, 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: 34%

permanent crops: 6%

permanent pastures: 2%

forests and woodland: 26%

other: 32% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 44,000 sq km (1993 est.)

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: Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Law of the Sea

Geography - note: controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and
Singapore

Thailand People

Population: 61,797,751

note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower
life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 23.43% (male 7,380,273; female 7,099,506)

15-64 years: 69.95% (male 21,304,051; female 21,921,383)

65 years and over: 6.62% (male 1,796,325; female 2,296,213) (2001
est.)

Population growth rate: 0.91% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 16.63 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 7.54 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female

total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 30.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: t