Thailand is a country in South-east Asia with about 65 million inhabitants.
Economy
Thailand’s economy has grown rapidly over several decades, helping Thailand grow into the category middle-income countries. Thailand is the world’s largest exporter of rice, and almost half of the population works in the agricultural sector. Yet agriculture only contributes a little over 10% to Thailand’s GDP, indicating that the countryside is much poorer than the industrialized urban areas. The economy is heavily dependent on export. About two thirds of GDP is export driven.
Ethnicity
Thailand ethnically more uniform than most other countries in South-east Asia. About 80% of the population is ethnically Thai, with strong regional identities of Northern Thai, Southern Thai, Central Thai, and Isaan. Another 10% or so consists of people of Chinese heritage who have been largely assimilated into Thai society.
The two main ethnic minorities are the Malay in South-Thailand, and Khmer-speaking people in Isaan. Other ethnic minorities are tribal groups mainly living in the mountainous north.
Percentage of population per ethnic group in Thailand
Ethnic group Percentage of
population
Thai————————————77.3
Central Thai————————32.2
Isaan———————————-26.6
Northern Thai———————–10.6
Southern Thai————————7.9
Chinese——————————-10.5
Malay———————————–6.0
Khmer———————————–2.4
Other ethnic minorities————3.0
Foreigners*—————————–0.8
Source: World Christian Database
* The number oforeigners does not include temporary guest workers and illegal immigrants.
Christianity in Thailand
About 90% of the population is Buddhist, with the majority of the rest being Muslims (mainly in South-Thailand and pockets in Bangkok). Christians are about 1.5% of the population, but active Protestant Christians just 0.5%. Because Christians are concentrated among the tribal groups, and to a lesser extent in the urban centers, the percentage of active Protestants in the countryside among the ethnic Thai is typically less than 0.1% of the population.
Yet there are encouraging signs for the church in Thailand. Two-thirds of all Protestant are first generation converts. The population of Thailand is growing 1% a year, but the number of Protestant Christians is growing about 5% a year. Thai people normally need a strong supportive Christian network, preferably relatives, before they will become Christian. So it is not easy to do pioneer evangelism in Thailand. However, Thai people from all walks of life are becoming Christians once this network is in place.
If you want to know more about the church in Thailand, how it grows, what kind of people are becoming Christians and how, and what kind of churches grow, read Marten Visser’s book Conversion Growth of Protestant Churches in Thailand.
http://www.boekencentrum.nl/shop.php?scId=&sField=titel&trefwoord=conversion
Isaan
Isaan is the Northeast of Thailand, with about 22 million people. Isaan is poorer than the rest of Thailand, because it consists of a plateau that holds less water than the fertile plains of especially Central Thailand. The inhabitants of Isaan are closely related to the Lao people in Laos, and speak basically the same language.
Many of the Isaan are migrant workers. Some seasonal, and they come back for planting and harvesting the rice. Other are permanent migrants working in Bangkok and other industrial areas. Many Isaan work for stints as labourers overseas in e.g. Taiwan, Singapore, and Israel. Tens of thousands of Isaan women have married foreigners and are living abroad.
Within Thailand, the Isaan are famous for making anything into food. Herbs and leaves from around the house provide the needed vegetables, and e.g. beetles, lizards, and red ants eggs are common parts of Isaan dishes.
