Thailand in 2004

The Kingdom of Thailand, previously known as Siam, situated in the heart of Southeast Asia with Bangkok as the capital city, shared a border with Myanmar to the east, Laos to the northeast, Cambodia to the west, and Malaysia to the south...

There were conflicting opinions about the origin of the Thais. It had been widely believed that the Thais had migrated 4,500 years ago, from what was now the southern part of China. Recently, however, new pre-historic artifacts from the Ban Chiang era had been discovered in northeast Thailand, questioning the previous theory...

In the 1980s, an export-oriented manufacturing sector, based on labor-intensive items such as textiles and garments, began to develop. After 1990, the fastest growth was in high-tech goods like computer accessories and motor vehicle parts...

Thailand remained a key figure in the export of many commodities and products associated with South Asia. The country was the No 1 rice exporter in the world and, in fact, the only net food exporter in Asia...