In 2000 the population of Bangkok Metropolis was estimated at 6,320,174. With the surrounding provinces included, the population was 8,661,228.
As Thailand’s main port, Bangkok has always been more cosmopolitan than other regions of the country. Thousands of Chinese immigrants from the impoverished South China seacoast came to Bangkok seeking work and money during the 19th century and until World War II (1939-1945).
By the early 20th century, Bangkok was an overwhelmingly Chinese city and Chinese immigrants outnumbered Thai.
Street and shop signs were in Chinese, a local Chinese dialect known as Teochiu was spoken through most of the city, and Chinese immigrants dominated the nation's commerce. Immigration was suddenly ended by the onset of World War II and has never resumed in significant numbers.
Government policies of incentives and sanctions encouraged the rapid assimilation of Chinese immigrants.
Bangkok’s population now includes many people who are the children and grandchildren of Chinese immigrants, but today the city’s population is overwhelmingly Thai.
The city also has significant minorities of Chinese, Indians, Arabs, Malays, Europeans, and Americans.
In addition to Thai, the national language, English is widely employed in Bangkok. It is taught in secondary schools and in colleges and universities, and used extensively in the important tourism industry.
Bangkok suffers from many of the urban ills that beset other large cities. Many rural dwellers—especially young men and women seeking employment—have moved to Bangkok in recent years, and they have strained the city’s limited housing and public-health facilities.
Among the city’s other problems are traffic congestion, slums and crowded living conditions, chronic pollution, and prostitution.
In recent years progress has been made in the long-awaited development of a mass transit system to help alleviate Bangkok’s chronically gridlocked traffic.
( Skytrain )
In 1999 a monorail system called the Skytrain began operating on elevated rail lines in the downtown area, and in 2004 the first line of a new subway system began running under central Bangkok.
As Thailand’s main port, Bangkok has always been more cosmopolitan than other regions of the country. Thousands of Chinese immigrants from the impoverished South China seacoast came to Bangkok seeking work and money during the 19th century and until World War II (1939-1945).
By the early 20th century, Bangkok was an overwhelmingly Chinese city and Chinese immigrants outnumbered Thai.
Street and shop signs were in Chinese, a local Chinese dialect known as Teochiu was spoken through most of the city, and Chinese immigrants dominated the nation's commerce. Immigration was suddenly ended by the onset of World War II and has never resumed in significant numbers.
Government policies of incentives and sanctions encouraged the rapid assimilation of Chinese immigrants.
Bangkok’s population now includes many people who are the children and grandchildren of Chinese immigrants, but today the city’s population is overwhelmingly Thai.
The city also has significant minorities of Chinese, Indians, Arabs, Malays, Europeans, and Americans.
In addition to Thai, the national language, English is widely employed in Bangkok. It is taught in secondary schools and in colleges and universities, and used extensively in the important tourism industry.
Bangkok suffers from many of the urban ills that beset other large cities. Many rural dwellers—especially young men and women seeking employment—have moved to Bangkok in recent years, and they have strained the city’s limited housing and public-health facilities.
Among the city’s other problems are traffic congestion, slums and crowded living conditions, chronic pollution, and prostitution.
In recent years progress has been made in the long-awaited development of a mass transit system to help alleviate Bangkok’s chronically gridlocked traffic.
( Skytrain )In 1999 a monorail system called the Skytrain began operating on elevated rail lines in the downtown area, and in 2004 the first line of a new subway system began running under central Bangkok.
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