Bangkok, officially known in
Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
. The city occupies in the
Chao Phraya River
The Chao Phraya ( or ; th, แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา, , or ) is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand.
Et ...
delta in
central Thailand
Central Thailand (Central plain) or more specifically Siam (also known as Suvarnabhumi and Dvaravati) is one of the regions of Thailand, covering the broad alluvial plain of the Chao Phraya River. It is separated from northeast Thailand (Isan) by ...
and has an estimated population of 10.539 million as of 2020, 15.3 percent of the country's population. Over 14 million people (22.2 percent) lived within the surrounding
Bangkok Metropolitan Region
The Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR) ( th, กรุงเทพมหานครและปริมณฑล; ; ), may refer to a government-defined "political definition" of the urban region surrounding the metropolis of Bangkok, or the built ...
at the 2010 census, making Bangkok an extreme
primate city
A primate city is a city that is the largest in its country, province, Federated state, state, or region, and disproportionately larger than any others in the urban hierarchy. A ''primate city distribution'' is a rank-size distribution that has on ...
, dwarfing Thailand's other urban centres in both size and importance to the national economy.
Bangkok traces its roots to a small trading post during the
Ayutthaya Kingdom
The Ayutthaya Kingdom (; th, อยุธยา, , IAST: or , ) was a Siamese kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom is conside ...
in the 15th century, which eventually grew and became the site of two capital cities,
Thonburi
__NOTOC__
Thonburi ( th, ธนบุรี) is an area of modern Bangkok. During the era of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, its location on the right (west) bank at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River had made it an important garrison town, which is ...
in 1768 and
Rattanakosin in 1782. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam, later renamed Thailand, during the late-19th century, as the country faced pressures from the West. The city was at the centre of Thailand's political struggles throughout the 20th century, as the country abolished absolute monarchy, adopted constitutional rule, and underwent numerous coups and several uprisings. The city, incorporated as a special administrative area under the
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ( th, กรุงเทพมหานคร; ) (BMA) is the local government of Bangkok (also called ''Krung Thep Maha Nakhon'' in Thai), which includes the capital of the Kingdom of Thailand. The governme ...
in 1972, grew rapidly during the 1960s through the 1980s and now exerts a significant impact on Thailand's politics, economy, education, media and modern society.
The
Asian investment boom in the 1980s and 1990s led many multinational corporations to locate their regional headquarters in Bangkok. The city is now a regional force in finance and business. It is an international hub for transport and health care, and has emerged as a centre for the arts, fashion, and entertainment. The city is known for its street life and cultural landmarks, as well as its
red-light district
A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particu ...
s. The
Grand Palace
The Grand Palace ( th, พระบรมมหาราชวัง, Royal Institute of Thailand. (2011). ''How to read and how to write.'' (20th Edition). Bangkok: Royal Institute of Thailand. .) is a complex of buildings at the heart of Ban ...
and
Buddhist temple
A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...
s including
Wat Arun
Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan ( th, วัดอรุณราชวราราม ราชวรมหาวิหาร ) or Wat Arun (, "Temple of Dawn") is a Buddhist temple ('' wat'') in Bangkok Yai district of Bangkok, Th ...
and
Wat Pho
Wat Pho ( th, วัดโพธิ์, ), also spelled Wat Po, is a Buddhism, Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Grand P ...
stand in contrast with other tourist attractions such as the nightlife scenes of
Khaosan Road
Khaosan Road or Khao San Road ( th, ถนนข้าวสาร, , ) is a short ( long) street in central Bangkok, Thailand constructed in 1892 during the reign of Rama V. It is in the Bang Lamphu area of Phra Nakhon District about north o ...
and
Patpong
Patpong ( th, พัฒน์พงศ์, , ) is an entertainment district in Bangkok's Bang Rak District, Thailand, catering mainly, though not exclusively, to foreign tourists and expatriates. While Patpong is internationally known as a red lig ...
. Bangkok is among the world's top tourist destinations, and has been named the world's most visited city consistently in several international rankings.
Bangkok's rapid growth coupled with little
urban planning
Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
has resulted in a haphazard cityscape and inadequate infrastructure. Despite an extensive
expressway network, an inadequate road network and substantial private car usage have led to chronic and crippling
traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...
, which caused severe air pollution in the 1990s. The city has since turned to public transport in an attempt to solve the problem, operating
eight urban rail lines and building other public transit, but congestion still remains a prevalent issue. The city faces long-term environmental threats such as
sea level rise
Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...
due to
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
.
History
![La Loubere map of Bangkok (English)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/La_Loubere_map_of_Bangkok_%28English%29.jpg)
The history of Bangkok dates at least back to the early 15th century, to when it was a village on the west bank of the
Chao Phraya River
The Chao Phraya ( or ; th, แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา, , or ) is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand.
Et ...
, under the rule of
Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to:
* Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767
** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom
* Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locally ...
.
Because of its strategic location near the mouth of the river, the town gradually increased in importance. Bangkok initially served as a customs outpost with forts on both sides of the river, and was the site of
a siege in 1688 in which the French were expelled from Siam. After the fall of Ayutthaya to the
Burmese in 1767, the newly crowned King
Taksin
King Taksin the Great ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้าตากสินมหาราช, , ) or the King of Thonburi ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้ากรุงธนบุรี, ; ; Teochew dialect, Teochew: Dên ...
established his capital at the town, which became the base of the
Thonburi Kingdom
The Thonburi Kingdom ( th, ธนบุรี) was a major Thai people, Siamese kingdom which existed in Southeast Asia from 1767 to 1782, centered around the city of Thonburi, in Siam or present-day Thailand. The kingdom was founded by Taksin ...
. In 1782, King
Phutthayotfa Chulalok
Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok Maharaj (, 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), personal name Thongduang (), also known as Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom and the first monarch of the reigning Chakri dynasty of Siam (now Thai ...
(Rama I) succeeded Taksin, moved the capital to the eastern bank's
Rattanakosin Island
Rattanakosin Island ( th, เกาะรัตนโกสินทร์, , ) is a historic area in the Phra Nakhon District in the city of Bangkok, Thailand. It is bordered by the Chao Phraya River to the west and various canals to the east t ...
, thus founding the
Rattanakosin Kingdom. The
City Pillar
Lak mueang ( th, หลักเมือง) are city pillars found in most cities of Thailand. Usually housed in a shrine ( th, ศาลหลักเมือง) which is also believed to house Chao Pho Lak Mueang (), the city spirit deit ...
was erected on 21 April 1782, which is regarded as the date of foundation of Bangkok as the capital.
Bangkok's economy gradually expanded through international trade, first with China, then with Western merchants returning in the early-to-mid 19th century. As the capital, Bangkok was the centre of Siam's modernization as it faced pressure from Western powers in the late-19th century. The reigns of Kings
Mongkut
Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibod ...
(Rama IV, 1851–68) and
Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร ...
(Rama V, 1868–1910) saw the introduction of the steam engine, printing press, rail transport and utilities infrastructure in the city, as well as formal education and healthcare. Bangkok became the centre stage for power struggles between the military and political elite as the country
abolished absolute monarchy in 1932.
![View of the city of Bangkok 1822](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/View_of_the_city_of_Bangkok_1822.jpg)
As Thailand allied with Japan
in World War II, Bangkok was subjected to
Allied bombing, but rapidly grew in the post-war period as a result of US aid and government-sponsored investment. Bangkok's role as a US military
R&R destination boosted its tourism industry as well as firmly establishing it as a sex tourism destination. Disproportionate urban development led to increasing income inequalities and migration from rural areas into Bangkok; its population surged from 1.8 million to 3 million in the 1960s.
Following the US withdrawal from Vietnam in 1973, Japanese businesses took over as leaders in investment, and the expansion of export-oriented manufacturing led to growth of the financial market in Bangkok.
[Baker & Pongpaichit 2005, pp. 37–41, 45, 52–71, 149–150, 162, 199–204.] Rapid growth of the city continued through the 1980s and early 1990s, until it was stalled by the
1997 Asian financial crisis
The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...
. By then, many public and social issues had emerged, among them the strain on infrastructure reflected in the city's notorious traffic jams. Bangkok's role as the nation's political stage continues to be seen in strings of popular protests, from the student uprisings in
1973 and
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
, anti-military demonstrations
in 1992, and
frequent street protests since 2006, including those by groups opposing and supporting former prime minister
Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra ( th, ทักษิณ ชินวัตร; ; ; Chinese: 丘達新; cnr, Taksin Šinavatra; born 26 July 1949), is a Thai businessman, politician and visiting professor. He served in the Thai Police from 1973 to 1987, a ...
from 2006 to
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
, and a renewed student-led movement
in 2020.
Administration of the city was first formalized by King Chulalongkorn in 1906, with the establishment of
Monthon Krung Thep Phra Maha Nakhon () as a national subdivision. In 1915, the ''monthon'' was split into several provinces, the administrative boundaries of which have since further changed. The city in its current form was created in 1972 with the formation of the
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ( th, กรุงเทพมหานคร; ) (BMA) is the local government of Bangkok (also called ''Krung Thep Maha Nakhon'' in Thai), which includes the capital of the Kingdom of Thailand. The governme ...
(BMA), following the merger of Phra Nakhon province on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya and Thonburi province on the west during the previous year.
Name
The origin of the name ''Bangkok'' (, pronounced in Thai as ) is unclear. is a Thai word meaning 'a village on a stream', and the name might have been derived from (), meaning 'island', stemming from the city's watery landscape.
Another theory suggests that it is shortened from (), being the name of ''
Elaeocarpus hygrophilus'', a plant bearing olive-like fruit. This is supported by the former name of
Wat Arun
Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan ( th, วัดอรุณราชวราราม ราชวรมหาวิหาร ) or Wat Arun (, "Temple of Dawn") is a Buddhist temple ('' wat'') in Bangkok Yai district of Bangkok, Th ...
, a historic temple in the area, that used to be called ''Wat Makok''. The Romanization "Bangkok" comes from
French.
Officially, the town was known as (, from
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
and
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
, literally 'city of treasures gracing the ocean') or , according to the ''
Ayutthaya Chronicles''.
''Bangkok'' was likely a colloquial name, albeit one widely adopted by foreign visitors, who
continued to use it to refer to the city even after the new capital's establishment.
When King Rama I established his new capital on the river's eastern bank, the city inherited Ayutthaya's ceremonial name, of which there were many variants, including () and ().
Edmund Roberts, visiting the city as envoy of the United States in 1833, noted that the city, since becoming capital, was known as , and this is the name used in international treaties of the period.
Today, the city is known in Thai as () or simply (), a shortening of the ceremonial name which came into use during the reign of King Mongkut. The full name reads as follows:
[ Reproduced in ]
The name, composed of
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
and
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
root words, translates as:
The name is listed in ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' as the world's
longest place name
This is a list of long place names.
Single-word names 25 letters or more
20-24 letters
14–19 letters
Names with spaces or hyphens
* Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udom ...
, at 168 letters. Many Thais who recall the full name do so because of its use in the 1989 song "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon" by Thai rock band
Asanee–Wasan, the lyrics of which consist entirely of the city's full name, repeated throughout the song.
The city is now officially known in Thai by a shortened form of the full ceremonial name, , which is colloquially further shortened to (city of gods). , is a Thai word of
Mon–Khmer
The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are th ...
origin, meaning 'capital, king', while , is from Pali/Sanskrit, meaning 'deity' or 'god' and corresponding to ''
deva
Deva may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film
* ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film
* ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film
* Deva (2007 Telugu film)
* ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film
* Deva ...
''.
Government
![Full name of Bangkok](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Full_name_of_Bangkok.JPG)
The city of Bangkok is locally governed by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). Although its boundaries are at the provincial (''
changwat
The provinces of Thailand are part of the government of Thailand that is divided into 76 provinces ( th, จังหวัด, , ) proper and one special administrative area ( th, เขตปกครองส่วนท้องถิ่น ...
'') level, unlike the other 76 provinces Bangkok is a special administrative area whose governor is directly elected to serve a four-year term. The governor, together with four appointed deputies, form the executive body, who implement policies through the BMA civil service headed by the Permanent Secretary for the BMA. In separate elections, each district elects one or more city councillors, who form the Bangkok Metropolitan Council. The council is the BMA's legislative body, and has power over municipal ordinances and the city's budget. The
latest gubernatorial election took place on 22 May 2022 after an extended lapse following the
2014 Thai coup d'état, and was won by
Chadchart Sittipunt
Chadchart Sittipunt (, , ; born 24 May 1966) is a Thai politician, engineer, and professor who is the incumbent Governor of Bangkok. He previously was Minister of Transport from 2012 to 2014.
Early life and education
Chadchart is the third so ...
.
Bangkok is divided into
fifty districts (''khet'', equivalent to ''
amphoe
An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', th, อำเภอ, )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the provinces, and are analogous to countie ...
