Desktop Study on - Regional Climate Change Adaptation ...

Assessment of Capacity Gaps and Needs of South East Asia Countries
in Addressing Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Variability and Climate Change
RESEARCH SYNTHESIS ON THAILAND
COUNTRY
CHARACTERISTICS
The country characteristics cover information
on Thailand’s geographical, social, economic
and climatic risks. An overview of the country’s
characteristics is provided in Table 10.
Geographic Situation
Thailand is located in the Mekong Region, bordering
on Myanmar in the Northwest (1,800 kilometres),
Laos in the Northeast (1,754 kilometres), Cambodia
in the East (803 kilometres), and Malaysia in the South
(506 kilometres). From its total land area of about
513120 km2, approximately 20% are mountainous,
located mainly in the north along the borders with
Myanmar and Laos and extending down the Isthmus
of Kra to the southern border with Malaysia. The
central plain, which extends to the Gulf of Thailand,
is a lowland area drained by the Chao Phraya and its
tributary rivers. The narrow and tropical Isthmus of
Kra runs from mainland Thailand to the border with
Malaysia and has a low-lying range of hills at the
narrowest part, about 600 meters in elevation (FRD,
2007).
Socio-Economic Status
According to the 2006 census, the population of
Thailand is 64.4 million inhabitants (reaching the
nineteenth position among the most populous
countries in the world), resulting with 125 people
per km2 (FRD, 2007). The population growth rate
was about 20.7% and some estimates made in
Table_10 Thailand country profile
overview
Country level information (UN data, 2009; FRD, 2007)
Surface area (km2) 513,120
Bordering countries
Population density, 2007 (persons/
km2)
Population growth rate, 2005-2010 (%
per annum)
Malaysia,
Myanmar,
Lao PDR, and
Cambodia
124.5
0.7
Mountainous land (% of total area) 20
Flat land (% of total area) 80
Contribution of agricultural sector to
GDP, 2008 (%)
Contribution of industrial sector to
GDP, 2008 (%)
Contribution of service sector to GDP,
2008 (%)
Percentage of population, 2007 (%) in
- rural areas
- urban areas
Poor population, 2004 (% of
households)
Infant mortality rate, 2005-2010 (per 1
000 live births)
Adult literacy rate, 2007 (% of total
population, estimate)
11.4
44.5
44.1
67.1
32.9
10
11.0
92.6
Agricultural land (% of total area in
2005)
27.5
Access to water supply, 2007 (% of
total population, estimate)
85
GDP, 2007 (million current USD) 245351
87