Statistical Yearbook Thailand 2012

Administration system in Thailand is divided into 3 parts: the Central administration consisting of 20 ministries and 200 departments. Regional administration consisting of 77 provinces, the newest province is Bueng Kan, which has established on March 23, 2011. The Local administration part is divided into Provincial Administration Organization, Municipality and Sub District Administration Organization. There are 2 special local territories; namely Bangkok and Pattaya. Bangkok, where is the largest city, and the capital city, is the centre of administrative management of the country. Climate The local climate is tropical, characterized roughly into three seasons. The period of hot season is during mid-February to mid- May. The highest temperature is in April. From mid-May to mid- October, the rainy season, it is rainy and cloudy from the tropical monsoon zone of Southeast Asia, then it turns moderate to cool until February, exception is the southern region, where it is hot and humid throughout the year, therefore there are only 2 seasons; hot season and rainy season. Transport There are varieties of transport in Thailand, major transportation is road transport, which consists of fixed-route buses, coaches, private automobiles, taxi, tuk-tuk and motorcycle taxi. Main highways in Thailand are such as Phaholyothin road, Mittraphap road, Sukhumvit road and Phetkasem road. A Bangkok - Chon Buri motorway is linking to the new airport and Eastern Seaboard. Rail transport, the State Railway of Thailand operates 4,346 km. Rail transport comprises Metro systems, which are in only Bangkok; sky-train or BTS, subway or MRT and Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link. Rail links to neighboring countries, namely, Malaysia and Laos are also operated. Air transport: as being a hub in Southeast Asia, Thailand has set up the new and modern country's main airports, named Suvarnabhumi International Airport, since 2006 . There are also some other international airports operating in the big cities of the country, namely, Chiang Mai International Airport, Chiang Rai International Airport, Hat Yai International Airport, Phuket International Airport, U-Tapao International Airport. - 16 -