'' in the other provinces), which are further subdivided into
180 sub-districts (''khwaeng'', equivalent to ''
tambon
''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and province (''changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 ''khwaeng'' ...
''). Each district is managed by a district director appointed by the governor. District councils, elected to four-year terms, serve as advisory bodies to their respective district directors.
The BMA is divided into sixteen departments, each overseeing different aspects of the administration's responsibilities. Most of these responsibilities concern the city's infrastructure, and include city planning, building control, transportation, drainage, waste management and city beautification, as well as education, medical and rescue services. Many of these services are provided jointly with other agencies. The BMA has the authority to implement local ordinances, although civil law enforcement falls under the jurisdiction of the
Metropolitan Police Bureau.
The seal of the city shows
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
god
Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
riding in the clouds on
Airavata
Indra (alias Sakra) and Shachi riding the five-headed Divine Elephant Airavata, Folio from a Jain text, Panch Kalyanaka">Shachi.html" ;"title="Indra (alias Sakra) and Shachi">Indra (alias Sakra) and Shachi riding the five-headed Divine Elepha ...
, a divine
white elephant
A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, sch ...
known in Thai as Erawan. In his hand Indra holds his weapon, the ''
vajra
The Vajra () is a legendary and ritual weapon, symbolising the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force).
The vajra is a type of club with a ribbed spherical head. The ribs may meet in a ball-shape ...
''. The seal is based on a painting done by
Prince Naris
Prince Chitcharoen, the Prince Narisara Nuwattiwong ( th, นริศรานุวัดติวงศ์ ; 28 April 1863 – 10 March 1947), Prince Naris for short, né Chitcharoen (), was a member of the royal family of Siam (now Thailand), ...
. The tree symbol of Bangkok is ''
Ficus benjamina
''Ficus benjamina'', commonly known as weeping fig, benjamin fig or ficus tree, and often sold in stores as just ficus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to Asia and Australia. It is the official tree of Bangkok. The ...
''. The official city slogan, adopted in 2012, reads:
As the capital of Thailand, Bangkok is the seat of all branches of the
national government. The
Government House
Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries.
Gover ...
,
Parliament House and
Supreme,
Administrative
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...
and
Constitutional
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
Courts are all in the city. Bangkok is the site of the
Grand Palace
The Grand Palace ( th, พระบรมมหาราชวัง, Royal Institute of Thailand. (2011). ''How to read and how to write.'' (20th Edition). Bangkok: Royal Institute of Thailand. .) is a complex of buildings at the heart of Ban ...
and
Dusit Palace
Dusit Palace ( th, พระราชวังดุสิต, RTGS: ''Phra Ratcha Wang Dusit'') is a compound of royal residences in Bangkok, Thailand. Constructed over a large area north of Rattanakosin Island between 1897 and 1901 by King Chu ...
, respectively the official and ''de facto'' residence of the king. Most government ministries also have headquarters and offices in the capital.
Geography
![Bangkok satellite city-area](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Bangkok_satellite_city-area.jpg)
Bangkok covers an area of , ranking 69th among the other 76 provinces of Thailand. Of this, about form the built-up urban area.
It is ranked 73rd in the world in terms of land area.
The city's
urban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
reaches into parts of the six other provinces that it borders, namely, in clockwise order from northwest:
Nonthaburi
Nonthaburi ( th, นนทบุรี, ) is the principal city of the district and province of the same name in Thailand.
On 15 February 1936, Nonthaburi town municipality (''thesaban mueang'') was established, which only covered Suan Yai ...
,
Pathum Thani
Pathum Thani ( th, ปทุมธานี, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, directly north of Bangkok. It is the capital of the Pathum Thani province, Thailand as well as the Mueang Pathum Thani district. As of 2005, it ha ...
,
Chachoengsao
Chachoengsao ( th, ฉะเชิงเทรา, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, capital of Chachoengsao Province. It is on the banks of the Bang Pakong River. It includes ''tambon'' Na Mueang and parts of Ban Mai, Bang T ...
,
Samut Prakan,
Samut Sakhon
Samut Sakhon ( th, สมุทรสาคร, Pronunciation is a City in Thailand, capital of Samut Sakhon province. It is a stop on the Maeklong Railway. Samut Sakhon is 48 km from Bangkok.
It is part of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region ...
, and
Nakhon Pathom
Nakhon Pathom ( th, นครปฐม, ) is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') in central Thailand, the former capital of Nakhon Pathom province. One of the most important landmarks is the giant Phra Pathommachedi. The city is also home to Thailand's ...
. With the exception of Chachoengsao, these provinces, together with Bangkok, form the greater
Bangkok Metropolitan Region
The Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR) ( th, กรุงเทพมหานครและปริมณฑล; ; ), may refer to a government-defined "political definition" of the urban region surrounding the metropolis of Bangkok, or the built ...
.
Topography
Bangkok is situated in the Chao Phraya River delta in Thailand's
central plain. The river meanders through the city in a southerly direction, emptying into the
Gulf of Thailand
The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in l ...
approximately south of city centre. The area is flat and low-lying, with an average elevation of
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
.
Most of the area was originally
swampland
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
, which was gradually drained and irrigated for agriculture by the construction of canals (''
khlong
A ''khlong'' ( th, คลอง, ), alternatively spelt as ''klong'' () commonly refers to a canal in Thailand. These canals are spawned by the rivers Chao Phraya, Tha Chin, and Mae Klong, along with their tributaries particularly in the low-ly ...
'') which took place from the 16th to 19th centuries. The course of the river as it flows through Bangkok has been modified by the construction of
several shortcut canals.
![Chaophrayashortcut](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Chaophrayashortcut.jpg)
The city's waterway network served as the primary means of transport until the late 19th century, when modern roads began to be built. Up until then, most people lived near or on the water, leading the city to be known during the 19th century as the "
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
of the East". Many of these canals have since been filled in or paved over, but others still criss-cross the city, serving as major drainage channels and transport routes. Most canals are now badly polluted, although the BMA has committed to the treatment and cleaning up of several canals.
The geology of the Bangkok area is characterized by a top layer of soft
marine clay
Marine clay is a type of clay found in coastal regions around the world. In the northern, deglaciated regions, it can sometimes be quick clay, which is notorious for being involved in landslides.
Marine clay is a particle of soil that is dedica ...
, known as "Bangkok clay", averaging in thickness, which overlies an
aquifer
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...
system consisting of eight known units. This feature has contributed to the effects of
subsidence
Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope move ...
caused by extensive groundwater pumping. First recognized in the 1970s, subsidence soon became a critical issue, reaching a rate of per year in 1981. Ground water management and mitigation measures have since lessened the severity of the situation, and the rate of subsidence decreased to per year in the early 2000s, though parts of the city are now below sea level.
Subsidence has resulted in increased flood risk, as Bangkok is already prone to flooding due to its low elevation and an inadequate drainage infrastructure, often compounded by blockage from rubbish pollution (especially plastic waste). The city now relies on flood barriers and augmenting drainage from canals by pumping and building drain tunnels, but parts of Bangkok and its suburbs are still regularly inundated. Heavy downpours resulting in
urban runoff
Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater, landscape irrigation, and car washing created by urbanization. Impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots and sidewalks) are constructed during land development. During rain , storms and other precipit ...
overwhelming drainage systems, and runoff discharge from upstream areas, are major triggering factors. Severe flooding affecting much of the city occurred in 1995 and
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
. In 2011, most of Bangkok's northern, eastern and western districts were flooded, in some places for over two months.
Bangkok's coastal location makes it particularly vulnerable to
rising sea level
Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryo ...
s due to
global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
and climate change. A study by the
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
has estimated that 5.138 million people in Bangkok may be exposed to
coastal flooding
Coastal flooding normally occurs when dry and low-lying land is submerged by seawater. The range of a coastal flooding is a result of the elevation of floodwater that penetrates the inland which is controlled by the topography of the coastal land ...
by 2070, the seventh highest figure among the world's port cities. There are fears that the city may be submerged by 2030. A study published in October 2019 in ''
Nature Communications
''Nature Communications'' is a peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio since 2010. It is a multidisciplinary journal and it covers the natural sciences, including physics, chemistry, earth sciences, medici ...
'' corrected earlier models of coastal elevations and concluded that up to 12 million Thais—mostly in the greater Bangkok metropolitan area—face the prospect of annual flooding events.
This is compounded by coastal erosion, which is an issue in the gulf coastal area, a small length of which lies within Bangkok's
Bang Khun Thian District
Bang Khun Thian ( th, บางขุนเทียน, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighbors, clockwise from the north, are Bang Bon, Chom Thong, and Thung Khru Districts of Bangkok, Phra Samut Chedi dist ...
. Tidal flat ecosystems existed on the coast, however, many have been reclaimed for agriculture, aquaculture, and salt works.
There are no mountains in Bangkok. The closest mountain range is the
Khao Khiao Massif
The Khao Khiao Massif ( th, เขาเขียว; ) is a moderately high mountain range near Chonburi, eastern Thailand. This massif has the last substantial forested zone in Chonburi Province, a region that is much affected by urbanization a ...
, about southeast of the city. Phu Khao Thong, the only hill in the metropolitan area, originated with a very large
chedi that King
Rama III
Nangklao ( th, พระบาทสมเด็จพระนั่งเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว, ; 31 March 1788 – 2 April 1851), birth name Thap ( th, ทับ), also styled Rama III, was the third king of Siam ...
(1787–1851) built at
Wat Saket
Wat Saket Ratcha Wora Maha Wihan ( th, วัดสระเกศราชวรมหาวิหาร, usually shortened to Wat Saket is a Buddhist temple (''wat'') in Pom Prap Sattru Phai district, Bangkok, Thailand.
The temple dates ba ...
. The chedi collapsed during construction because the soft soil could not support its weight. Over the next few decades, the abandoned mud-and-brick structure acquired the shape of a natural hill and became overgrown with weeds. The locals called it ''phu khao'' (), as if it were a natural feature. In the 1940s, enclosing concrete walls were added to stop the hill from eroding.
Climate
Like most of Thailand, Bangkok has a
tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...
(Aw) under the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
and is under the influence of the
South Asian monsoon
The Monsoon of South Asia is among several geographically distributed global monsoons. It affects the Indian subcontinent, where it is one of the oldest and most anticipated weather phenomena and an economically important pattern every year fro ...
system. The city experiences three seasons: hot, rainy, and cool, although temperatures are fairly hot year-round, ranging from an average low of in December to an average high of in April. The rainy season begins with the arrival of the southwest monsoon around mid-May. September is the wettest month, with an average rainfall of . The rainy season lasts until October, when the dry and cool northeast monsoon takes over until February. The hot season is generally dry, but also sees occasional summer storms. The surface magnitude of Bangkok's
urban heat island
An urban heat island (UHI) is an urban or metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas due to human activities. The temperature difference is usually larger at night than during the day, and is most apparen ...
has been measured at during the day and at night. The highest recorded temperature of Bangkok metropolis was in March 2013,
and the lowest recorded temperature was in January 1955.
The Climate Impact Group at NASA's
Goddard Institute for Space Studies
The Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) is a laboratory in the Earth Sciences Division of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center affiliated with the Columbia University Earth Institute.
The institute is located at Columbia University in Ne ...
projected severe weather impacts on Bangkok caused by
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
. It found that Bangkok in 1960 had 193 days at or above 32 °C. In 2018, Bangkok can expect 276 days at or above 32 °C. The group forecasts a rise by 2100 to, on average, 297 to 344 days at or above 32 °C.
Districts
Bangkok's fifty districts serve as administrative subdivisions under the authority of the BMA. Thirty-five of these districts lie to the east of the Chao Phraya, while fifteen are on the western bank, known as the Thonburi side of the city. The fifty districts, arranged by district code, are:
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Phra Nakhon district
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Dusit district
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Nong Chok district
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Bang Rak district
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Bang Khen district
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Bang Kapi district
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Pathum Wan district
Pathum Wan ( th, ปทุมวัน, ) is one of the fifty districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. It lies just beyond the old city boundary of Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem, and was a rural area on the eastern outskirts of the city when roya ...
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Pom Prap Sattru Phai district
Pom Prap Sattru Phai ( th, ป้อมปราบศัตรูพ่าย, , or popularly just called Pom Prap, ) is one of the Districts of Bangkok, 50 districts (khet) of Bangkok, Thailand. Neighbouring districts are (from north clockwise) ...
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Phra Khanong district
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Min Buri district
Min Buri ( th, มีนบุรี, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. It is bounded by other Bangkok districts (from north clockwise): Khlong Sam Wa, Nong Chok, Lat Krabang, Saphan Sung, and Khan Na Yao. Min Buri is ...
