Map of Thailand Google Interactive Showing the Whole Country

Map of Thailand

Map of Thailand. Thailand Prathet Thai, pronounced [pra.tʰêːt tʰaj] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม, rtgs: Sayam [sa.jǎːm]), is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total area of approximately 513,000 km² (198,000 sq mi), Thailand is the world’s 51st-largest country. It is the 20th-most-populous country in the world, with around 66 million people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok.

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and has switched between parliamentary democracy and military junta for decades, the latest coup being in May 2014 by the National Council for Peace and Order. Its capital and most populous city is Bangkok. It is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Myanmar. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest.

The Thai economy is the world’s 20th largest by GDP at PPP and the 27th largest by nominal GDP. It became a newly industrialised country and a major exporter in the 1990s. Manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy. It is considered a middle power in the region and around the world.

Etymology of “Siam”

The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens. By outsiders prior to 1949, it was usually known by the exonymSiam (Thai: สยาม rtgs: Sayam, pronounced [sàjǎːm], also spelled Siem, Syâm, or Syâma). The word Siam has been identified^{[by whom?]} with the Sanskrit Śyāma (श्याम, meaning “dark” or “brown”). The names Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word. The word Śyâma is possibly not its origin, but a learned and artificial distortion

SPPM Mongkut Rex Siamensium, King Mongkut‘s signature

The signature of King Mongkut (r. 1851 – 1868) reads SPPM (Somdet Phra Poramenthra Maha) Mongkut King of the Siamese, giving the name “Siam” official status until 24 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand. Thailand was renamed Siam from 1945 to 11 May 1949, after which it again reverted to Thailand.

Map of Thailand