Thai people

This article is about Thailandian people native to Thailand. For broader sense of the Thai people, see Demographics of Thailand.
Thai people
Flag of Thailand
Thai people at a cremation ceremony at Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai
Total population
c. 52–59 million[a]
Regions with significant populations
Thailand c. 51–57.8 million[nb 1][1][2][3]
Thai diaspora
c. 1.1 million
 United States328,176 (2022)[4]
 South Korea185,389[5] (2018)
 Germany115,000[6] (2020)
 Australia81,850[7] (2019)
 Taiwan64,922[8] (2018)
 Japan63,689 (2024)[9]
 Malaysia51,000–70,000[10][11] (2012)
 Singapore47,700[10] (2012)
 United Kingdom45,000[12] (2018)
 Sweden44,339[13] (2019)
 France30,000 (2012)[10]
 Israel28,000[10] (2011)
 Libya24,600[10] (2011)
 Indonesia24,000[14] (2020)
 Canada22,275[15] (2021)
 Norway22,194[16] (2020)
 Netherlands20,106 (2017)[17]
 Laos15,497[18] (2015)
 UAE14,232[10] (2012)
 Russia14,087[19] (2015)
 Finland13,687[20] (2019)
 Belgium12,952 (2019)[21]
 Denmark12,947[22] (2020)
 Hong Kong11,493[23] (2016)
 Saudi Arabia11,240[10] (2012)
 New Zealand10,251 (born), c. 50,000 (ancestry)[24] (2018)
  Switzerland9,058[25] (2015)
 China8,618[10] (2012)
 Italy5,766[26] (2016)
 Brunei5,466[10] (2012)
 Austria3,773[10] (2012)
 India3,715[10] (2012)
 South Africa3,500[10] (2012)
 Qatar2,500[10] (2012)
 Bahrain2,424[10] (2012)
 Kuwait2,378[10] (2012)
 Egypt2,331[10] (2012)
 Brazil2,172[27] (2024)
Rest of the worldc. 47,000[28]
Languages
Central Thai, Southern Thai
Religion
Predominantly :
Theravada Buddhism 97.6%
Minorities:Tai folk religion
Sunni Islam 1.6%
Christianity 0.8%
Related ethnic groups
Malaysian Siamese
Chart shows the demographics of Thailand

Thai people (also known as Siamese people and by various demonyms) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Thailand. In a narrower and ethnic sense, the Thais are also a Tai ethnic group dominant in Central and Southern Thailand (Siam proper).[29][30][31][32][33][2][34] Part of the larger Tai ethno-linguistic group native to Southeast Asia as well as Southern China and Northeast India, Thais speak the Sukhothai languages (Central Thai and Southern Thai language),[35] which is classified as part of the Kra–Dai family of languages. The majority of Thais are followers of Theravada Buddhism.

Government policies during the late 1930s and early 1940s resulted in the successful forced assimilation of various ethno-linguistic groups into the country's dominant Central Thai language and culture, leading to the term Thai people to come to refer to the population of Thailand overall. This includes other subgroups of the Tai ethno-linguistic group, such as the Yuan people and the Isan people, as well as non-Southeast Asian and non-Tai groups, the largest of which is that of the Han Chinese, who form a substantial minority ethnic group in Thailand.


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