Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Thailand v t e Largest cities or towns of Thailand Rank City name Province Pop. Rank City name Province Pop. Bangkok Bangkok Nonthaburi 1 Bangkok Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 5,658,953 (2005) 11 Pattaya Chonburi 104,318 (2007) Pak Kret Hat Yai 2 Nonthaburi Nonthaburi 260,555 (2011) 12 Nakhon Sawan Nakhon Sawan 90,412 3 Pak Kret Nonthaburi 168,763 (2008) 13 Ubon Ratchathani Ubon Ratchathani 84,509 4 Hat Yai Songkhla 157,682 (2008) 14 Nakhon Pathom Nakhon Pathom 83,007 5 Udon Thani Udon Thani 141,953 (2010) 15 Phitsanulok Phitsanulok 79,535 6 Chiang Mai Chiang Mai 141,361 (2011) 16 Phuket Phuket 74,218 7 Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Ratchasima 138,303 (2011) 17 Songkhla Songkhla 73,170 8 Surat Thani Surat Thani 127,496 (2008) 18 Chiang Rai Chiang Rai 67,176 9 Khon Kaen Khon Kaen 113,754 19 Laem Chabang Chonburi 64,607 10 Nakhon Si Thammarat Nakhon Si Thammarat 109,353 20 Yala Yala 62,896 Language Main article: Languages of Thailand Ethnic map of Thailand Historical populations Year Pop.   ±%   1910 8,131,247 —     1919 9,207,355 +13.2% 1929 11,506,207 +25.0% 1937 14,464,105 +25.7% 1947 17,442,689 +20.6% 1960 26,257,916 +50.5% 1970 34,397,371 +31.0% 1980 44,824,540 +30.3% 1990 54,548,530 +21.7% 2000 60,916,441 +11.7% 2010 65,926,261 +8.2% Source: National Statistical Office of Thailand

The official language of Thailand is Thai, a Tai–Kadai language closely related to Lao, Shan in Burma, and numerous smaller languages spoken in an arc from Hainan and Yunnan south to the Chinese border. It is the principal language of education and government and spoken throughout the country. The standard is based on the dialect of the central Thai people, and it is written in the Thai alphabet, an abugida script that evolved from the Khmer script. Several other dialects exist, and coincide with the regional designations. Southern Thai is spoken in the southern provinces, and Northern Thai is spoken in the provinces that were formerly part of the independent kingdom of Lannathai.

Thailand is also host to several other minority languages, the largest of which is the Lao dialect of Isan spoken in the northeastern provinces. Although sometimes considered a Thai dialect, it is a Lao dialect, and the region in where it is traditionally spoken was historically part of the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang. In the far south, Yawi, a dialect of Malay, is the primary language of the Malay Muslims. Varieties of Chinese are also spoken by the large Chinese population, with Teochew being best represented.

Numerous tribal languages are also spoken, including those belonging to the Mon–Khmer family, such as Mon, Khmer, Viet, Mlabri and Orang Asli; Austronesian family, such as Cham and Moken; Sino-Tibetan family such as Lawa, Akhan, and Karen; and other Tai languages such as Nyaw, Phu Thai, and Saek. Hmong is a member of the Hmong–Mien languages, which is now regarded as a language family of its own.

English is a mandatory school subject, but the number of fluent speakers remains very low, especially outside the cities.

Religion Main article: Religion in Thailand Religion in Thailand religion percent Buddhism    94.6% Islam    4.6% Christianity    0.7% Others    0.1%

The most common religion is Theravada Buddhism. Thai Buddhism ranks amongst the highest in the world. According to the last census (2000) 94.6% of the total population are Buddhists of the Theravada tradition. Muslims are the second largest religious group in Thailand at 4.6%. Thailand's southernmost provinces – Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and part of Songkhla Chumphon have dominant Muslim populations, consisting of both ethnic Thai and Malay. The southern tip of Thailand is mostly ethnically Malay, and most Malays are Sunni Muslims. Christians represent 0.7% of the population. A small community of Sikhs in Thailand and some Hindus also live in the country's cities. There is also a small Jewish community in Thailand, dating back to the 17th century.