COORDINATED BY: Mr. Paul Chuaypradit, Coordinator

The independent kingdom of Thailand was never a colony. Thailand was long known as Siam. In 1939, the country’s name was changed to the more nationalistic Muang Thai, or Land of the Thais, a name that means, "free". Thailand is located in the center of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of nearly 200,000 square miles. Thailand’s population is more than 60 million.

Thailand’s economy is overwhelmingly agricultural. Three quarters of the labor force work in agriculture. For more than a century, rice has been the leading export, followed at a distance by rubber and tea.

Transportation and communication are focused on Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. A network of navigable rivers and canals—which once earned Bangkok the nickname of Venice of Asia—moves great tonnage of logs, rice, charcoal, and other produce.