Thailand, for centuries known by outsiders as Siam, is centrally located in South-East Asia, almost the same distance from India and China. It has 2614 kilometers of coastline, with the Gulf of Thailand on the east, and the Andaman Sea on the west. It shares borders with Burma, Laos, Kampuchea and Malaysia. The area of 500,000 square kilometers is about the size of France. More than half the total area is forest and Savannah, and about forty-five percent is being cultivated. The population numbers approximately 60 million.
The country is divided into six major geographic regions. To the North are mountains where elephants work in the forests and temperatures in winter get cold enough for the cultivation of strawberries and peaches. To the north is a plateau largely bordered by the Mekong River, where 5,600 years ago the oldest Bronze Age civilization in the world, flourished. The central plain is a fertile rice and fruit growing are. On the eastern coastal plain are beautiful sandy beaches where resorts are flourishing. In the west are mountains and valleys where hydro-electric power is being developed. Finally there is the peninsula in the south, where tin mining, rubber cultivation and fishing are very important industries, and the area is also extremely beautiful.
Thailand is divided into 75 provinces, which are gathered into 5 groups of provinces by location.
Central - Ang Thong, Bangkok, Chai Nat, Kanchanaburi, Lopburi, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Phetchaburi, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Ratchaburi, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Saraburi, Sing Buri, and Suphan Buri province.
East Thailand - Chachoengsao, Chanthaburi, Chonburi, Prachinburi, Rayong, Sa Kaeo, and Trat province.
North Thailand - Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Kamphaeng Phet, Lampang, Lamphun, Mae Hong Son, Nakhon Sawan, Nan, Phayao, Phetchabun, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Phrae, Sukhothai, Tak, Uthai Thani, and Uttaradit province.
Northeast Thailand - Amnat Charoen, Buri Ram, Chaiyaphum, Kalasin, Khon Kaen, Loei, Maha Sarakham, Mukdahan, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nong Bua Lamphu, Nong Khai, Roi Et, Sakon Nakhon, Si Sa Ket, Surin, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, and Yasothon province.
South Thailand - Chumphon, Krabi, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Narathiwat, Pattani, Phang Nga, Phatthalung, Phuket, Ranong, Satun, Songkhla, Surat Thani, Trang, and Yala province.