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Lat Krabang district
Lat Krabang ( th, ลาดกระบัง, ) is one of the eastern districts of Bangkok.
Geography & history
Lat Krabang (literally translating to "slope of shield") is a second largest district of Bangkok (the first one is neighbouring distr ...
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Yan Nawa district
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Samphanthawong district
Samphanthawong ( th, สัมพันธวงศ์, ) is one of the 50 districts (khet) of Bangkok, Thailand. Regarded as Bangkok's Chinatown, it is the smallest district in area but has the highest population density of Bangkok's districts. ...
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Phaya Thai district
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Thon Buri district
Thon Buri ( th, ธนบุรี, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. On the west bank of Chao Phraya River, it was once part of Thon Buri province. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Bangkok Yai, Phr ...
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Bangkok Yai district
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Huai Khwang district
Huai Khwang ( th, ห้วยขวาง, ) is one of the 50 districts (khet) of Bangkok, Thailand. It is east of the city centre. Neighbouring districts are Chatuchak, Wang Thonglang, Bang Kapi, Suan Luang, Watthana, Ratchathewi, and Din D ...
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Khlong San district
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Taling Chan district
Taling Chan ( th, ตลิ่งชัน, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighbours, clockwise from the north, are Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi province and Bang Phlat, Bangkok Noi, Bangkok Yai, Ph ...
#
Bangkok Noi district
Bangkok Noi ( th, บางกอกน้อย, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Bang Phlat, Phra Nakhon (across Chao Phraya River), Bangkok Yai, Phasi Charoen, ...
#
Bang Khun Thian district
Bang Khun Thian ( th, บางขุนเทียน, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighbors, clockwise from the north, are Bang Bon, Chom Thong, and Thung Khru Districts of Bangkok, Phra Samut Chedi dist ...
#
Phasi Charoen district
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Nong Khaem district
Nong Khaem ( th, หนองแขม, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. The district is bounded by other Bangkok districts (from north clockwise): Thawi Watthana, Bang Khae, Bang Bon of Bangkok, Krathum Baen of S ...
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Rat Burana district
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Bang Phlat district
Bang Phlat ( th, บางพลัด, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighboring districts, clockwise from the north, are Bang Kruai district, Bang Sue, Dusit, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok Noi, and Taling Chan.
H ...
#
Din Daeng district
Din Daeng ( th, ดินแดง, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighbours, clockwise from north, are Chatuchak, Huai Khwang, Ratchathewi, and Phaya Thai.
History
The district was created in 1993, when t ...
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Bueng Kum district
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Sathon district
Sathon or Sathorn ( th, สาทร, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. The district is bounded by six other districts (from north clockwise): Bang Rak, Pathum Wan, Khlong Toei, Yan Nawa, Bang Kho Laem, and Khlo ...
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Bang Sue district
#
Chatuchak district
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Bang Kho Laem district
Bang Kho Laem ( th, บางคอแหลม, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. The incumbent district officer is Samita Xanthavanij. The district is bounded by (clockwise from north) Sathon, Yannawa, and across th ...
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Prawet district
Prawet ( th, ประเวศ, ) is one of the 50 districts of Bangkok, Thailand. It is in the southeast. Neighboring districts are (from the east clockwise) Bang Phli ( Samut Prakan province), Bang Na, Phra Khanong, Suan Luang, Bang Kapi ...
#
Khlong Toei district
Khlong Toei (also Klong Toey, th, คลองเตย, ) is a district in central Bangkok, long known for its slum. It is bordered by the Chao Phraya River and contains major port facilities. It is also the site of a major market, the Khlong T ...
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Suan Luang district
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Chom Thong district
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Don Mueang district
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Ratchathewi district
Ratchathewi ( th, ราชเทวี, ) is a district in central Bangkok, Thailand. Clockwise from the north, its neighboring districts are Phaya Thai, Din Daeng, Huai Khwang, Watthana, Pathum Wan and Dusit.
History
The district was part ...
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Lat Phrao district
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Watthana district
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Bang Khae district
Bang Khae ( th, บางแค, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighbouring districts, clockwise from north, are Thawi Watthana, Taling Chan, Phasi Charoen, Bang Bon, and Nong Khaem district.
History
From 6 Ma ...
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Lak Si district
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Sai Mai district
Sai Mai ( th, สายไหม, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. It is bounded by (from north clockwise): Lam Luk Ka district of Pathum Thani province; Khlong Sam Wa, Bang Khen and Don Mueang of Bangkok. As of ...
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Khan Na Yao district Khan Na Yao ( th, คันนายาว, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. It is bounded by other Bangkok districts (from north clockwise): Bang Khen, Khlong Sam Wa, Min Buri, Saphan Sung, and Bueng Kum.
History ...
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Saphan Sung district
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Wang Thonglang district
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Khlong Sam Wa district Khlong Sam Wa ( th, คลองสามวา, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. It is bounded by other districts (from north clockwise): Lam Luk Ka district of Pathum Thani province, Nong Chok, Min Buri, Khan Na ...
#
Bang Na district
Bang Na ( th, บางนา, ) is one of the fifty districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighbors, clockwise from the north, are the Phra Khanong and Prawet Districts of Bangkok and Bang Phli, Mueang Samut Prakan, and Phra Pradaeng D ...
#
Thawi Watthana district
Thawi Watthana ( th, ทวีวัฒนา, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighbor, clockwise from north, are Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi province, Taling Chan, Bang Khae, and Nong Khaem Districts of ...
#
Thung Khru district
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Bang Bon district
Cityscape
![Chaophraya River (8767097465)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Chaophraya_River_%288767097465%29.jpg)
Bangkok's districts often do not accurately represent the functional divisions of its neighbourhoods or land usage. Although
urban planning
Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
policies date back to the commission of the "Litchfield Plan" in 1960, which set out strategies for land use, transportation and general infrastructure improvements, zoning regulations were not fully implemented until 1992. As a result, the city grew organically throughout the period of its rapid expansion, both horizontally as
ribbon development Ribbon development refers to the building of houses along the routes of communications radiating from a human settlement. The resulting linear settlements are clearly visible on land use maps and aerial photographs, giving cities and the countrysid ...
s extended along newly built roads, and vertically, with increasing numbers of high rises and skyscrapers being built in commercial areas.
The city has grown from its original centre along the river into a sprawling metropolis surrounded by swaths of suburban residential development extending north and south into neighbouring provinces. The highly populated and growing cities of
Nonthaburi
Nonthaburi ( th, นนทบุรี, ) is the principal city of the district and province of the same name in Thailand.
On 15 February 1936, Nonthaburi town municipality (''thesaban mueang'') was established, which only covered Suan Yai ...
,
Pak Kret
Pak Kret ( th, ปากเกร็ด, ) is a city ('' thesaban nakhon'') in Nonthaburi province, Thailand. It lies in the Central Thai plains on the east bank of the lower Chao Phraya River, bordering Bangkok to the east, Mueang Nonthaburi ...
,
Rangsit
Rangsit ( th, รังสิต, ) is a city and neighbourhood in Pathum Thani Province, Thailand. Rangsit is a metropolitan city that supports the expansion of Bangkok in the north. Rangsit has become a departure point for travel to provinces i ...
and
Samut Prakan are effectively now suburbs of Bangkok. Nevertheless, large agricultural areas remain within the city proper at its eastern and western fringes, and a small number of forest area is found within the city limits: , amounting to 0.4 percent of city area. Land use in the city consists of 23 percent residential use, 24 percent agriculture, and 30 percent used for commerce, industry, and government.
The BMA's City Planning Department (CPD) is responsible for planning and shaping further development. It published master plan updates in 1999 and 2006, and a third revision is undergoing public hearings in 2012.
Bangkok's historic centre remains the
Rattanakosin Island
Rattanakosin Island ( th, เกาะรัตนโกสินทร์, , ) is a historic area in the Phra Nakhon District in the city of Bangkok, Thailand. It is bordered by the Chao Phraya River to the west and various canals to the east t ...
in Phra Nakhon District.
It is the site of the Grand Palace and the City Pillar Shrine, primary symbols of the city's founding, as well as important Buddhist temples. Phra Nakhon, along with the neighbouring Pom Prap Sattru Phai and Samphanthawong Districts, formed what was the city proper in the late 19th century. Many traditional neighbourhoods and markets are found here, including the Chinese settlement of Sampheng.
The city was expanded toward Dusit District in the early 19th century, following King Chulalongkorn's relocation of the royal household to the new
Dusit Palace
Dusit Palace ( th, พระราชวังดุสิต, RTGS: ''Phra Ratcha Wang Dusit'') is a compound of royal residences in Bangkok, Thailand. Constructed over a large area north of Rattanakosin Island between 1897 and 1901 by King Chu ...
. The buildings of the palace, including the neoclassical
Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall
The Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall ( th, พระที่นั่งอนันตสมาคม : ''Phra Thinang Anantasamakhom'': translated as 'The place of immense gathering'Noobanjong, page 167) is a royal reception hall in Dusit Palace i ...
, as well as the
Royal Plaza and
Ratchadamnoen Avenue
Ratchadamnoen Avenue ( th, ถนนราชดำเนิน, , , also spelled Rajdamnern) is a historic road in the Phra Nakhon and Dusit Districts of Bangkok, Thailand. Ratchadamnoen Avenue may be the most politically charged thoroughfare ...
which leads to it from the Grand Palace, reflect the heavy influence of European architecture at the time. Major government offices line the avenue, as does the
Democracy Monument
The Democracy Monument ( th, อนุสาวรีย์ประชาธิปไตย, ''Anusawari Prachathipatai'') is a public monument in the city center of Bangkok, capital of Thailand. It occupies a traffic circle on the wide east ...
. The area is the site of the country's seat of power as well as the city's most popular tourist landmarks.
![View from Baiyoke Sky Hotel, Bangkok (7053110333) cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/View_from_Baiyoke_Sky_Hotel%2C_Bangkok_%287053110333%29_cropped.jpg)
In contrast with the low-rise historic areas, the business district on
Si Lom
Si Lom Road (also written as Silom, th, สีลม, ) is a major street in the Thai capital Bangkok, best known for its commercial neighbourhood, which, along with the nearby and roughly parallel Sathon Road, forms one of the city's main busi ...
and
Sathon
Sathon or Sathorn ( th, สาทร, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. The district is bounded by six other districts (from north clockwise): Bang Rak, Pathum Wan, Khlong Toei, Yan Nawa, Bang Kho Laem, and Khlon ...
Roads in Bang Rak and Sathon Districts teems with skyscrapers. It is the site of many of the country's major corporate headquarters, but also of some of the city's
red-light district
A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particu ...
s. The
Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...
and
Ratchaprasong
Ratchaprasong ( th, ราชประสงค์, ; also spelled ''Rajprasong'') is the name of an intersection, and a shopping district named after it, in Pathum Wan District, Bangkok, adjacent to the Siam area, at the BTS Skytrain's Chit L ...
areas in Pathum Wan are home to some of the largest shopping malls in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
. Numerous retail outlets and hotels also stretch along
Sukhumvit Road
Sukhumvit Road ( th, ถนนสุขุมวิท, , ), or Highway 3 ( th, ทางหลวงแผ่นดินหมายเลข 3), is a major road in Thailand, and a major surface road of Bangkok and other cities. It follows ...
leading southeast through Watthana and Khlong Toei Districts. More office towers line the streets branching off Sukhumvit, especially
Asok Montri, while upmarket housing is found in many of its
''soi''s ('alley' or 'lane').
Bangkok lacks a single distinct
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
. Instead, the areas of Siam and Ratchaprasong serve as a "central shopping district" containing many of the bigger malls and commercial areas in the city, as well as
Siam Station
Siam station (, , ) is the cross-platform interchange station for the BTS Skytrain in Pathum Wan district, Bangkok, Thailand. It is the largest and busiest station on the BTS with 40,000–50,000 passengers per day, where passengers on the Sukhu ...
, the only transfer point between the city's two elevated train lines.
The
Victory Monument in Ratchathewi District is among its most important road junctions, serving over 100 bus lines as well as an elevated train station. From the monument,
Phahonyothin and
Ratchawithi / Din Daeng Roads respectively run north and east linking to major residential areas. Most of the high-density development areas are within the area encircled by the
Ratchadaphisek inner ring road. Ratchadaphisek is lined with businesses and retail outlets, and office buildings also cluster around Ratchayothin Intersection in Chatuchak District to the north. Farther from the city centre, most areas are primarily mid- or low-density residential. The Thonburi side of the city is less developed, with fewer high rises. With the exception of a few secondary urban centres, Thonburi, in the same manner as the outlying eastern districts, consists mostly of residential and rural areas.
