Thailand

**Thailand** (), umwhile **Siam** (), an offeecially the **Kinrick o Thailand**, is an independent kintra that lies in the hert o Sootheast Asie. It is bordered tae the north bi Burma an Laos, tae the aest bi Laos an Cambodie, tae the sooth bi the Gulf o Thailand an Malaysie, an tae the wast bi the Andaman Sea an the soothren extremity o Burma. Its maritime boondaries include Vietnam in the Gulf o Thailand tae the sootheast an Indonesie an Indie in the Andaman Sea tae the soothwast.

## Etymology
The kintra's offeecial name wis **Siam** ( , ) until Juin 23, 1939, when it wis chynged tae Thailand. It wis then renamed Siam frae 1945 tae Mey 11, 1949, efter which it wis again renamed Thailand. An aa spelled *Sayam*, *Syâm* or *Syâma*, it haes been identified wi the Sanskrit *Śyâma* (, meanin "daurk" or "brown"). The names Shan an A-hom seem tae be variants o the same wird, an Śyâma is possibly no its oreegin but a learned an artificial distortion.

The wird *Thai* () is no, as commonly believed derived frae the wird *Tai* () meanin "freedom" in the Thai leid; it is, housomeivver, the name o an ethnic group frae the central plains (the Thai fowk). A famous Thai scholar argued that Tai (ไท) simply means "fowk" or "human being" syne his investigation shows that in some rural auries the wird "Tai" wis uised instead o the uisual Thai wird "khon" () for fowk. The Thai uise the phrase "land o the free" tae express pride in the fact that Thailand is the ae kintra in Sootheast Asie niver colonized bi an ootside pouer.

While the Thai fowk will aften refer tae thair kintra uisin the polite form *Prathet Thai* (Thai: ประเทศไทย), thay maist commonly uise the mair colloquial wird *Mueang Thai* (Thai: เมืองไทย) or simply *Thai* (Thai: ไทย); the wird *mueang* (Thai: เมือง) meanin naition but maist commonly uised tae refer tae a ceety or toun. *Ratcha Anachak Thai* () means "Kinrick o Thailand".

Etymologically, its components are: *-Ratcha-* (frae Sanskrit *[[raja]]*, meanin "keeng, royal, realm") ; *-ana-* (frae Pāli **', "authority, command, pouer", itself frae Sanskrit **', same meanin) *-chak* (frae Sanskrit *[[cakra]]* or *[[cakraṃ]]* meanin "wheel", a seembol o pouer an rule). The Thai Naitional Anthem () refers tae the Thai naition as: prathet-thai (Thai: ประเทศไทย). The first line o the naitional anthem is: *prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai* (Thai: ประเทศไทยรวมเลือดเนื้อชาติเชื้อไทย) an wis translatit in 1939 bi Colonel Luang Saranuprabhandi as: “Thailand is the unity o Thai blood an body.”

## Administrative divisions

Thailand is dividit intae 76 provinces (จังหวัด, changwat), which are gathered intae 5 groups o provinces bi location. Thare are an aa 2 special governed destricts: the caipital Bangkok (Krung Thep Maha Nakhon) an Pattaya, o which Bangkok is at provincial level an sicweys aften coontit as a 77t province.

Each province is dividit intae destricts an the destricts are further dividit intae sub-destricts (tambons). As o 2010 thare are 878 destricts (อำเภอ, amphoe) an the 50 destricts o Bangkok (เขต, khet). Some pairts o the provinces borderin Bangkok are an aa referred tae as Greater Bangkok (ปริมณฑล, pari monthon). Thir provinces include Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan, Nakhon Pathom an Samut Sakhon. The name o each province's caipital ceety (เมือง, mueang) is the same as that o the province. For example, the caipital o Chiang Mai province (*changwat Chiang Mai*) is *Mueang Chiang Mai* or *Chiang Mai*. The 76 provinces are as follaes:

#### Central
# Ang Thong
# Bangkok (Krung Thep Maha Nakhon), Special Governed Destrict o
# Chai Nat
# Kamphaeng Phet
# Lopburi
# Nakhon Nayok
# Nakhon Pathom
# Nakhon Sawan
# Nonthaburi
# Pathum Thani
# Phetchabun
# Phichit
# Phitsanulok
# Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya
# Samut Prakan
# Samut Sakhon
# Samut Songkhram
# Saraburi
# Sing Buri
# Sukhothai
# Suphan Buri
# Uthai Thani

#### East
# Chachoengsao
# Chanthaburi
# Chonburi
# Prachinburi
# Rayong
# Sa Kaeo
# Trat

#### North
# Chiang Mai
# Chiang Rai
# Lampang
# Lamphun
# Mae Hong Son
# Nan
# Phayao
# Phrae
# Uttaradit

#### Northeast (Isan)

# 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
# Yasothon

#### Sooth
# Chumphon
# Krabi
# Nakhon Si Thammarat
# Narathiwat
# Pattani
# Phang Nga
# Phatthalung
# Phuket
# Ranong
# Satun
# Songkhla
# Surat Thani
# Trang
# Yala

#### Wast
# Kanchanaburi
# Phetchaburi
# Prachuap Khiri Khan
# Ratchaburi
# Tak

## References

## Freemit airtins

; Govrenment
* Thaigov.go.th Ryal Govrenment o Thailand
* Chief o State an Cabinet Members 
* Mfa.go.th Thailand Meenistry o Foreign Affairs
* Thailand Internet Information Naitional Electronics an Computer Technology Center
* Meenistry o Cultur 

; General information

* Thailand  frae *UCB Libraries GovPubs*
* 
* 
* Longdo Map On-line Thailand maps in Inglis an Thai
* Thailand Laws  - Thailand acts an legal information, baith in Inglis an Thai leid.

; Traivel
* Tourism Authority o Thailand Offeecial tourism wabsteid
* 

; Ither
* 
* Thailand Country Fact Sheet frae the Common Language Project