The Early Civilisations of Southeast Asia
Thailand on the World Map
The Kingdom of Thailand is located in the Southeast Asian Region (please see below) of the Far Eastern part of the Asian continent. On the globe, Thailand is located:
-
North-to-South between latitudes 20°28′N and 5°37′N, and
-
West-to-East between longitudes 97°21′E and 105°38′E.
This location places Thailand in the tropical zone of the northern hemisphere.
Thailand is in the “Indochina Time Zone” (ICT) which is UTC/GMT+7:00 hours.
The Southeast Asian Region
The Southeast Asia is a sub-region of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. In contemporary term, Southeast Asia consists of two geographic regions loosely defined as:
Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as “Indochina”) that comprises of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. [It is interesting to note that, culturally and even geographically, southwestern China (particularly the Province of Yunnan) could be considered as a part of Mainland Southeast Asia, but due to complex political reasons, this is not to be.]
Maritime or Insular Southeast Asia (historically known as “The East Indies” and “The Malay Archipelago”) that comprises Southern Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, and East Timor.
Southeast Asia covers about 4.5 million square kilometres, which is 10.5% of Asia or 3% of earth’s total land surface. As of 2025, its total population is more than 700 million (approximately 8.5% of the world’s population). It is the world’s third most populous geographical region after South Asia and East Asia. The region is culturally and ethnically diverse, with literally hundreds of languages spoken by different ethnic groups.
Thailand is the only country that transcends both the Mainland and the Maritime Southeast Asia.
Here are more detailed information about Thailand’s geography:
Thailand’s Land Mass & Topography
Putting Thailand on the World map and other geographical fun facts
Thailand’s Extreme Points
Fun facts on the extreme geographical points in Thailand.
Thailand’s River Systems
Fun facts about the two main river systems and a few other minor systems that irrigate Thailand