While most of Bangkok's streets are fronted by vernacular
shophouse
A shophouse is a building type serving both as a residence and a commercial business. It is defined in dictionary as a building type found in Southeast Asia that is "a shop opening on to the pavement and also used as the owner's residence", a ...
s, the largely unrestricted building euphoria of the 1980s has transformed the city into an urban area of skyscrapers and high rises of contrasting and clashing styles. There are 581 skyscrapers over tall in the city. Bangkok was ranked as the world's eighth tallest city in 2016.
As a result of persistent
economic disparity, many slums have emerged in the city. In 2000 there were over one million people living in about 800
informal settlements
Informal housing or informal settlement can include any form of housing, shelter, or settlement (or lack thereof) which is illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the state. As such, the inform ...
.
Some settlements are
squatted
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
such as the large slums in
Khlong Toei District
Khlong Toei (also Klong Toey, th, คลองเตย, ) is a district in central Bangkok, long known for its slum. It is bordered by the Chao Phraya River and contains major port facilities. It is also the site of a major market, the Khlong T ...
. In total there were 125 squatted areas.
Parks and green zones
![Aerial view of Lumphini Park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Aerial_view_of_Lumphini_Park.jpg)
Bangkok has several parks, although these amount to a per capita total park area of only in the city proper. Total green space for the entire city is moderate, at per person. In the more densely built-up areas of the city these numbers are as low as per person.
More recent numbers claim that there is of green space per person, compared to an average of in other cities across Asia. In Europe, London has 33.4 m
2 of green space per head. Bangkokians thus have 10 times less green space than is standard in the region's urban areas.
Green belt
A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...
areas include about of rice paddies and orchards on the eastern and western edges of the city, although their primary purpose is to serve as flood
detention basin
A detention basin or retarding basin is an excavated area installed on, or adjacent to, tributaries of rivers, streams, lakes or bays to protect against flooding and, in some cases, downstream erosion by storing water for a limited period of time. ...
s rather than to limit urban expansion.
Bang Kachao
Bang Kachao ( th, บางกะเจ้า) is an artificial island formed by a bend in the Chao Phraya River and a canal at its western end. It lies south of the Thai capital Bangkok in Phra Pradaeng District of Samut Prakan Province. The is ...
, a conservation area on an oxbow of the Chao Phraya, lies just across the southern riverbank districts, in
Samut Prakan province. A master development plan has been proposed to increase total park area to per person.
Bangkok's largest parks include the centrally located
Lumphini Park
Lumphini Park ( th, สวนลุมพินี, , ), also Lumpini or Lumpinee, is a 360 rai () park in Bangkok, Thailand. The park offers rare open public space, trees, and playgrounds in the Thai capital and contains an artificial lake w ...
near the Si Lom–Sathon business district with an area of , the
Suanluang Rama IX in the east of the city, and the
Chatuchak–
Queen Sirikit
Queen Sirikit ( th, สิริกิติ์; ; ); born ''Mom Rajawongse'' Sirikit Kitiyakara ( th, สิริกิติ์ กิติยากร; ; 12 August 1932) is the queen mother of Thailand. She was Queen of Thailand as the wif ...
–
Wachirabenchathat park complex in northern Bangkok, which has a combined area of . More parks are expected to be created through the Green Bangkok 2030 project, which aims to leave the city with of green space per person, including 30% of the city having tree cover.
Demography
The city of Bangkok has a population of 8,305,218 according to the 2010 census, or 12.6 percent of the national population,
while 2020 estimates place the figure at 10.539 million (15.3 percent).
Roughly half are internal migrants from other Thai provinces;
population registry statistics recorded 5,676,648 residents belonging to 2,959,524 households in 2018. Much of Bangkok's daytime population commutes from surrounding provinces in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, the total population of which is 14,626,225 (2010 census).
Bangkok is a cosmopolitan city; the census showed that it is home to 567,120 expatriates from Asian countries (including 71,024 Chinese and 63,069 Japanese nationals), 88,177 from Europe, 32,241 from the Americas, 5,856 from Oceania and 5,758 from Africa. Migrants from neighbouring countries include 216,528 Burmese, 72,934 Cambodians and 52,498 Lao.
In 2018, numbers show that there are 370,000 international migrants registered with the Department of Employment, more than half of them migrants from Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.
Following its establishment as capital city in 1782, Bangkok grew only slightly throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries. British diplomat
John Crawfurd
John Crawfurd (13 August 1783 – 11 May 1868) was a Scottish physician, colonial administrator, diplomat, and author who served as the second and last Resident of Singapore.
Early life
He was born on Islay, in Argyll, Scotland, the son of S ...
, visiting in 1822, estimated its population at no more than 50,000. As a result of Western medicine brought by missionaries as well as increased immigration from both within Siam and overseas, Bangkok's population gradually increased as the city modernized in the late 19th century. This growth became even more pronounced in the 1930s, following the discovery of antibiotics. Although family planning and birth control were introduced in the 1960s, the lowered birth rate was more than offset by increased migration from the provinces as economic expansion accelerated. Only in the 1990s have Bangkok's population growth rates decreased, following the national rate. Thailand had long since become highly centralized around the capital. In 1980, Bangkok's population was fifty-one times that of
Hat Yai
Hat Yai ( th, หาดใหญ่, , also Haad Yai or Had Yai) is a city in southern Thailand near the Malaysian border. It is south of Bangkok, and has a population of 156,802 (2019) in the city itself and an urban population of about 400,00 ...
and
Songkhla
Songkhla ( th, สงขลา, ), also known as Singgora or Singora (Pattani Malay: ซิงกอรอ), is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') in Songkhla Province of southern Thailand, near the border with Malaysia. Songkhla lies south of Ba ...
, the second-largest urban centre at the time, making it the world's most prominent
primate city
A primate city is a city that is the largest in its country, province, Federated state, state, or region, and disproportionately larger than any others in the urban hierarchy. A ''primate city distribution'' is a rank-size distribution that has on ...
.
![Yaowarat at night (32455695783)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Yaowarat_at_night_%2832455695783%29.jpg)
The majority of Bangkok's population identify as
Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
, although details on the city's ethnic make-up are unavailable, as the national census does not document race. Bangkok's cultural pluralism dates back to the early days of its founding: several ethnic communities were formed by immigrants and forced settlers including the
Khmer,
northern Thai
Kam Mueang ( nod, , กำเมือง) or Northern Thai language ( th, ภาษาไทยถิ่นเหนือ) is the language of the Northern Thai people of Lanna, Thailand. It is a Southwestern Tai language that is closely rela ...
,
Lao,
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
,
Mon and
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
.
Most prominent were the Chinese, who played major roles in the city's trade and became the majority of Bangkok's population—estimates include up to three-fourths in 1828 and almost half in the 1950s. Chinese immigration was restricted from the 1930s and effectively ceased after the
Chinese Revolution in 1949. Their prominence subsequently declined as younger generations of
Thai Chinese
Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais), Thais of Chinese origin ( th, ชาวไทยเชื้อสายจีน; ''exonym and also domestically''), endonym Thai people ( th, ชาวไทย), are Chinese descenda ...
integrated and adopted a
Thai identity
Thainess or the Thai identity ( th, ความเป็นไทย, ) is a conceptual identity regarding the quality of being Thai, i.e. characteristics seen as distinctive to the Thai people, their culture, and those belonging to Thailand as a ...
. Bangkok is still nevertheless home to a large Chinese community, with the greatest concentration in
Yaowarat
Yaowarat Road ( th, ถนนเยาวราช, ; ) in Samphanthawong District is the main artery of Bangkok's Chinatown. Modern Chinatown now covers a large area around Yaowarat and Charoen Krung Road. It has been the main centre for trading ...
,
Bangkok's Chinatown
Bangkok's Chinatown is one of the largest Chinatowns in the world. It was founded in 1782 when the city was established as the capital of the Rattanakosin Kingdom, and served as the home of the mainly Teochew immigrant Chinese population, who ...
.
The majority (93 percent) of the city's population is Buddhist, according to the 2010 census. Other religions include Islam (4.6 percent), Christianity (1.9 percent), Hinduism (0.3 percent), Sikhism (0.1 percent) and Confucianism (0.1 percent).
Apart from Yaowarat, Bangkok also has several other distinct ethnic neighbourhoods. The Indian community is centred in
Phahurat
Phahurat or Pahurat ( th, พาหุรัด), often known as Thailand's Little India, is an ethnic neighborhood surrounding Phahurat Road in Wang Burapha Phirom Subdistrict, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok. The area that would become Phahura ...
, where the Gurdwara Siri Guru Singh Sabha, founded in 1933, is located.
Ban Khrua on Saen Saep Canal is home to descendants of the
Cham
Cham or CHAM may refer to:
Ethnicities and languages
*Chams, people in Vietnam and Cambodia
**Cham language, the language of the Cham people
***Cham script
*** Cham (Unicode block), a block of Unicode characters of the Cham script
*Cham Albania ...
who settled in the late 18th century. Although the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
who settled during the Thonburi period have ceased to exist as a distinct community, their past is reflected in
Santa Cruz Church, on the west bank of the river. Likewise,
Assumption Cathedral on Charoen Krung Road is among many European-style buildings in the Old
Farang
Farang ( fa, فرنگ) is a Persian (and Southeast Asian) word that originally referred to the Franks (the major Germanic tribe) and later came to refer to White Europeans in general. The word "Farang" is a cognate and originates from Old F ...
Quarter, where European diplomats and merchants lived in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Nearby, the Haroon Mosque is the centre of a Muslim community. Newer expatriate communities exist along Sukhumvit Road, including the Japanese community near Soi Phrom Phong and Soi
Thong Lo
Thong Lo ( th, ทองหล่อ, , ; also spelled ''Thong Lor''), officially named Soi Sukhumvit 55, is a road and neighbourhood in Watthana District, Bangkok, Thailand. ''Thong Lo'' literally translates as 'molten gold'. Its name comes ...
, and the Arab and North African neighbourhood along Soi Nana. Sukhumvit Plaza, a mall on Soi Sukhumvit 12, is popularly known as Korea Town.
Economy
![4Y1A1150 Bangkok (33536339665)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/4Y1A1150_Bangkok_%2833536339665%29.jpg)
Bangkok is the
economic centre of Thailand, and the heart of the country's investment and development. In 2010, the city had an economic output of 3.142 trillion
baht
The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-m ...
(US$98.34 billion), contributing 29.1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). This amounted to a per-capita GDP value of 456,911
baht
The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-m ...
($14,301), almost three times the national average of 160,556 baht ($5,025). The Bangkok Metropolitan Region had a combined output of 4.773 trillion baht ($149.39 billion), or 44.2 percent of GDP. Bangkok's economy ranked as the sixth among Asian cities in terms of per-capita GDP, after Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Osaka–Kobe and Seoul, as of 2010.
Wholesale and retail trade is the largest sector in the city's economy, contributing 24 percent of Bangkok's gross provincial product. It is followed by manufacturing (14.3 percent); real estate, renting and business activities (12.4 percent); transport and communications (11.6 percent); and financial intermediation (11.1 percent). Bangkok alone accounts for 48.4 percent of Thailand's service sector, which in turn constitutes 49 percent of GDP. When the Bangkok Metropolitan Region is considered, manufacturing is the most significant contributor at 28.2 percent of the gross regional product, reflecting the density of industry in the Bangkok's neighbouring provinces.
The automotive industry based around Greater Bangkok is the largest production hub in Southeast Asia. Tourism is also a significant contributor to Bangkok's economy, generating 427.5 billion baht ($13.38 billion) in revenue in 2010.
![Bangkok Siam Pathumwan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Bangkok_Siam_Pathumwan.jpg)
The
Stock Exchange of Thailand
The Stock Exchange of Thailand ( th, ตลาดหลักทรัพย์แห่งประเทศไทย), or SET, is the only stock exchange in Thailand. Founded on 30 April 1975, it is ASEAN’s 2nd largest after Singapore and the ...
(SET) is on Ratchadaphisek Road in inner Bangkok. The SET, together with the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI) has 648 listed companies as of the end of 2011, with a combined market capitalization of 8.485 trillion baht ($267.64 billion). Due to the large amount of foreign representation, Thailand has for several years been a mainstay of the Southeast Asian economy and a centre of Asian business. The
Globalization and World Cities Research Network
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershi ...
ranks Bangkok as an "Alpha -"
world city, and it is ranked 59th in Z/Yen's ''
Global Financial Centres Index
The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) is a ranking of the competitiveness of financial centres based on over 29,000 financial centre assessments from an online questionnaire together with over 100 indices from organisations such as the World ...
11''.
