited Thailand in 2007 up from 645,361 in 2006 of which 374,000 were from Sweden.
(Tourism Authority of Thailand)

• 45% of all Swedish investment in Thailand is in Rayong.
(Colliers International Thailand)

• Kan-Yao durian is the most expensive fruit in Thailand and can retail for up to Bt7,000 per kilogramme.

• Approximately 1.35 million tonnes of rice seeds and 2.35 million tonnes of fertilizers will be required in Thailand for rice production in 2008.
(Agricultural Economics Office)

• Despite being the world’s leading producer of rice Thailand ranks at the bottom of the top 10 world rice producers in terms of rice productivity producing 430kg per rai while China produces 1,000kg per rai, Vietnam 778kg, India 658kg, Brazil 648 and Bangladesh 619kg per rai.
(United States Department of Agriculture)

• Udon Thani is Thailand’s second largest city in terms of population but is still 30 times smaller than the Greater Bangkok Metropolitan Area.
(Encyclopedia Britannica)