Portal:Thailand/Intro

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The Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย) is a country in Southeast Asia. The country traces its origin to the Sukhothai Kingdom founded in 1238 and its successive Ayutthaya Kingdom.

The heart-land of the country is the Chao Phraya plain around its capital Bangkok. It has a coast to both the Gulf of Thailand as well as the Andaman Sea, bordering the countries Malaysia to the south, Myanmar to the west and Laos and Cambodia to the east.

The Thai polical system is a Constitutional Monarchy with HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej as the head of the state and Surayud Chulanont as the prime minister. With a population of over 60 millions, Thailand's GDP is ranked 21st in the world. The people speak Thai and the overwhelming majority are Buddhists of the Theravada tradition.