The population of Thailand: ethnic composition, occupations, languages and religion

The twenty largest in terms of the number of inhabitants of the states of our planet is Thailand. The population, which according to the latest data is just over 71 million people, is mainly indigenous settlers. In addition, the territory of the country is inhabited by many different nationalities. All this will be discussed in more detail later.

Demographic features

Thailand, with per capita GDP of just over 7 thousand US dollars a year, can be called a fairly developed country. An additional confirmation of this is the fact that more than 93% of inhabitants have education here. In the middle of the twentieth century, a real demographic explosion occurred in the state. Then for 23 years the number of local residents has doubled. Every third resident of the country lives in cities. The population of its capital, Bangkok, exceeds the mark of 10 million people. According to statistics, the average life expectancy of women is 74 years, while for men - 70. Almost half of the population is under the age of 30 years.

Urbanization

Now the population density of Thailand is on average 130 people per square kilometer. As in many other Asian countries, most of the local inhabitants live in rural areas. In particular, there are about one thousand villages on the territory of the country. Whatever it was, in recent years, the outflow of young people from them to the capital and other megacities has become characteristic. The largest city after the above mentioned Bangkok here is Chiang Mai (170 thousand inhabitants).

Ethnic composition

The indigenous inhabitants of the country are ethnic Thais, who were driven out by Mongols from China in the thirteenth century. Gradually, they settled the Mekong River valley and created their own Siamese state. Today these people account for 75% of all residents of the country. It consists of a large number of groups. In addition to Thais, the composition of the Thai population includes ethnic Chinese (14%), Malays (3.5%), and Vietnamese, Lao, Mono, Khmer and some mountain peoples. In total there are about 20 ethnic groups. One can not help but emphasize the fact that more than one million people are refugees from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. These people live in the border areas and are accommodated in camps.

Native people

The name "Thais" comes from the word "thai", which in translation into our language means a free person. The indigenous inhabitants of the country mainly live in its central regions. If you move along the territory of the state a little in the northeastern direction, you can see that the other nationality is Lao here. In general, the indigenous people of Thailand can be called very friendly, friendly and open people. First of all, this is due to their religiousness and belief in karma. They also consider strong family ties to be very important. It is not surprising that in one house there are always several generations, and children are very anxious about their parents. Cases of murder and theft in the state are extremely rare. Local people are distinguished by high diligence.

Basic Occupations

More than half of the country's entire working-age population is employed in the agricultural sector. The third part of local residents works in state institutions and services, and 14% is in industry. Although almost the entire population of Thailand and can boast of the availability of education, its level is far from the highest. In this regard, all sectors of the country's economy suffer from the lack of a sufficient number of qualified personnel.

In agriculture, rice, vegetables and cereals predominate. Livestock farming is also considered quite developed, because the Thais grow large and small cattle, as well as birds, buffaloes and horses. Some local villages live by catching and selling fish. The most honorable craft is wood carving, the secrets of which are passed on exclusively from generation to generation. Women, as a rule, are engaged in weaving and pottery.

Languages

The population of Thailand mainly speaks the state Thai language, in which three main dialects can be distinguished. The first is official and is used in literature and education, the second is spoken in the northern regions, and the third is mainly used in the northeast and southeast of the country. According to officially confirmed information, as early as in the thirteenth century, the first Thai written traditions were formed under the influence of Khmer culture. All religious works are written in the language of Pali.

In connection with the numerical ethnic group of the Chinese, of which there are about 6 million, quite a few Chinese dialects are quite common in the state. Most often, theodore and tangerine are used. About 2 million people speak Malay. An interesting feature of it is the use of Arabic script. In the tourist centers and large cities English is actively used.

Worship

Virtually the entire population of Thailand (more than 94% of the inhabitants of the country) professes Buddhism. Not surprisingly, it is in Bangkok is the world's largest international organization of this religion - the World Brotherhood of Buddhists. Along with this, one can not but note the nuance that the Thai people have borrowed many rites and customs from other beliefs: Hinduism, Taoism and Confucianism. In addition to Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs are found in the country, and traditional ancient religions are quite common in the mountainous areas of the state.