Bangkok is home to the headquarters of all of Thailand's major commercial banks and financial institutions, as well as the country's largest companies. Many multinational corporations base their regional headquarters in Bangkok due to the lower cost of labour and operations relative to other major Asian business centres. Seventeen Thai companies are listed on the
Forbes 2000
The ''Forbes'' Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world, published by ''Forbes'' magazine. "The Global 2000" annual ranking is assembled by ''Forbes'' using a weighted assessment of four metrics: sales, profi ...
, all of which are based in the capital, including
PTT, the only
Fortune Global 500
The ''Fortune'' Global 500, also known as Global 500, is an annual ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by ''Fortune'' magazine.
Methodology
Until 1989, it listed onl ...
company in Thailand.
Income inequality is a major issue in Bangkok, especially between relatively unskilled lower-income immigrants from rural provinces and neighbouring countries, and middle-class professionals and business elites. Although absolute poverty rates are low—only 0.64 percent of Bangkok's registered residents were living under the poverty line in 2010, compared to a national average of 7.75 percent—economic disparity is still substantial. The city has a
Gini coefficient of 0.48, indicating a high level of inequality.
Tourism
![Grand Palace Bangkok (173279731)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Grand_Palace_Bangkok_%28173279731%29.jpeg/1200px-Grand_Palace_Bangkok_%28173279731%29.jpeg)
Bangkok is one of the world's top tourist destinations. Of 162 cities worldwide,
MasterCard ranked Bangkok as the top destination city by international visitor arrivals in its ''Global Destination Cities Index 2018'', ahead of London, with just over 20 million overnight visitors in 2017. This was a repeat of its 2017 ranking (for 2016). Euromonitor International ranked Bangkok fourth in its Top City Destinations Ranking for 2016. Bangkok was also named "World's Best City" by ''
Travel + Leisure
Travel + Leisure Co. (formerly Wyndham Destinations, Inc. and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation) is an American timeshare company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It develops, sells, and manages timeshare properties under several vacation ownershi ...
'' magazine's survey of its readers for four consecutive years, from 2010 to 2013.
As the main gateway through which visitors arrive in Thailand, Bangkok is visited by the majority of international tourists to the country. Domestic tourism is also prominent. The Department of Tourism recorded 26,861,095 Thai and 11,361,808 foreign visitors to Bangkok in 2010. Lodgings were made by 15,031,244 guests, who occupied 49.9 percent of the city's 86,687 hotel rooms.
Bangkok also topped the list as the world's most popular tourist destinations in 2017 rankings.
Bangkok's multi-faceted sights, attractions and city life appeal to diverse groups of tourists. Royal palaces and temples as well as several museums constitute its major historical and cultural tourist attractions. Shopping and dining experiences offer a wide range of choices and prices. The city is also famous for its dynamic nightlife. Although Bangkok's
sex tourism
Sex tourism refers to the practice of traveling to foreign countries, often on a different continent, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity or relationships in exchange for money or lifestyle support. This practice predominantly oper ...
scene is well known to foreigners, it is usually not openly acknowledged by locals or the government.
![2016 Bangkok, Dystrykt Phra Nakhon, Ulica Khaosan (08)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/2016_Bangkok%2C_Dystrykt_Phra_Nakhon%2C_Ulica_Khaosan_%2808%29.jpg)
Among Bangkok's well-known sights are the Grand Palace and major Buddhist temples, including
Wat Phra Kaew
Wat Phra Kaew ( th, วัดพระแก้ว, , ), commonly known in English as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and officially as Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. The complex c ...
,
Wat Pho
Wat Pho ( th, วัดโพธิ์, ), also spelled Wat Po, is a Buddhism, Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Grand P ...
, and
Wat Arun
Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan ( th, วัดอรุณราชวราราม ราชวรมหาวิหาร ) or Wat Arun (, "Temple of Dawn") is a Buddhist temple ('' wat'') in Bangkok Yai district of Bangkok, Th ...
. The
Giant Swing
The Giant Swing ( th, เสาชิงช้า, , ) is a religious structure in Sao Chingcha Subdistrict, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. Located in front of Wat Suthat, it was formerly used in an old Brahmin ceremony, and is one ...
and
Erawan Shrine
The Erawan Shrine, formally the Thao Maha Phrom Shrine ( th, ศาลท้าวมหาพรหม; ; 'shrine of Lord Maha Brahma'), is a shrine in Bangkok, Thailand, which houses a statue of Phra Phrom, the Thai representation of Brahma ...
demonstrate Hinduism's deep-rooted influence in Thai culture.
Vimanmek Mansion
, former_names =
, alternate_names =
, image = VimanmekMansion.jpg
, image_alt =
, caption = Vimanmek Mansion, built in 1900 by King Chulalongkorn.
, map_type = Thailand
, map_alt ...
in Dusit Palace is famous as the world's largest teak building, while the
Jim Thompson House
The Jim Thompson House is a museum in central Bangkok, Thailand, housing the art collection of American businessman and architect Jim Thompson, the museum designer and former owner. Built in 1959, the museum spans one rectangular ''rai'' of land ( ...
provides an example of traditional
Thai architecture
The architecture of Thailand ( th, สถาปัตยกรรมไทย) is a major part of the country's cultural legacy and reflects both the challenges of living in Thailand's sometimes extreme climate as well as, historically, the impor ...
. Other major museums include the
Bangkok National Museum
The Bangkok National Museum ( th, พิพิธภัณฑสถานแห่งชาติ พระนคร, ) is the main branch museum of the National Museums in Thailand and also one of the largest museums in Southeast Asia. It featu ...
and the
Royal Barge National Museum. Cruises and boat trips on the Chao Phraya and the canals of Thonburi offer views of some of the city's traditional architecture and ways of life on the waterfront.
Shopping venues, many of which are popular with both tourists and locals, range from the shopping centres and department stores concentrated in Siam and Ratchaprasong to the sprawling
Chatuchak Weekend Market
The Chatuchak Weekend Market ( th, ตลาดนัดจตุจักร, ), on Kamphaeng Phet 2 Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok, is the largest market in Thailand. Also known as JJ Market, it has more than 15,000 stalls and 11,505 vendors (2019) ...
.
Taling Chan Floating Market is among the few such markets in Bangkok. Yaowarat is known for its shops as well as street-side food stalls and restaurants, which are also found throughout the city.
Khao San Road
Khaosan Road or Khao San Road ( th, ถนนข้าวสาร, , ) is a short ( long) street in central Bangkok, Thailand constructed in 1892 during the reign of Rama V. It is in the Bang Lamphu area of Phra Nakhon District about north o ...
has long been famous as a destination for
backpacker tourism
Backpacking is a form of low-cost, independent travel, which often includes staying in inexpensive lodgings and carrying all necessary possessions in a backpack. Once seen as a marginal form of travel undertaken only through necessity, it has b ...
, with its budget accommodation, shops and bars attracting visitors from all over the world.
Bangkok has a reputation overseas as a major destination in the
sex industry
The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide Sex worker, sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of s ...
. Although
prostitution is technically illegal and is rarely openly discussed in Thailand, it commonly takes place among massage parlours, saunas and hourly hotels, serving foreign tourists as well as locals. Bangkok has acquired the nickname "Sin City of Asia" for its level of sex tourism.
Issues often encountered by foreign tourists include scams, overcharging and dual pricing. In a survey of 616 tourists visiting Thailand, 7.79 percent reported encountering a scam, the most common of which was the
gem scam
The gem scam is a confidence trick performed usually against tourists. The most known version occurs in Bangkok, Thailand as well as other cities in the country. It is one of the most pervasive scams in Thailand. Most of the shops are gold or je ...
, in which tourists are tricked into buying overpriced jewellery.
Culture
![Bangkok Art Biennale 2018 03](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Bangkok_Art_Biennale_2018_03.jpg)
The culture of Bangkok reflects its position as Thailand's centre of wealth and modernisation. The city has long been the portal of entry of Western concepts and material goods, which have been adopted and blended with Thai values to various degrees by its residents. This is most evident in the lifestyles of the expanding middle class.
Conspicuous consumption
In sociology and in economics, the term conspicuous consumption describes and explains the consumer practice of buying and using goods of a higher quality, price, or in greater quantity than practical. In 1899, the sociologist Thorstein Veblen co ...
serves as a display of economic and social status, and shopping centres are popular weekend hangouts. Ownership of electronics and consumer products such as mobile phones is ubiquitous. This has been accompanied by a degree of secularism, as religion's role in everyday life has rather diminished. Although such trends have spread to other urban centres, and, to a degree, the countryside, Bangkok remains at the forefront of social change.
A distinct feature of Bangkok is the ubiquity of
street vendors selling goods ranging from food items to clothing and accessories. It has been estimated that the city may have over 100,000 hawkers. While the BMA has authorised the practice in 287 sites, the majority of activity in another 407 sites takes place illegally. Although they take up pavement space and block pedestrian traffic, many of the city's residents depend on these vendors for their meals, and the BMA's efforts to curb their numbers have largely been unsuccessful.
In 2015, however, the BMA, with support from the
National Council for Peace and Order
The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO; th, คณะรักษาความสงบแห่งชาติ; ; abbreviated ( th, คสช.; )) was the military junta that ruled Thailand between its 2014 Thai coup d'état on 22 M ...
(Thailand's ruling military junta), began cracking down on street vendors in a bid to reclaim public space. Many famous market neighbourhoods were affected, including
Khlong Thom,
Saphan Lek, and the flower market at
Pak Khlong Talat
Pak Khlong Talat ( th, ปากคลองตลาด, ;) is a market in Wang Burapha Phirom Subdistrict, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand, that sells flowers, fruits, and vegetables. It is the primary flower market of Bangkok and h ...
. Nearly 15,000 vendors were evicted from 39 public areas in 2016. While some applauded the efforts to focus on pedestrian rights, others have expressed concern that
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
would lead to the loss of the city's character and adverse changes to people's way of life.
Festivals and events
![Ratchadamnoen King80 arch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Ratchadamnoen_King80_arch.jpg)
The residents of Bangkok celebrate many of Thailand's annual festivals. During
Songkran
Songkran is a term derived from the Sanskrit word, ' (or, more specifically, ') and used to refer to the traditional New Year celebrated in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, parts of northeast India, parts of Vietnam an ...
on 13–15 April, traditional rituals as well as water fights take place throughout the city.
Loi Krathong
Loy Krathong ( th, ลอยกระทง, , ) is a Thai festival celebrated annually throughout Thailand and in nearby countries with significant South Western Tai cultures (Laos, Shan, Mon, Tanintharyi, Kelantan, Kedah, and Xishuangbanna) ...
, usually in November, is accompanied by the Golden Mount Fair. New Year celebrations take place at many venues, the most prominent being the plaza in front of
CentralWorld
CentralWorld ( th, เซ็นทรัลเวิลด์, styled as centralwOrld) is a shopping plaza and complex in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the ninth largest shopping complex in the world. The complex, which includes a hotel and office t ...
. Observances related to the royal family are held primarily in Bangkok. Wreaths are laid at King Chulalongkorn's equestrian statue in the Royal Plaza on 23 October, which is King Chulalongkorn Memorial Day. The present king's and queen's birthdays, respectively on 5 December and 12 August, are marked as Thailand's national Father's Day and national Mother's Day. These national holidays are celebrated by royal audiences on the day's eve, in which the king or queen gives a speech, and public gatherings on the day of the observance. The king's birthday is also marked by the
Royal Guards' parade.
Sanam Luang
Sanam Luang ( th, สนามหลวง, ; lit: 'royal turf') is a open field and public square in front of Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand. Sanam Luang is in the Phra Nakhon District, the historic center of Bangkok.
...
is the site of the Thai Kite, Sport and Music Festival, usually held in March, and the
Royal Ploughing Ceremony
The Royal Ploughing Ceremony ( km, ព្រះរាជពិធីបុណ្យច្រត់ព្រះនង្គ័ល ; si, වප් මඟුල් ''Vap Magula;'' th, พระราชพิธีจรดพระนังคั ...
which takes place in May. The Red Cross Fair at the beginning of April is held at Suan Amporn and the Royal Plaza, and features numerous booths offering goods, games and exhibits. The
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...
(January–February) and
Vegetarian Festival
The Nine Emperor Gods Festival ( zh, 九皇爺誕; ms, Perayaan Sembilan Maharaja Dewa; th, เทศกาลกินเจ) or Vegetarian Festival or Jay Festival is a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of the ninth lunar month ...
(September–October) are celebrated widely by the Chinese community, especially in Yaowarat.
Bangkok was designated as the
World Book Capital
The World Book Capital (WBC) is an initiative of UNESCO which recognises cities for promoting books and fostering reading for a year starting on April 23rd, World Book and Copyright Day. Cities designated as UNESCO World Book Capital carry out act ...
for the year 2013 by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
.
Bangkok's first Thai International Gay Pride Festival took place on October 31, 1999. Pride Parades have also been held in Bangkok, with the first official parade held in 2022 under the name "Bangkok Naruemit Pride Parade". Pride Parades were announced to be a part of Bangkok's "12 monthly festivals" in 2022.
