Known as Siam until 1939, Thailand today has a population of more than 62 million.
According to a study conducted by analyst firm Ovum, Thailand was one of five Asian countries that ranked among the world's top 10 fastest-growing consumer broadband markets in 2007.
Although broadband and mobile penetration levels has increased steadily, the government is making a concerted push to bridge the digital divide by focusing on IT education and initiatives.
Here is a quick look at Thailand's IT profile:
| Population: | Over 62 million |
| Capital: | Bangkok |
| Official language: | Thai |
| Currency: | Thai baht |
| GDP at purchasing power parity per capita: | US$9,193 in 2006 |
| Mobile phone penetration in 2007: | 85.2 percent of total telephone subscribers in 2006, or 66.8 percent of digital population. Mobile subscriber rate grew at a compound annual growth rate of 40.1 percent between 2001 and 2006 |
| Internet users in 2007: | more than 13 million |
| Broadband households: | 1.1 million in 2007 |
| IT spending for 2007: | US$3.94 billion projected, up from US$3.75 billion in 2006. Projected to hit US$4.41 billion in 2008 |
| Software spending in 2007: | US$345.9 million projected, down slightly from US$349.8 million in 2006. US$387.8 million projected for 2008 |
| Storage revenues (consisting of disk systems and tape) in 2007:: | US$82.8 million projected, up from US$81.7 million in 2006. US$84.9 million projected for 2008 |
| Security solution market revenues in 2007: 7: | US$56.9 million projected, up from US$47.7 million in 2006. US$67.8 million projected for 2008 |
| Total PC shipments (includes desktops, portables and x86 servers) in 2007: | 1,707,336 projected, up from 1,542,525 units in 2006. 1,912,431 projected for 2008 |
| x86 servers shipped in 2007: | 784,331 units projects, up from 546,661 in 2006. 901,958 projected for 2008 |
| PDAs/handhelds shipped in 2007: | 7,800 units projected, down from 21,400 in 2006; shipments projected to fall slightly to 7,400 in 2008 |
| Most popular search words: | games, horoscope, music and jobs. Search words are usually in the Thai language. |
| Average annual salary of IT professionals in 2006: | THB 994,203 (US$27,044) |
Source: IMF, Wikipedia, NECTEC, IDC Asia-Pacific, Internet World Stats, eMarketer , ITU, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Wilkofsky Gruen Associates, Truehits.net, ZDNet Asia IT Salary 2006 survey
