Looking for a Map of Thailand
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At 198,455 square miles, Thailand is about twice the size of the state of Wyoming. The terrain consists of a central plain, the Khorat Plateau in the east, and mountains elsewhere. The climate is tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid. Doi Inthanon is the highest point at 8452 feet.

A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century. Known as Siam until 1939, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US ally following the conflict.

Thailand's ethnic groups are divided as Thai 75% and Chinese 14%. It's religions are 95% Buddhism, 3.8% Muslim, and only 0.5% Christianity. The two languages are Thai and English, with ethnic and regional dialects.

Thailand has a free-enterprise economy and welcomes foreign investment. Exports feature textiles and footwear, fishery products, rice, rubber, jewelry, automobiles, computers and electrical appliances. Thailand has recovered from the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis and was one of East Asia's best performers in 2002. Increased consumption and investment spending and strong export growth pushed GDP growth up to 6.3% in 2003 despite a sluggish global economy.