Media
Bangkok is the centre of
Thailand's media industry. All national newspapers, broadcast media and major publishers are based in the capital. Its 21 national newspapers had a combined daily circulation of about two million in 2002. These include the mass-oriented ''
Thai Rath
''Thairath'' ( th, ไทยรัฐ, lit. ''Thai State'') is a daily newspaper in Thai published in Bangkok and distributed nationwide. The paper is a broadsheet published with two sections. The first section is devoted to news. Although the ...
'', ''
Khao Sod
''Khaosod'' ( th, ข่าวสด, , ; literally meaning 'fresh news' or 'live news') is a Thai daily newspaper with national circulation. Its online version is ''Khaosod Online''. ''Khaosod'' is the youngest paper of the Matichon Publishing ...
'' and ''
Daily News'', the first of which currently prints a million copies per day, as well as the less sensational ''
Matichon
''Matichon'' ( th, มติชน, also known as ''Matichon Daily'' to distinguish it from other related publications) is a major Thai-language national daily newspaper. It was founded by a group of progressive writers in 1978, when the country w ...
'' and ''
Krungthep Thurakij
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
''. The ''
Bangkok Post
The ''Bangkok Post'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand. It is published in broadsheet and digital formats. The first issue was sold on 1 August 1946. It had four pages and cost one baht, a considerable amount ...
'' and ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'' are the two national English language dailies. Foreign publications including ''
The Asian Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal Asia'', a version of ''The Wall Street Journal'', was a newspaper that provided news and analysis of global business developments for an Asian audience. Formerly known as ''The Asian Wall Street Journal'', it was founde ...
'', ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'', ''
The Straits Times
''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established ...
'' and the ''
Yomiuri Shimbun
The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are t ...
'' also have operations in Bangkok.
The large majority of Thailand's more than 200 magazines are published in the capital, and include news magazines as well as lifestyle, entertainment, gossip and fashion-related publications.
Bangkok is also the hub of
Thailand's broadcast television. All six national terrestrial channels, Channels
3,
5 and
7,
Modernine,
NBT and
Thai PBS
The Thai Public Broadcasting Service ( th, องค์การกระจายเสียงและแพร่ภาพสาธารณะแห่งประเทศไทย; ), or TPBS ( th, ส.ส.ท.), is a public broadcasti ...
, have headquarters and main studios in the capital.
GMM Grammy
GMM Grammy Public Company Limited ( th, จีเอ็มเอ็ม แกรมมี่ or G"MM' Grammy) is the largest media conglomerate entertainment company in Thailand. Grammy top artists include Bird Thongchai, Silly Fools, Loso, ...
is Thailand's largest mass-media conglomerate is also headquartered in Bangkok as well. With the exception of local news segments broadcast by the NBT, all programming is done in Bangkok and repeated throughout the provinces. However, this centralised model is weakening with the rise of cable television, which has many local providers. There are numerous cable and satellite
channels based in Bangkok.
TrueVisions
TrueVisions is a cable and satellite television operator in Thailand. TrueVisions is owned by the True Corporation. Until February 2007, it was called the United Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), or UBC-True.
History International Broadcasting ...
is the major subscription television provider in Bangkok and Thailand, and it also carries international programming. Bangkok was home to 40 of Thailand's 311 FM radio stations and 38 of its 212 AM stations in 2002.
Broadcast media reform stipulated by the
1997 Constitution has been progressing slowly, although many community radio stations have emerged in the city.
Likewise, Bangkok has dominated the
Thai film industry
The cinema of Thailand dates back to the early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorn's 1897 visit to Bern, Switzerland was recorded by François-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. The film was then brought to Bangkok, where it was exhibited. This spar ...
since its inception. Although film settings normally feature locations throughout the country, the city is home to all major film studios in Thailand such as
GDH 559
GDH 559 Co., Ltd. ( th, บริษัท จีดีเอช ห้าห้าเก้า จำกัด), usually known as GDH, is a film studio subsidiary to the Thai entertainment conglomerate GMM Grammy. It was founded on 5 January 20 ...
(GMM Grammy's film production subsidiary),
Sahamongkol Film International
Sahamongkol Film International Co. Ltd. ( th, บริษัท สหมงคลฟิล์ม จำกัด, also Sahamongkolfilm, Mongkol Film or SM) is a Thai motion picture production and distribution company. It is the leading movie ...
and
Five Star Production
Five Star Production Co. Ltd. ( th, ไฟว์สตาร์ โปรดักชั่น) is a Thai film production company. It was founded in 1973 by Kiat Iamphungphorn and is today headed by his children, Aphiradee and her younger brothe ...
. Bangkok has dozens of
cinemas and multiplexes, and the city hosts two major film festivals annually, the
Bangkok International Film Festival
The Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF) ( th, เทศกาลภาพยนตร์นานาชาติกรุงเทพฯ) is an international film festival held annually in Bangkok, Thailand, since 2003. In addition to fi ...
and the
World Film Festival of Bangkok
The World Film Festival of Bangkok ( th, เทศกาลภาพยนตร์โลกแห่งกรุงเทพฯ) is an annual international film festival held in Bangkok, Thailand.
The 15th World Film Festival of Bangkok, the la ...
.
Art
![BKK Art and Culture Centre (II)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/BKK_Art_and_Culture_Centre_%28II%29.jpg)
Traditional
Thai art
Traditional Thai art is primarily composed of Buddhist art and scenes from the Indian epics. Traditional Thai sculpture almost exclusively depicts images of the Buddha, being very similar with the other styles from Southeast Asia, such as Khmer ...
, long developed within religious and royal contexts, continues to be sponsored by various government agencies in Bangkok, including the
Department of Fine Arts' Office of Traditional Arts. The SUPPORT Foundation in Chitralada Palace sponsors traditional and folk handicrafts. Various communities throughout the city still practice their traditional crafts, including the production of ''
khon
Khon ( th, โขน, ) is a dance drama genre from Thailand. Khon has been performed since the Ayutthaya Kingdom.
It is traditionally performed solely in the royal court by men in masks accompanied by narrators and a traditional piphat ensembl ...
'' masks, alms bowls, and classical musical instruments. The
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
hosts permanent collection of traditional and modern art, with temporary contemporary exhibits. Bangkok's
contemporary art
Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...
scene has slowly grown from relative obscurity into the public sphere over the past two decades. Private galleries gradually emerged to provide exposure for new artists, including the
Patravadi Theatre and
H Gallery
H Gallery is an art gallery in Bang Rak District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in a beautiful 125-year-old Anglo-Thai mansion.
Established in 2002 by American-born Ernest H. Lee, the two-storey gallery specialises in contemporary art with a ...
. The centrally located
Bangkok Art and Culture Centre
Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC; th, หอศิลปวัฒนธรรมแห่งกรุงเทพมหานคร) is a contemporary arts centre in Bangkok, Thailand. Art, music, theatre, film, design and cultural/educatio ...
, opened in 2008 following a fifteen-year lobbying campaign, is now the largest public exhibition space in the city. There are also many other
art galleries and museums, including the privately owned
Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Art (often abbreviated to MCA, MoCA or MOCA) may refer to:
Africa
* Museum of Contemporary Art (Tangier), Morocco, officially le Galerie d'Art Contemporain Mohamed Drissi
Asia East Asia
* Museum of Contemporary Art Shangha ...
.
The city's performing arts scene features traditional theatre and dance as well as Western-style plays. ''Khon'' and other traditional dances are regularly performed at the
National Theatre and
Salachalermkrung Royal Theatre, while the
Thailand Cultural Centre
The Thailand Cultural Centre (Thai alphabet, Thai; ศูนย์วัฒนธรรมแห่งประเทศไทย) is a performing arts venue in Huai Khwang district, Bangkok, Thailand.
History
Built with a grant from Japan, the T ...
is a newer multi-purpose venue which also hosts musicals, orchestras and other events.
Numerous venues regularly feature a variety of performances throughout the city.
Sport
![RajamangalaStadium](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/RajamangalaStadium.jpg)
As is the national trend,
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
and
Muay Thai
Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...
dominate Bangkok's spectator sport scene.
Muangthong United
Muangthong United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลเมืองทอง ยูไนเต็ด) is a Thai professional football club based in Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi province. The club plays in the Thai League ...
,
Bangkok United
True Bangkok United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลทรู แบงค็อก ยูไนเต็ด) is a Thai professional football club based in Pathum Thani province. Formerly known as Bangkok University Foot ...
,
BG Pathum United,
Port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
and
Police Tero are major
Thai League
The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from August ...
clubs based in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, while the
Rajadamnern and
Lumpini stadiums are the main kickboxing venues.
While
sepak takraw
Sepak takraw, or Sepaktakraw, also called kick volleyball, is a team sport played with a ball made of rattan or synthetic plastic between two teams of two to four players on a court resembling a badminton court. It is similar to volleyball and ...
can be seen played in open spaces throughout the city, football and other modern sports are now the norm. Western sports introduced during the reign of King
Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร ...
were originally only available to the privileged, and such status is still associated with certain sports. Golf is popular among the upwardly mobile, and there are several courses in Bangkok.
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
, highly popular at the mid-20th century, still takes place at the
Royal Bangkok Sports Club
The Royal Bangkok Sports Club (RBSC, th, ราชกรีฑาสโมสร) is an exclusive sports club in Bangkok, Thailand, best known to the public for its horse racing venue. Founded in 1901, it was the first racecourse in the country a ...
.
There are many public
sporting facilities located throughout Bangkok. The two main centres are the
National Stadium
Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...
complex, which dates to 1938, and the newer
Hua Mak Sports Complex, which was built for the
1998 Asian Games
The 1998 Asian Games (), officially known as the 13th Asian Games and the XIII Asiad, was an Asian multi-sport event celebrated in Bangkok, Thailand from December 6 to 20, 1998, with 377 events in 36 sports and disciplines participated by 6,554 ...
. Bangkok had also hosted the games in
1966,
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
and
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
; the most of any city. The city was the host of the inaugural
Southeast Asian Games in 1959, the
2007 Summer Universiade
The 2007 Summer Universiade officially known as the XXIV Summer Universiade and commonly known as Bangkok Universiade, was an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport for university athletes that took place from 8 to 18 August 2007 in Bangkok, ...
and the
2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup.
Transport
![Highway interchange at night (35517755855) (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Highway_interchange_at_night_%2835517755855%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Although Bangkok's canals historically served as a major mode of transport, they have long since been surpassed in importance by land traffic.
Charoen Krung Road
file:Charoen Krung Road April2021 ถนนเจริญกรุง.jpg, Shophouses along Charoen Krung road with the Sathorn Unique Tower in the vicinity (2021)
Charoen Krung Road ( th, ถนนเจริญกรุง, ) is a major road i ...
, the first to be built by Western techniques, was completed in 1864. Since then, the road network has vastly expanded to accommodate the sprawling city. A complex elevated
expressway network and
Don Mueang Tollway
Uttaraphimuk Elevated Tollway or colloquial name Don Muang Tollway, or just Tollway, Don Muang Tollway Public Company Limited (the Company) is the provider of tollway transport service for the section of Din Daeng District - Anusornsathan as a ...
helps bring traffic into and out of the city centre, but Bangkok's rapid growth has put a large strain on infrastructure, and traffic jams have plagued the city since the 1990s. Although rail transport was introduced in 1893 and
trams served the city from 1888 to 1968, it was only in 1999 that Bangkok's first
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
system began operation. Older
public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
systems include an extensive bus network and
boat services which still operate on the Chao Phraya and two canals. Taxis appear in the form of cars, motorcycles, and "''
tuk-tuk
An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...
''" auto rickshaws.
Bangkok is connected to the rest of the country through the
national highway and
rail networks, as well as by domestic flights to and from the city's two international airports. Its centuries-old maritime transport of goods is still conducted through Khlong Toei Port.
The BMA is largely responsible for overseeing the construction and maintenance of the road network and transport systems through its Public Works Department and Traffic and Transportation Department. However, many separate government agencies are also in charge of the individual systems, and much of transport-related policy planning and funding is contributed to by the national government.
Roads
Road-based transport is the primary mode of travel in Bangkok. Due to the city's organic development, its streets do not follow an organized grid structure. Forty-eight major roads link the different areas of the city, branching into smaller streets and lanes (''
soi
''Soi'' ( th, ซอย ) is the term used in Thailand for a side-street branching off a major street (''thanon'', th, ถนน). An alley is called a ''trok'' ( th, ตรอก).
Overview
Sois are usually numbered, and are referred to by th ...
'') which serve local neighbourhoods.
Eleven bridges over the Chao Phraya link the two sides of the city, while several expressway and
motorway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
routes bring traffic into and out of the city centre and link with nearby provinces.
