The majority of the hill tribes in northern Thailand are relatively recent immigrants to the region. Only the Karens and the Lawas were sttled in the country before the arrival of the Thais. The hill tribes form a minority. In 1983, their total population was about 416,000. Apart from the Karens and the Lawas, this [...]
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These people, who live mostly in Nakhon Pathom, Samut Songkram and Samut Prakan, are not ancestors of the ancient Mon culture that once ruled over portions of central Thailand, but relatively recent Buddhist immigrants from Burma. Thailand’s largest religious minority, Muslims are concentrated mainly in the southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala and Satun. Most are of Malay descent and speak yawi (ancient Malay) as well as Thai. Ninety-nine percent of the Muslim population are Sunni Muslims, while the remaining one percent are Shi’ite. Those Muslims who are not maysians are [...] The Thai Yai (right), called the Ngiaw by the Thais, belong to the Tai linguistic family and migrated from the Shan states of Burma in the 19th century. Today the Shans are scattered throughout the north, especially in Mae Hong Son and Mae Sariang. The Shans Khmer-speaking people are also numerous in some parts of the northeast, particularly in Surin province near the Cambodian border. Most of them migrated during the 19th century when Siam occupied a large part of Cambodia. The recent war in Cambodia has driven millions I of Khmer refugees into Thailand but many of them are being [...] Much of the northeast is inhabited by groups of Lao-speaking people – Lao Wieng, Yuai, Yo, Lao Kao and Phutai – who migrated (some were forcibly moved) mostly during the last century and are today among the poorest in the country. Like the Thais, they belong to the Sino-Tibetan group. They are renowned for their [...] As traders, the Chinese arrived long before the Thais. They settled more permanently, at first in coastal cities in the south and thcn in other areas. The peak period of Chinese migration was in the 19th and early 20th centurics, and they now form a substantial part of most urban populations. Thanks to extensive assimilation, [...] Ninety-five percent of its population are Buddhists, making Thailand the largest Theravada Buddhist country in the world. The average life span for Thai men is 61.75 years. while for women it is 67.50 years. Thailand has a total population of 60 million; more than half are below the age of 20. Demography |
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