1.1 Background of Thailand
Thai government is more often referred to Thailand in English or in the original language “Mueang Thai”, is a Southeast Asia country located nearby Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. Thai government was formerly known as Siam until May 11, 1949. The word “Thai” means “freedom” in Thai language. However, minority of Chinese ethnic in Thailand is still using Siam name. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy country and had never been colonized. The king is the leader of the country. Thailand has 77 provinces which are grouped into 5 parts, North, Northeast, East, South and Center. Bangkok is capital city and center of business.
The estimate population in Thailand as at October 2013 is 67.1 million. The majority ethnic groups are Thai which cover 89%, followed by Chinese ethnic and Malay ethnic. According to last census (2000), 94.6% of Thais are Buddhist from Theravada tradition. Muslims are the second largest religious group in Thailand with 4.6%. Other smaller portion religious are Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Judaism. Thai language is their official language but they are also many other regional languages. English is widely taught in schools.
Thailand involves in several industries namely agriculture, forestry and fishing, industry and manufacturing, tourism, banking and finance, services and energy. However, the main industries are agricultural and tourism. Paddy is the most important crop in the country. Thailand is the major rice exporter in the world. Other agricultural commodities produced in significant quantities include fish and fishery products, tapioca, rubber, grain and sugar. Industrial exports of processed food such as canned tuna, pineapples and frozen shrimp are increasing as well. Tourism contributes significantly to Thailand’s economy. There are several popular tourist destinations like Phuket, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Bangkok and Surat thani. Other than the attractive