Thai People

Thai
ไทย

Thai people at a cremation ceremony
Total population
c. 52–59 million
Regions with significant populations
Thailand c. 51–57.8 million
United States	237,583 (2010)
Laos	180,000
South Korea	94,134 (2014)
Taiwan	74,770 (2011)
Malaysia	70,000 (2014)
Australia	61,910 (2014)
Germany	58,784(2007)
United Kingdom	44,086 (2011)
Japan	45,379 (2015)
Sweden	38,792 (2015)
Hong Kong	30,000
Saudi Arabia	23,000
Netherlands	19,513 (2016)
Norway	17,550 (2016)
Canada	17,500 (2006)
Singapore	16,251
Switzerland	16,034
Cambodia	14,265
Denmark	9,851
Indonesia	9,469
Finland	9,412
Vietnam	4,844
Austria	4,708
Brunei	4,164
New Zealand	4,143
UAE	4,058
Rest of the world	c. 47,000
Languages
Thai languages (Siamese, Dambro, Lanna, Isan)
Religion
Predominantly Theravada Buddhism with Hindu influence
Related ethnic groups
other Tai peoples (e.g. Lao people, Shan people, Dai people, Ahom people); Thai Chinese

The Thai people (Thai: ไทยสยาม), formerly known as Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China and Northeast India. Their language is the Thai language, which exists in different regional variants, and is classified as part of the Tai–Kadai family of languages, and the majority of Thai are followers of Theravada Buddhism.

"Thai people" usually includes central and southern Thai (Siamese proper, or Tai Siam), northern Thai (Lanna) and Isan people.

The term Thai people has a loose meaning and sometimes also refers to the population of Thailand in general, and not only to ethnic Thais.

There have been many theories proposing the origin of the Tai peoples, of which the Thai are a subgroup. Especially the association of the Tai people with the Kingdom of Nanzhao that has been proved to be invalid. Linguistic studies suggested that the origin of the Tai people lies around the Chinese Province of Guangxi, where the Zhuang people are still a majority. The ancient Tai people should be the part of Chinese Nanyue, referred to by Han leaders as "foreign servant" (Chinese: ), synecdoche for a vassal state. The Qin dynasty founded Guangdong in 214 BC, initiating the successive waves of Chinese migrations from the north for hundreds of years to come.