Thailand is located at the heart of Southeast Asia region, covering an area of
513,115 square kilometers and extends about 1,620 kilometers from North to South and
775 kilometers from East to West, at its broadest point. Thailand is divided into four natural
regions: North, Northeastern, Central and Southern. Bangkok, the capital city is situated in
the central region.
In 2002, Thailand population reached 62.2 millions. According to the national
statistics, around 31 per cent of the population live in municipal area whereas the majority
of population distributed across the country1.
With regard to general economy, Thailand has made significant progress in resolving
economic and financial problems after the financial crisis in 1997. After experiencing the
economic recession of 1.4 and 10.5 per cent in 1997 and 1998 respectively, the Thai
economy has been rising gradually, with the growth rate of 4.4 per cent in 1999. This
growth sailed through 2000 while the world economy picked up and significantly benefiting
Thai exports. Hence Thailand witnessed the growth of 4.6 per cent in 20002.
Nevertheless, there is disparity in the quality of life among Thais across different
regions, as reflected by the uneven distribution of household income earned in different
locations. For instance, the GDP per capita of those residing in Bangkok was around US$
5,417 , compared to around US$ 609, for those in for the northeastern region.
Furthermore, the mean years of schooling in population aged over 15 years in Bangkok are
generally higher than those population in rural area as illustrated in Table 1 below.