Five Fun Statistics About Thailand

As many would agree, Thailand is a fascinating place. Whether you’re here on holiday or you’re a tourist looking to go back to your home country with great stories to tell at your next cocktail party, these interesting statistics will help you fascinate your friends with your niche knowledge.

1 – Over a tenth of the Population of Thailand Lives in Busy Bangkok

Thailand has 65 million people living in the country, which is about half the population of the entire country of Russia. Out of these people, more than 8 million, or close to 13% of the country’s population live in the capital city of Bangkok. More than 14 million (or 22.2% of the total population) live in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region. Bangkok is included in the world’s list of the biggest cities, landing at number 19, one below Kolkata, India and just above Buenos Aires, Argentina.

2 – Bangkok’s “Real Name” is the Longest Name for a Place in the World

The name of Bangkok in its original combination of Pali and Sanskrit root words, is as follows:  Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit. This name translates as: City of angels, great city of immortals, magnificent city of the nine gems, seat of the king, city of royal palaces, home of gods incarnate, erected by Visvakarman at Indra’s behest.  All Thai children learn how to recite the long version of Bangkok’s capital in school, although only a small percentage knows what it means and even less who know how to translate it.

3 – Bangkok is the World’s Hottest City

Situated in the tropics, Bangkok has an annual mean temperature of 28 °C (or 82 °F). With the average temperature reaching 34 °C (93 °F) between March and May, it has been crowned as the planet’s hottest city by the World Meteorological Organisation.  The hottest temperature recorded in Bangkok was 40 °C (104.0 °F) in April 1979, but maybe even more interesting is that the lowest recorded temperature was 9.9 °C (49.8 °F) in January 1955.

4 – Thailand is made up of approximately 1,430 islands.

There are literally over a thousand islands in Thailand, several of which have become world famous for being featured in Hollywood films. They are located in the Gulf, the Eastern Seaboard, in Phang Nga Bay and along the Andaman Coast. You can find islands near Cambodia, Malaysia and even in rivers and lakes. The largest islands are Phuket, Koh Chang and Koh Samui. The word “Koh” means “island” which helps tourists understand what kind of destination they are headed to just from the name. The island of Phuket is an exception though, because it is connected to the mainland by a couple of bridges. 

5 – Thailand Only Has 25% of Its Forest Left

Did you know that logging is now completely banned in Thailand?  While many tourists believe that Thailand is filled with lush rainforests and dense forests, this is actually a dated notion of the country. In Fact, the country has lost nearly 75% of its forest in the past 100 years which has caused the authorities to crack down on deforestation and preserve the beautiful nature that’s still left.