![Sukhumwit Road with BTS Asok and Asok Montri Rd](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Sukhumwit_Road_with_BTS_Asok_and_Asok_Montri_Rd.jpg)
Bangkok's rapid growth in the 1980s resulted in sharp increases in vehicle ownership and traffic demand, which have since continued—in 2006 there were 3,943,211 in-use vehicles in Bangkok, of which 37.6 percent were private cars and 32.9 percent were motorcycles. These increases, in the face of limited carrying capacity, caused severe traffic congestion evident by the early 1990s. The extent of the problem is such that the Thai Traffic Police has a unit of officers trained in basic midwifery in order to assist deliveries which do not reach hospital in time. While Bangkok's limited road surface area (8 percent, compared to 20–30 percent in most Western cities) is often cited as a major cause of its traffic jams, other factors, including high vehicle ownership rate relative to income level, inadequate public transport systems, and lack of
transportation demand management, also play a role. Efforts to alleviate the problem have included the construction of intersection bypasses and an extensive system of elevated highways, as well as the creation of several new rapid transit systems. The city's overall traffic conditions, however, remain poor.
Traffic has been the main source of
air pollution
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
in Bangkok, which reached serious levels in the 1990s. But efforts to improve air quality by improving fuel quality and enforcing emission standards, among others, had visibly ameliorated the problem by the 2000s.
Atmospheric particulate matter
Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The ter ...
levels dropped from 81 micrograms per cubic metre in 1997 to 43 in 2007. However, increasing vehicle numbers and a lack of continued pollution-control efforts threatens a reversal of the past success. In January–February 2018, weather conditions caused bouts of haze to cover the city, with particulate matter under 2.5 micrometres (PM
2.5) rising to unhealthy levels for several days on end.
Although the BMA has created thirty signed bicycle routes along several roads totalling , cycling is still largely impractical, especially in the city centre. Most of these bicycle lanes share the pavement with pedestrians. Poor surface maintenance, encroachment by hawkers and street vendors, and a hostile environment for cyclists and pedestrians, make cycling and walking unpopular methods of getting around in Bangkok.
Buses and taxis
![Bangkok Mercedes-Benz bus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Bangkok_Mercedes-Benz_bus.jpg)
Bangkok has an extensive bus network providing local transit services within the Greater Bangkok area. The
Bangkok Mass Transit Authority
Bangkok Mass Transit Authority ( th, องค์การขนส่งมวลชนกรุงเทพ), also known as BMTA ( th, ขสมก. ), is the main operator of public transit buses within the Greater Bangkok area. It is the lar ...
(BMTA) operates a monopoly on bus services, with substantial concessions granted to private operators. Buses, minibus vans, and
song thaeo operate on a total of
470 routes throughout the region. A separate
bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
system owned by the BMA has been in operation since 2010. Known simply as the
BRT
BRT may refer to:
Transportation
* Block register territory, a method for dispatching trains
* British Rail Telecommunications
* Brookhaven Rail Terminal
* Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, a former transit holding company in New York City
* Bro ...
, the system currently consists of a single line running from the business district at Sathon to Ratchaphruek on the western side of the city.
The Transport Co., Ltd. is the BMTA's long-distance counterpart, with services to all provinces operating out of Bangkok.
Taxis are ubiquitous in Bangkok, and are a popular form of transport. , there are 106,050 cars, 58,276 motorcycles and 8,996
tuk-tuk
An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...
motorized tricycles cumulatively registered for use as taxis. Meters have been required for car taxis since 1992, while tuk-tuk fares are usually negotiated.
Motorcycle taxi
A motorcycle taxi, or cart bike or bike taxi, is a licensed form of transport in some countries. The taxi typically carries one passenger, who "rides pillion" behind the motorcycle operator. Multiple passengers are common in some countries.
Bra ...
s operate from regulated ranks, with either fixed or negotiable fares, and are usually employed for relatively short journeys.
Despite their popularity, taxis have gained a bad reputation for often refusing passengers when the requested route is not to the driver's convenience. Motorcycle taxis were previously unregulated, and subject to extortion by organized crime gangs. Since 2003, registration has been required for motorcycle taxi ranks, and drivers now wear distinctive numbered vests designating their district of registration and where they are allowed to accept passengers.
Several
ride hailing
A ridesharing company (also known as a transportation network company, ride-hailing service; the vehicles are called app-taxis or e-taxis) is a company that, via websites and mobile apps, matches passengers with drivers of vehicles for hire tha ...
super-apps operate within the city, including
Grab (offering car and motorbike options), and
AirAsia
Capital A Berhad, () operating as AirAsia (stylized as ''airasia'') is a Malaysian multinational low-cost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the largest airline in Malaysia by fleet size and destinations. AirAsia operate ...
in 2022. The Estonian company Bolt launched airport transfer and ride hailing services in 2020. Ride sharing
startup MuvMi launched in 2018, and operates an
electric
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
tuk-tuk service in 9 areas across the city.
Rail systems
![BTS Skytrain in Bangkok (7997069605)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/BTS_Skytrain_in_Bangkok_%287997069605%29.jpg)
Bangkok is the location of
Hua Lamphong Railway Station, the main terminus of the national rail network operated by the
State Railway of Thailand
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) ( th, การรถไฟแห่งประเทศไทย, abbrev. รฟท., ) is the state-owned rail operator under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport in Thailand.
History
The SRT was ...
(SRT). In addition to long-distance services, the SRT also operates a few daily commuter trains running from and to the outskirts of the city during the rush hour.
Bangkok is served by four rapid transit systems: the
BTS Skytrain
The Bangkok Mass Transit System, commonly known as the BTS Skytrain ( th, รถไฟฟ้าบีทีเอส '' TS'), is an elevated rapid transit system in Bangkok, Thailand. It is operated by Bangkok Mass Transit System PCL (BTSC), a ...
, the
MRT
MRT may refer to:
Transport Rapid Transit Systems
* Mass Rapid Transit (disambiguation)
* MRT (Singapore) or Mass Rapid Transit, Singapore
* MRT (Bangkok) or Metropolitan Rapid Transit, Thailand
* Manila Metro Rail Transit System, Philippine ...
, the
SRT Red Lines, and the elevated
Airport Rail Link
An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport from an airport to a nearby city by mainline or commuter trains, rapid transit, people mover, or light rail. Direct links operate straight to the airport terminal, while o ...
. Although proposals for the development of rapid transit in Bangkok had been made since 1975, it was only in 1999 that the BTS finally began operation.
The BTS consists of two lines,
Sukhumvit
Sukhumvit Road ( th, ถนนสุขุมวิท, , ), or Highway 3 ( th, ทางหลวงแผ่นดินหมายเลข 3), is a major road in Thailand, and a major surface road of Bangkok and other cities. It follows ...
and
Silom
Si Lom Road (also written as Silom, th, สีลม, ) is a major street in the Thai capital Bangkok, best known for its commercial neighbourhood, which, along with the nearby and roughly parallel Sathon Road, forms one of the city's main bus ...
, with 59 stations along . The MRT opened for use in July 2004, and currently consists of two lines, the
Blue Line and
Purple Line with 53 stations along . The Airport Rail Link, opened in August 2010, connects the city centre to Suvarnabhumi Airport to the east. Its eight stations span a distance of . The
SRT Red Lines (Commuter) opened in 2021, and consists of two lines, The
SRT Dark Red Line
The SRT Dark Red Line, or Thani Ratthaya Line ( th, รถไฟชานเมือง สายธานีรัถยา) is part of the SRT Red Line suburban railway system to serve the greater Bangkok Metropolitan Region running for 26 ...
and
SRT Light Red Line
The SRT Light Red Line, or Nakhon Withi Line ( th, รถไฟชานเมือง นครวิถี) is part of the SRT Red Lines suburban railway system serving the greater Bangkok Metropolitan Region running for 15 km between K ...
with currently 14 stations along .
Although initial passenger numbers were low and their service area was limited to the inner city until the 2016 opening of the
Purple Line, which serves the
Nonthaburi
Nonthaburi ( th, นนทบุรี, ) is the principal city of the district and province of the same name in Thailand.
On 15 February 1936, Nonthaburi town municipality (''thesaban mueang'') was established, which only covered Suan Yai ...
area, these systems have become indispensable to many commuters. The BTS reported an average of 600,000 daily trips in 2012, while the MRT had 240,000 passenger trips per day.
, construction work is ongoing to extend the city-wide transit system's reach, including the construction of the
Light Red
Varieties of the color red may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation, intensity, or colorfulness) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, ...
grade-separated commuter rail line. The entire
Mass Rapid Transit Master Plan in Bangkok Metropolitan Region
The Mass Rapid Transit Master Plan in Bangkok Metropolitan Region, or M-Map, is the latest version in a series of Thai government plans for the development of an urban rail transit network serving the Greater Bangkok area. It was drafted under the ...
consists of eight main lines and four feeder lines totaling to be completed by 2029. In addition to rapid transit and heavy rail lines, there have been proposals for several
monorail
A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and "rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam.
Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, ...
systems.
Water transport
![Lunch at Rongros, Bangkok (Jan 2021) - img 05](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Lunch_at_Rongros%2C_Bangkok_%28Jan_2021%29_-_img_05.jpg)
Although much diminished from its past prominence, water-based transport still plays an important role in Bangkok and the immediate upstream and downstream provinces. Several
water bus
A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or ...
es serve commuters daily. The
Chao Phraya Express Boat
The Chao Phraya Express Boat ( th, เรือด่วนเจ้าพระยา ''Ruea Duan Chao Phraya'') is a transportation service in Thailand operating on the Chao Phraya River. It provides riverine express transportation between stop ...
serves thirty-four stops along the river, carrying an average of 35,586 passengers per day in 2010, while the smaller
Khlong Saen Saep boat service
The Khlong Saen Saep boat service is a water bus operating on the Saen Saep Canal in Bangkok through the city's commercial districts. The Khlong Saen Saep boat service has been in operation since 1990.
The 18 kilometre route is served by 10 ...
serves twenty-seven stops on
Saen Saep Canal with 57,557 daily passengers.
Long-tail boat
The long-tail boat, ( th, เรือหางยาว, , ) is a type of watercraft native to Southeast Asia, which uses a common automotive engine as a readily available and maintainable powerplant. A craft designed to carry passengers on a ...
s operate on fifteen regular routes on the Chao Phraya, and passenger ferries at thirty-two river crossings served an average of 136,927 daily passengers in 2010.
Bangkok Port, popularly known by its location as
Khlong Toei Port
Bangkok Port ( th, ท่าเรือกรุงเทพ) (BKP), popularly known as Khlong Toei Port (), is an international port on the Chao Phraya River in Khlong Toei District of the Thai capital city, Bangkok. It is operated by the Port A ...
, was Thailand's main international port from its opening in 1947 until it was superseded by the deep-sea
Laem Chabang Port
Laem Chabang ( th, แหลมฉบัง, ) is a port city municipality (''thesaban nakhon'') in Si Racha and Bang Lamung districts of Chonburi Province, Thailand. It includes Thung Sukhla subdistrict (''tambon'') and parts of subdistricts Buen ...
in 1991. It is primarily a cargo port, though its inland location limits access to ships of 12,000 deadweight tonnes or less. The port handled of cargo in the first eight months of the 2010 fiscal year, about 22 percent the total of the country's international ports.
Airports
![HS-TGA (15495092647)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/HS-TGA_%2815495092647%29.jpg)
Bangkok is one of Asia's busiest
air transport hubs. Two commercial airports serve the city, the older
Don Mueang International Airport
Don Mueang International Airport ( th, ท่าอากาศยานดอนเมือง, , , or colloquially as , ) is one of two international airports serving the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, the other one being Suvarnabhumi Airp ...
and the newer
Suvarnabhumi Airport. Suvarnabhumi, which replaced Don Mueang as Bangkok's main airport after its opening in 2006, served 52,808,013 passengers in 2015, making it the world's 20th
busiest airport by passenger volume. This volume exceeded its designed capacity of 45 million passengers. Don Mueang reopened for domestic flights in 2007,
["In With the Old", '']Aviation Week & Space Technology
''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aerospace, defense and aviati ...
'', 1 January 2007. and resumed international service focusing on low-cost carriers in October 2012. Suvarnabhumi is undergoing expansion to increase its capacity to 60 million passengers by 2019 and 90 million by 2021.
Health and education
Education
![Chulalongkorn University Auditorium High View](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Chulalongkorn_University_Auditorium_High_View.JPG)
Bangkok has long been the centre of modern education in Thailand. The first schools in the country were established here in the later 19th century, and there are now 1,351
schools in the city. The city is home to the country's five oldest universities,
Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร ...
