Head of state: Prime minister - elect : Yingluck Shinawatra
Population
142,517,670
67,091,089
Life Expectancy
66.460 years
73.830 years
Capital City
Moscow
Bangkok
Largest city
Moscow (population: 10,381,200)
Bangkok (population: 5,104,480)
Human Development Index
NA
0.786
GDP per capita
$17,000 US
$9,500 US
Literacy Rate
99.4%
92.6%
Corruption Perception Index
2.1
3.5
Percentage of Women in Parliament
NA
12.7%
Wealthiest Citizens
Mikhail Prokhorov ($9.5bn US)
Chaleo Yoovidhya ($3.7bn US)
Unemployment Rate
6.600%
0.700%
Death Penalty
Abolished in practice
Legal
Political System
federation
constitutional monarchy
Independence date
24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized)
Religions
Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2% (2006 est.) note: estimates are of practicing worshipers; Russia has large populations of non-practicing believers and non-believers, a legacy of over seven decades of Soviet rule
Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.1% (2000 census)
Languages
Russian, many minority languages
Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects
Exports
petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures
textiles and footwear, fishery products, rice, rubber, jewelry, automobiles, computers and electrical appliances
External Debt
$519,400,000,000 $
$115,600,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Russian rubles (RUB) per US dollar - 24.3 (2008 est.), 25.659 (2007), 27.19 (2006), 28.284 (2005), 28.814 (2004)
baht per US dollar - 33.37 (2008 est.), 34.52 (2007), 37.882 (2006), 40.22 (2005), 40.222 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
3.900%
1.800%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
72
4
Location
Northern Asia (the area west of the Urals is considered part of Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma
Area
17,098,242 km sq
513,120 km sq
Coastline
37,653 km
3,219 km
Climate
ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast
tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid
