Thailand- Officially Kingdom of Thailand, formerly (1856–1939) Siam, Thai Prathet, or Prades, Thai ("Thailand"), Rajanajak Thai ("Thai Kingdom"), or Sayam ("Siam"), byname Muang Thai ("Land of the Free"), country located in the centre of mainland Southeast Asia.
Its area of 198,115 square miles (513,115 square kilometres) consists of two broad geographic areas: a larger section in the north and a smaller peninsular section in the south. The main body of the country is surrounded by Myanmar (Burma) to the west, Laos to the north and east, Cambodia to the southeast, and the Gulf of Thailand (Gulf of Siam) to the south.
Peninsular Thailand stretches southward from the southwestern corner down the Malay Peninsula; Myanmar extends along the western portion of the peninsula as far as the Isthmus of Kra, after which Thailand occupies the entire peninsula until reaching its southern border with Malaysia at roughly latitude 6° N. Bangkok, Thailand's capital and chief port, is in the main portion at the head of the Gulf of Thailand.
The country was officially called Siam until 1939 and again briefly in 1945–48. The several ethnic and religious groups represented among Thailand's people are characteristic of the cultural diversity that for centuries has spread southward from China and eastward from India. Indeed, the name "Thai" to describe the country's people came into use only in the 20th century. - Britannica Encyclopedia
Its area of 198,115 square miles (513,115 square kilometres) consists of two broad geographic areas: a larger section in the north and a smaller peninsular section in the south. The main body of the country is surrounded by Myanmar (Burma) to the west, Laos to the north and east, Cambodia to the southeast, and the Gulf of Thailand (Gulf of Siam) to the south.
Peninsular Thailand stretches southward from the southwestern corner down the Malay Peninsula; Myanmar extends along the western portion of the peninsula as far as the Isthmus of Kra, after which Thailand occupies the entire peninsula until reaching its southern border with Malaysia at roughly latitude 6° N. Bangkok, Thailand's capital and chief port, is in the main portion at the head of the Gulf of Thailand.
The country was officially called Siam until 1939 and again briefly in 1945–48. The several ethnic and religious groups represented among Thailand's people are characteristic of the cultural diversity that for centuries has spread southward from China and eastward from India. Indeed, the name "Thai" to describe the country's people came into use only in the 20th century. - Britannica Encyclopedia
