Thai population: ethnic composition, occupations, languages and religion

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Twenty of the largest countries in terms of the number of inhabitants of our planet closes Thailand. The population, the most recent of which is just over 71 million, is made up primarily of indigenous settlers. In addition, many different nationalities live in the country. All this will be discussed in more detail later.

Demographic features

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

Urbanization

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

Ethnic composition

Indigenous people of the country are ethnic Thais, who were driven here by the Mongols from China in the thirteenth century. Gradually they populated the Mekong Valley and created their own Siamese state. Today, these people account for 75% of all inhabitants of the country. It consists of a large number of groups. In addition to the Thais, the population of Thailand includes ethnic Chinese (14%), Malays (3.5%), as well as Vietnamese, Lao, Mono, Khmer and some mountain peoples. There are about 20 ethnic groups in total. It is impossible not to focus on the fact that more than one million people are refugees from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. These people live in the border areas and are housed in camps.

Indigenous

The name "Thai" comes from the word "thai", which in translation into our language means a free person. The indigenous people of the country are predominantlylive in its central regions. If you move along the territory of the state a little in a northeast direction, you can see that another nationality prevails here - the Lao. In general, the indigenous people of Thailand can be called very friendly, friendly and open people. First of all, this is due to their religiosity and belief in karma. They also consider strong family ties to be very important. It is not surprising that several generations always live in the same house, and children take care of their parents very carefully. Cases of murder and theft in the state are extremely rare. The locals are very hardworking.

Main Activities

More than half of the country's working-age population is employed in the agricultural sector. A third of local residents work in government agencies and the service sector, and 14% are in industry. Although almost the entire population of Thailand can boast of having an education, its level is far from the highest. In this regard, all sectors of the country's economy suffer from a lack of a sufficient number of qualified personnel.

Agriculture is dominated by the cultivation of rice, vegetables and cereals. Animal husbandry is also considered quite developed, because the Thais raise 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 considered to be wood carving, the secrets of which are passed down exclusively from generation to generation.generation. Women tend to do weaving and pottery.

Languages

The population of Thailand speaks mainly in the state Thai language, in which three main dialects can be distinguished. The first of these 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, the first Thai written traditions were formed as early as the thirteenth century under the influence of Khmer culture. All religious writings are written in the Pali language.

Due to the numerical ethnic group of the Chinese, of which there are about 6 million, several Chinese dialects can be called quite common in the state. The most commonly used among them are teochu and mandarin. About 2 million people in the country speak Malay. Its interesting feature is the use of Arabic writing. English is widely used in tourist centers and large cities.

Religion

Practically the entire population of Thailand (more than 94% of the country's inhabitants) professes Buddhism. It is not surprising that it is in Bangkok that the world's largest international organization of this religion, the World Fellowship of Buddhists, is located. Along with this, it is impossible not to note the nuance that the Thais borrowed many rituals and customs from other beliefs: Hinduism, Taoism andConfucianism. In addition to Buddhists, there are Muslims, Christians and Sikhs in the country, and traditional ancient religions are quite common in the mountainous regions of the state.