,
Thammasat,
Kasetsart,
Mahidol and
Silpakorn, founded between 1917 and 1943. The city has since continued its dominance, especially in higher education; the majority of the country's universities, both public and private,
are located in Bangkok or the Metropolitan Region. Chulalongkorn and Mahidol are the only Thai universities to appear in the top 500 of the ''
QS World University Rankings
''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the ...
''.
, also located in Bangkok, is the only Thai university in the top 400 of the 2012–13 ''
Times Higher Education World University Rankings
The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'' (often referred to as the THE Rankings) is an annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' (THE) magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli ...
''.
Over the past few decades the general trend of pursuing a university degree has prompted the founding of new universities to meet the needs of Thai students. Bangkok became not only a place where immigrants and provincial Thais go for job opportunities, but also for a chance to receive a university degree.
Ramkhamhaeng University
Ramkhamhaeng University (RU) ( th, มหาวิทยาลัยรามคำแหง) is Thailand's largest public university. It was named in honour of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great of Sukhothai. The university provides an effective and e ...
emerged in 1971 as Thailand's first open university; it now has the highest enrolment in the country. The demand for higher education has led to the founding of many other universities and colleges, both public and private. While many universities have been established in major provinces, the Greater Bangkok region remains home to the greater majority of institutions, and the city's tertiary education scene remains over-populated with non-Bangkokians. The situation is not limited to higher education, either. In the 1960s, 60 to 70 percent of 10- to 19-year-olds who were in school had migrated to Bangkok for secondary education. This was due to both a lack of secondary schools in the provinces and perceived higher standards of education in the capital. Although this discrepancy has since largely abated, tens of thousands of students still compete for places in Bangkok's leading schools. Education has long been a prime factor in the centralization of Bangkok and will play a vital role in the government's efforts to decentralize the country.
Healthcare
![Siriraj_Hospital,Bangkok](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Siriraj_Hospital%2CBangkok.jpg)
Much of Thailand's medical resources are disproportionately concentrated in the capital. In 2000, Bangkok had 39.6 percent of the country's doctors and a physician-to-population ratio of 1:794, compared to a median of 1:5,667 among all provinces. The city is
home to 42 public hospitals, five of which are university hospitals, as well as 98 private hospitals and 4,063 registered clinics. The BMA operates nine public hospitals through its Medical Service Department, and its Health Department provides primary care through sixty-eight community health centres. Thailand's universal
healthcare system
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profes ...
is implemented through public hospitals and health centres as well as participating private providers.
Research-oriented medical school affiliates such as
Siriraj,
King Chulalongkorn Memorial and
Ramathibodi Hospitals are among the largest in the country, and act as
tertiary care centres, receiving referrals from distant parts of the country. Lately, especially in the private sector, there has been much growth in
medical tourism
Medical tourism refers to people traveling abroad to obtain medical treatment. In the past, this usually referred to those who traveled from less-developed countries to major medical centers in highly developed countries for treatment unavailable a ...
, with hospitals such as
Bumrungrad and
Bangkok Hospital, among others, providing services specifically catering to foreigners. An estimated 200,000 medical tourists visited Thailand in 2011, making Bangkok the most popular global destination for medical tourism.
Crime and safety
![2010 0515 rama 4 and sathorn 24](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/2010_0515_rama_4_and_sathorn_24.JPG)
Bangkok has a relatively moderate crime rate when compared to urban counterparts around the world.
Traffic accidents are a major hazard while natural disasters are rare. Intermittent episodes of political unrest and occasional terrorist attacks have resulted in losses of life.
Although the crime threat in Bangkok is relatively low, non-confrontational crimes of opportunity such as pick-pocketing, purse-snatching, and credit card fraud occur with frequency.
Bangkok's growth since the 1960s has been followed by increasing crime rates partly driven by urbanisation, migration, unemployment and poverty. By the late 1980s, Bangkok's crime rates were about four times that of the rest of the country. The police have long been preoccupied with street crimes ranging from housebreaking to assault and murder. The 1990s saw the emergence of vehicle theft and organized crime, particularly by foreign gangs. Drug trafficking, especially that of ''
ya ba
''Ya ba'' ( th, ยาบ้า, lo, ຢາບ້າ, literally 'crazy medicine'), formerly known as ''yama'' ( th, ยาม้า; literally 'horse drug'), also known as "bikers' coffee" and "kamikaze", are tablets containing a mixture of met ...
'' methamphetamine pills, is also chronic.
According to police statistics, the most common complaint received by the Metropolitan Police Bureau in 2010 was housebreaking, with 12,347 cases. This was followed by 5,504 cases of motorcycle thefts, 3,694 cases of assault and 2,836 cases of embezzlement. Serious offences included 183 murders, 81 gang robberies, 265 robberies, 1 kidnapping and 9 arson cases. Offences against the state were by far more common, and included 54,068 drug-related cases, 17,239 cases involving prostitution and 8,634 related to gambling. The Thailand Crime Victim Survey conducted by the Office of Justice Affairs of the Ministry of Justice found that 2.7 percent of surveyed households reported a member being victim of a crime in 2007. Of these, 96.1 percent were crimes against property, 2.6 percent were crimes against life and body, and 1.4 percent were information-related crimes.
Political demonstrations and protests are common in Bangkok. The historic uprisings of 1973, 1976 and 1992 are infamously known for the deaths from military suppression. Most events since then have been peaceful, but the series of major protests since 2006 have often turned violent. Demonstrations during March–May 2010 ended in a
crackdown in which 92 were killed, including armed and unarmed protesters, security forces, civilians and journalists. Terrorist incidents have also occurred in Bangkok, most notably the
bombing in 2015 at the
Erawan shrine
The Erawan Shrine, formally the Thao Maha Phrom Shrine ( th, ศาลท้าวมหาพรหม; ; 'shrine of Lord Maha Brahma'), is a shrine in Bangkok, Thailand, which houses a statue of Phra Phrom, the Thai representation of Brahma ...
, which killed 20, and also a
series of bombings on the 2006–07 New Year's Eve.
Traffic accidents are a major hazard in Bangkok. There were 37,985 accidents in the city in 2010, resulting in 16,602 injuries and 456 deaths as well as 426.42 million baht in damages. However, the rate of fatal accidents is much lower than in the rest of Thailand. While accidents in Bangkok amounted to 50.9 percent of the entire country, only 6.2 percent of fatalities occurred in the city. Another serious public health hazard comes from
Bangkok's stray dogs. Up to 300,000 strays are estimated to roam the city's streets, and dog bites are among the most common injuries treated in the emergency departments of the city's hospitals. Rabies is prevalent among the dog population, and treatment for bites pose a heavy public burden.
Calls to move the capital
Bangkok is faced with multiple problems—including congestion, and especially subsidence and flooding—which have raised the issue of moving the nation's capital elsewhere. The idea is not new: during World War II Prime Minister
Plaek Phibunsongkhram
Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram ( th, แปลก พิบูลสงคราม ; alternatively transcribed as ''Pibulsongkram'' or ''Pibulsonggram''; 14 July 1897 – 11 June 1964), locally known as Marshal P. ( th, จอมพล ...
planned unsuccessfully to relocate the capital to
Phetchabun
Phetchabun is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in Thailand, capital of Phetchabun Province. It covers the ''tambon'' Nai Mueang of the Phetchabun District, along the Pa Sak River. As of 2005, it had a population of 23,823. Phetchabun lies north o ...
. In the 2000s, the
Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra ( th, ทักษิณ ชินวัตร; ; ; Chinese: 丘達新; cnr, Taksin Šinavatra; born 26 July 1949), is a Thai businessman, politician and visiting professor. He served in the Thai Police from 1973 to 1987, a ...
administration assigned the
(NESDC) to formulate a plan to move the capital to
Nakhon Nayok province. The
2011 floods revived the idea of moving government functions from Bangkok. In 2017, the military government assigned NESDC to study the possibility of moving government offices from Bangkok to
Chachoengsao province
Chachoengsao ( th, ฉะเชิงเทรา, ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat''), located in eastern Thailand.
History
''Chachoengsao'' or ''Paet Riu'' ('eight stripes') is a province in eastern Thailand. It has a ...
in the east.
International relations
![Protesters at 2009 Bangkok Talks on Climate Change](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Protesters_at_2009_Bangkok_Talks_on_Climate_Change.jpg)
The city's formal international relations are managed by the International Affairs Division of the BMA. Its missions include partnering with other major cities through
sister city
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there are early examples of inter ...
or friendship agreements, participation and membership in international organizations, and pursuing cooperative activities with the many foreign diplomatic missions based in the city.
International participation
Bangkok is a member of several international organizations and regional city government networks, including the
Asian Network of Major Cities 21
Asian Network of Major Cities 21 was a body representing the interests of several of Asia's largest capital cities around common themes of importance, including urban planning, sustainability and crisis management. The organization was advocated ...
, the Japan-led Asian-Pacific City Summit, the
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group –
The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group is a group of 97 cities around the world that represents one twelfth of the world's population and one quarter of the global economy. Created and led by cities, C40 is focused on fighting climate change a ...
, the ESCAP-sponsored Regional Network of Local Authorities for Management of Human Settlements in Asia and Pacific (CITYNET), Japan's
Council of Local Authorities for International Relations
The Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) is a Japanese government-affiliated general incorporated foundation established in 1988 to support the international activities of local governments to strengthen international co ...
, the World Association of the Major Metropolises and
Local Governments for Sustainability
ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability (or simply ICLEI) is an international non-governmental organization that promotes sustainable development. ICLEI provides technical consulting to local governments to meet sustainability objectives. ...
, among others.
With its location at the heart of mainland Southeast Asia and as one of Asia's hubs of transportation, Bangkok is home to many international and regional organizations. Among others, Bangkok is the seat of the Secretariat of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (
ESCAP
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It was established in order to increase economic ...
), as well as the Asia-Pacific regional offices of the Food and Agricultural Organization (
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
), the International Civil Aviation Organization (
ICAO
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...
), the International Labour Organization (
ILO
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...
), the International Organization for Migration (
IOM), the International Telecommunication Union (
ITU
The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
), the UN High Commission for Refugees (
UNHCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
), and the UN Children's Fund (
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
).
City partnerships
Bangkok has made sister city or friendship agreements with:
*
Aichi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...
, Japan (2012)
*
Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
, Turkey (2012)
*
Astana
Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan.
The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmo ...
, Kazakhstan (2004)
*
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, China (1993)
*
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, Australia (1997)
*
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
, Hungary (1997)
*
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
, South Korea (2011)
*
Chaozhou
Chaozhou (), alternatively Chiuchow, Chaochow or Teochew, is a city in the eastern Guangdong province of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, and the Sou ...
, China (2005)
*
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...
, China (2017)
*
Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
, China (2011)
*
Daegu
Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea.
It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...
, South Korea (2017)
*
Dalian
Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...
, China (2016)
*
Fukuoka Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...
, Japan (2006)
*
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
, China (2009)
*
Hanoi
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
, Vietnam (2004)
*
Ho Chi Minh City
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
, Vietnam (2015)
*
Huế
Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...
, Vietnam (2016)
*
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
, Indonesia (2002)
*
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
, Switzerland (2009)
*
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, Portugal (2016)
*
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, Philippines (1997)
*
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, Russia (1997)
*
Penang Island
Penang Island ( ms, Pulau Pinang; zh, 檳榔嶼; ta, பினாங்கு தீவு) is part of the state of Penang, on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was named Prince of Wales Island when it was occupied by the British Ea ...
, Malaysia (2012)
*
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
, Portugal (2016)
*
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...
, Cambodia (2013)
*
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, Russia (1997)
*
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, South Korea (2006)
*
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
, China (2013)
*
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
, China (2012)
*
Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
, China (2015)
*
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, Iran (2012)
*
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
, China (2012)
*
Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...
, Mongolia (2017)
*
Vientiane
Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...
, Laos (2004)
*
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, United States (1962, 2002)
*
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
, China (2013)
See also
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Outline of Bangkok
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Bangkok:
Bangkok – capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River delta in Central Th ...
*
Thai people
Thai people ( th, ชาวไทย; ''endonym''), Central Thai people ( th, คนภาคกลาง, sou, คนใต้, ตามโพร; ''exonym and also domestically'') or Siamese ( th, ชาวสยาม; ''historical exonym and ...
*
World's largest cities
The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metrop ...
Explanatory notes
References
Citations
General and cited references
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Further reading
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External links
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration(Official website)
bangkoktourist.com – Official travel guideby the BMA Culture, Sports and Tourism Department
Destination: Bangkokat Tourism Authority of Thailand
{{Authority control
18th-century establishments in Asia
Capitals in Asia
Cities and towns in Thailand
Gulf of Thailand
Populated places established in the 18th century
Populated places on the Chao Phraya River
Provinces of Thailand