ASIA

Thailand

The only Southeast Asian nation never colonised by a European power, Thailand runs on street-food woks, golden temples and a coastline that turned the beach holiday into an art form.

WHAT THE FLAG MEANS ◢

Five horizontal bands of red, white, blue, white and red, the deep blue centre band twice the width of the others, in a flag six parts wide to nine long. The Flag Act prescribes those proportions and colours; the reading of the three colours as nation, religion and monarchy is the traditional one attached to the design rather than a meaning the Act assigns.

Thailand FACTS ◢

Capital	Bangkok
Continent	Asia
Population	71,619,863 (2025)
Area	513,120 km²
Population density	140/km²
Currency	Baht (THB)
Official language	Thai
Calling code	+66
Internet TLD	.th
Time zone	UTC+07:00
Drives on the	Left
ISO codes	TH / THA

DID YOU KNOW? ◢

It was never colonised by a European power, and its old name Siam gave the world 'Siamese' cats and twins.
Bangkok's full ceremonial name is the longest place name in the world, running to over 160 letters.
It is one of the planet's largest exporters of rice.
Muay Thai, its national sport, uses fists, elbows, knees and shins and is nicknamed 'the art of eight limbs'.