THB

Exchange rates:

baht per US dollar - 33.599 (2007), 37.882 (2006), 40.22 (2005), 40.222 (2004), 41.485 (2003)

Communications
Thailand

Telephones - main lines in use:

7.024 million (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

51.377 million (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: high quality system, especially in urban areas like Bangkok domestic: fixed line system provided by both a government owned and commercial provider; wireless service expanding rapidly and outpacing fixed lines international: country code - 66; connected to major submarine cable systems providing links throughout Asia, Australia, Middle East, Europe, and US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean, 1 Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 238, FM 351, shortwave 6 (2007)

Radios:

13.96 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

111 (2006)

Televisions:

15.19 million (1997)

Internet country code:

.th

Internet hosts:

1.116 million (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

15 (2000)

Internet users:

13.416 million (2007)

Transportation
Thailand

Airports:

106 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 65 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 6 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 41 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 28 (2007)

Heliports:

3 (2007)

Pipelines:

gas 4,381 km; refined products 320 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 4,071 km narrow gauge: 4,071 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 180,053 km (includes 450 km of expressways) (2006)

Waterways:

4,000 km note: 3,701 km navigable by boats with drafts up to 0.9 m (2005)

Merchant marine:

total: 398 by type: bulk carrier 53, cargo 135, chemical tanker 15, container 22, liquefied gas 28, passenger/cargo 10, petroleum tanker 100, refrigerated cargo 32, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: 16 (China 1, Japan 4, Malaysia 3, Singapore 2, Taiwan 1, UK 5) registered in other countries: 40 (Bahamas 5, Mongolia 1, Panama 10, Singapore 23, Tuvalu 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Prachuap Port, Si Racha

Military
Thailand

Military branches:

Royal Thai Army (RTA), Royal Thai Navy (RTN, includes Royal Thai
Marine Corps), Royal Thai Air Force (Knogtap Agard Thai, RTAF) (2008)

Military service age and obligation:

21 years of age for compulsory military service; 18 years of age for voluntary military service; males are registered at 18 years of age; 2-year conscript service obligation (2006)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 17,553,410 females age 16-49: 17,751,268 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 12,968,674 females age 16-49: 14,058,779 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 531,315 female: 511,288 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

1.8% of GDP (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues
Thailand

Disputes - international:

separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim southern provinces prompt border closures and controls with Malaysia to stem terrorist activities; Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; talks continue on completion of demarcation with Laos but disputes remain over several islands in the Mekong River; despite continuing border committee talks, Thailand must deal with Karen and other ethnic rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities, and as of 2006, over 116,000 Karen, Hmong, and other refugees and asylum seekers from Burma; Cambodia and Thailand dispute sections of historic boundary with missing boundary markers; Cambodia claims Thai encroachments into Cambodian territory and obstructing access to Preah Vihear temple ruins awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in 1962; Thailand is studying the feasibility of jointly constructing the Hatgyi Dam on the Salween river near the border with Burma; in 2004, international environmentalist pressure prompted China to halt construction of 13 dams on the Salween River that flows through China, Burma, and Thailand

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 132,241 (Burma) (2007)

Illicit drugs:

a minor producer of opium, heroin, and marijuana; transit point for illicit heroin en route to the international drug market from Burma and Laos; eradication efforts have reduced the area of cannabis cultivation and shifted some production to neighboring countries; opium poppy cultivation has been reduced by eradication efforts; also a drug money-laundering center; minor role in methamphetamine production for regional consumption; major consumer of methamphetamine since the 1990s despite a series of government crackdowns

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

@Timor-Leste

Introduction
Timor-Leste

Background:

The Portuguese began to trade with the island of Timor in the early 16th century and colonized it in mid-century. Skirmishing with the Dutch in the region eventually resulted in an 1859 treaty in which Portugal ceded the western portion of the island. Imperial Japan occupied Portuguese Timor from 1942 to 1945, but Portugal resumed colonial authority after the Japanese defeat in World War II. East Timor declared itself independent from Portugal on 28 November 1975 and was invaded and occupied by Indonesian forces nine days later. It was incorporated into Indonesia in July 1976 as the province of Timor Timur (East Timor). An unsuccessful campaign of pacification followed over the next two decades, during which an estimated 100,000 to 250,000 individuals lost their lives. On 30 August 1999, in a UN-supervised popular referendum, an overwhelming majority of the people of Timor-Leste voted for independence from Indonesia. Between the referendum and the arrival of a multinational peacekeeping force in late September 1999, anti-independence Timorese militias - organized and supported by the Indonesian military - commenced a large-scale, scorched-earth campaign of retribution. The militias killed approximately 1,400 Timorese and forcibly pushed 300,000 people into western Timor as refugees. The majority of the country's infrastructure, including homes, irrigation systems, water supply systems, and schools, and nearly 100% of the country's electrical grid were destroyed. On 20 September 1999 the Australian-led peacekeeping troops of the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) deployed to the country and brought the violence to an end. On 20 May 2002, Timor-Leste was internationally recognized as an independent state. In late April 2006, internal tensions threatened the new nation's security when a military strike led to violence and a near breakdown of law and order in Dili. At the request of the Government of Timor-Leste, an Australian-led International Stabilization Force (ISF) deployed to Timor-Leste in late May. In August, the UN Security Council established the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), which included an authorized police presence of over 1,600 personnel. In subsequent months, many of the ISF soldiers were replaced by UN police officers; approximately 80 ISF officers remained as of January 2008. From April to June 2007, the Government of Timor-Leste held presidential and parliamentary elections in a largely peaceful atmosphere with the support and assistance of UNMIT and international donors.

Geography
Timor-Leste

Location:

Southeastern Asia, northwest of Australia in the Lesser Sunda
Islands at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago; note -
Timor-Leste includes the eastern half of the island of Timor, the
Oecussi (Ambeno) region on the northwest portion of the island of
Timor, and the islands of Pulau Atauro and Pulau Jaco

Geographic coordinates: