Bangkok

Thailand COUNTRY

10,539,415 CITY POPULATION

Special Administrative Area GOVERNMENT TYPE

Introduction

The city of Bangkok also known as Krung Thep in Thai is the capital and only cosmopolitan city of Thailand. Covering 1,568 square kilometers it is the largest and most populous city in the country. The UN World Urbanization Prospects estimated the population of Bangkok for the year 2020 as 10,539,415 people.

The city is located in central Thailand on the Chao Phraya River delta. The Gulf of Thailand is 40km far from the city. Bangkok is also the home to the prime port of the country emerging as an important trading center of Thailand. Bangkok is known around the globe for its street culture and nightlife.

Data and Facts

In 2014 the Bangkok Metropolitan region recorded the gross domestic product as US$306.8 billion
The population of Bangkok has increased by 1,136,644 since the year 2015. This indicates a 2.31% of annual growth.
In the year 2018 Bangkok witnessed the flow of 22.78 million international overnight visitors that rewarded him with the position of the World’s most visited city.
In the 90th issue of Monocle Magazine’s hospitality Survey, Bangkok ranked 2nd as the most hospitable city in the world.
In the IMD Smart City Index, 2019, the Thailand capital secured the 75th position out of the 102 cities.

Administration

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration governs Bangkok. The BMA is divided into two branches namely, the executive and the legislative. The Bangkok Metropolitan Council forms the legislative wing. Councilors are elected directly from each district and together they form this Council exercising their power over municipal ordinances and the city's budget. The executive wing comprises a directly elected governor and 4 appointed deputies who are responsible for implanting the policies. Bangkok also provides land to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission’s headquarters.

Economy

Being the home to the chief port in the country Bangkok holds economic importance. The manufacturing industry involves textiles, production of building material, food processing and assembly of electronic equipment. 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

Along with this, Tourism is a major industry in Bangkok, it ranked 1st in the MasterCard’s world’s most visited cities list. The factories in Bangkok operate on a small scale and the other industries include cement and petroleum refining. One of the drawbacks of Bangkok’s economy is the lack of foreign investments.

Business environment

Bangkok is the financial hub of Thailand as the city addresses 1/3rd of the country’s banks and the Bangkok Stock exchange. The Stock Exchange of Thailand, together with the Market for Alternative Investment, has more than 650 listed companies 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 ranks Bangkok as an "Alpha" world city, and it is ranked 59th in Z/Yen's Global Financial Centres Index.

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, all of which are based in the capital, including PTT, the only Fortune Global 500 company in Thailand.

Bangkok also ranked 2nd in the Enpact’s startups friendliness index 2018. Bangkok's business environment is adapting to the startup friendly ecosystem offering adequate financial services to encourage startups development although the city still has to increase the number of incubators and accelerators.

Infrastructure

The majority of the water supply is drawn from the Chao Phraya and comes to households via purification plants. Storm drains, sewers and canals are built to provide sanitation facilities. The electricity access, electrical outages and the watery supply infrastructure is maintained nicely.

Although Bangkok's canals historically served as a major mode of transport, they have long since been surpassed in importance by land traffic. A complex elevated expressway network helps bring traffic into and out of the city centre, but Bangkok's rapid growth has put a large strain on infrastructure. Its streets do not follow an organized grid structure due to the city’s organic development and traffic jams have plagued the city since the 1990s increasing the problems of congestion and.air pollution. Taxis and tuk-tuk motorized tricycle are the most popular forms of public transport. As of August 2012, there were 106,050 cars, 58,276 motorcycles and 8,996 tuk-tuk in the city.

Bangkok is also served by three rapid transit systems: the BTS Skytrain, the underground MRT, and the elevated Airport Rail Link.

In regards to the air infrastructures, Bangkok is one of Asia's busiest air transport hubs. Two commercial airports serve the city, the older Don Mueang International Airport and the new Bangkok International Airport, commonly known as Suvarnabhumi, the world's 20th busiest airport by passenger volume.

Technology

The city’s information and communication infrastructure are exemplary supporting the development of technology. This provides a scope for the intriguing test in the mobile industry. Bangkok is the capital city of Thailand and its moving towards becoming a smart city. The Thailand 4.0 initiative, an economic model that aims to unlock the country from several economic challenges, is helping to achieve a high-income nation with the business activities dependent on innovation. In the path of becoming a smart city, Bangkok will face several hurdles including its transportation network.

Social Wellness and Human Resources

Bangkok has long been the centre of modern education in Thailand. The first schools in the country were established in the 19th century, and there are now more than 1,350 schools in the city. Due to the high population count, the public schools in Bangkok are generally crowded so the majority of people prefer private and international schools.

The city is home to the country's five oldest universities, Chulalongkorn, Thammasat, Kasetsart, Mahidol and Silpakorn, founded between 1917 and 1943.

There health care services are of high quality although the growing rate of pollution in the city is a negative aspect for the residents.

Thailand's universal health care system is implemented through public hospitals and health centres as well as participating private providers. 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.