Thailand: Flag and Facts

About Thailand

Two Thai kingdoms took shape in the mid-13th century. Sukhothai, on the south-central plains, broke away from the Khmer Empire, while Lan Na grew up in the north around Chang Mai. Ayutthaya came next and became known as the Siamese Kingdom. After a defeat by Burma in 1767, the ruler Taksin drove out the occupiers and pushed the borders outward. A bloodless revolution in 1932 turned the country into a constitutional monarchy.

The traditional founding date is 1238, and Thailand was never colonized, though Britain and France forced it to give up land in the 1890s and 1900s. A central plain fills the middle, the Khorat Plateau lies east, and mountains rise elsewhere. About 70 million people live here, and the Bangkok area alone has around 11 million.

Did you know?

• The garuda, a mythical half-man, half-bird, is a national symbol alongside the elephant.
• Doi Inthanon, the highest point, rises to 2,565 meters.
• The national anthem's title translates as A Salute to the Monarch.