Population
About 75 percent of the inhabitants of Thailand are Thai. The largest
minority group consists of the Chinese, who make up about 14 percent
of the total population, and most are Thai nationals. Other minority
groups include the Malay-speaking Muslims in the south, the hill
tribes in the north, and Cambodian (Khmer) and Vietnamese refugees
in the east. The population of Thailand is about 75 percent rural.
Population Characteristics
The population of Thailand is about 58,265,000 (1995 estimate)
-- the government is offering a prize to Thailand's 60,000,000th
citizen, someone who should be born sometime in November of 1996.
This represents an overall population density of about 114 persons
per sq km (about 294 per sq mi). The population is unevenly distributed,
however, with the greatest concentration of people in the central
region.
Religion
Buddhism is the prevailing religion of Thailand. About 95 percent
of all Thais are Buddhist, and the country has approximately 18,000
Buddhist temples and 140,000 Buddhist priests. Nearly all Buddhist
men in Thailand enter a Wat (monastery) for at least a few
days or months. Muslims, the majority of whom live in the area just
north of Malaysia, constitute approximately 4 percent of the population,
and the country also has some small Christian and Hindu communities.
Language
Thai, a member of the Tai language family, is the chief language.
Four regional dialects are in use. Lao, Chinese, Malay, and Mon-Khmer
are also spoken in Thailand. English is taught in secondary schools
and colleges and is also used in commerce and government.
Culture
Thailand is unique in Southeast Asia in that the country has never
been a dependency of another nation. Another notable difference
is that Thai women, unlike women of some other East Asian countries,
are active in business affairs, the professions, and the arts. No
single culture has ever dominated the entire area. The first time
a national identity is thought to have been developed was during
the Sukhotai kingdom. Formed in the first half of the 13th century
when several Thai municipalities united, the kingdom survived until
the late 14th to early 15th century, when it was absorbed by the
Ayutthaya kings. During its short existence, however, the Sukhotai
kingdom established a new Thai alphabet, which became the basis
for modern Thai, and codified the Thai form of Theravada Buddhism.
Libraries and Museums
The largest library in Thailand is the National Library in Bangkok.
In addition, important technical collections are maintained in Bangkok
at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific, the Asian Institute of Technology Library, and the
Thai National Documentation Center. Thailand has a National Museum
in Bangkok, which houses a large collection of ancient artifacts
illustrating the development of Thai culture. Another important
collection of Thai art was assembled by Jim Thompson, an American
businessman who lived in Bangkok from the late 1940s to the 1960s.
His reconstructed Thai house, filled with art, furniture, and ceramics,
is now a museum.
Literature
Classic Thai literature is based on tradition and history. The
Ramakien, the Thai version of the Hindu epic Ramayana,
is the leading classic on which Thai art and music are based. The
main theme remains the same in the Thai version, although the Ramakien
is about 25 percent longer than the original Hindu version. Modern
writing is more Western in style. Thailand has many women among
its popular authors. Kukrit Pramoj is one of Thailand's most famous
novelists. In addition to his career as a writer, he was Thailand's
prime minister in 1975.
Art
Among the most celebrated works of architecture in Thailand are
the Wats in Bangkok. Thai sculpture, dating from the 14th century,
is a mixture of Chinese, Burmese, Hindu, and Khmer influences and
is best seen in the temples and representations of Buddha. Thai
religious paintings have been less well preserved; paintings are
rarely older than 150 years. Thailand is known for producing beautiful
silk textiles.
Music and Dance
Thai music is very intricate and is a usual accompaniment of Thai
drama. The instruments, primarily woodwind and percussion, are usually
grouped in five- or ten-piece ensembles. Musicians sit on the floor
to play, and generally play by ear. The dance in Thailand is equally
intricate, following or deriving from Indian dancing and involving
a series of gestures and swaying that interpret a story. Even the
smallest movements reflect important story threads, carefully woven
by performers dressed in elaborate costumes and headgear.
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