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THAILAND is on the mainland of Southeast Asia, shares borders with: Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia; Total land area: 511, 770 square kilometers Population: 64,404,265 Population growth: 0.8 % Life expectancy: 71.57 years Government: Constitutional monarch Religions: Buddhist 94.6 %, Muslim 6.4 %, Christian 0.7 %, other 0.1 %
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OF THAILAND has 298,317 Catholics in 2 archdiocesesand 8 dioceses. The Church hierarchy has 10 active bishops (4 retired) and 1 Cardinal. It has 436 diocesan priests, 274 religious priests and 121 religious brothers (from 15 Congregations), and 1,439 religious women from 38 Congregations and there are good numbers of lay Missionary Groups working in the Church but not registered in the Catholic Directory. The Thai people adhere to religious principles based on rationality and moderation. The King is the “Upholder of the Faith”. The Catholic Church lives and collaborates with people of other faiths in the spiritual, education and social development of the country.
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