ral Statistics and Information
ThailandÆs government is a constitutional monarchy with a multi-party National Assembly (Senate, 268 members, House of Representatives, 357 members), and a centralized administrative system. The chief of state is King Bhumibol Adulyadej, born December 5, 1927, second son of Prince Mahidol of Songkhla, succeeded to the throne on June 9, 1946 when his brother, King Ananda Mahidol, died of a gunshot wound. He was married on April 28, 1950, to Queen Sirikit; their son, Vajiralongkorn, born July 28, 1952, is the Crown Prince.
The major points in the history of ThailandÆs government began when the military regime established on November 17, 1971 was forced to resign, following popular demonstrations, on October 14, 1973. An interim government was formed and a new constitution, legalizing political parties, was promulgated on October 7, 1974. After years of civilian government ended with a military coup on October 6, 1975, Thailand reverted to military rule. Political parties, banned after the coup, gained limited freedom in 1980. The same year, the National Assembly elected General Prem Tinsulanonda as prime minister. General elections on April 18, 1983 and July 27, 1986 resulted in Prem continuing as prime minister over a coalition government. General elections in 1988 led to Prem stepping down in favor of Chatichai Choonharan (Frei & Head, 1991, p. 453).
The 1992 estimated population of Thailand was 59,600, with an age distribution as follows: 0-14 (45 percent), 15-59 (49 percent), 60+ (6 percent) (Hoffman, 1992, n.p.). Seventy-five percent of the population is Thai with fourteen percent being Chinese. Thai is the official language and Chinese and Malay are spoken as well as regional dialects. Thailand is comprised of 198,456 square miles on the Indochinese and Malayan Peninsulas in Southeast Asia. The capital and most developed urban center is Bangkok. A work week can be as short as th...