Quick answerBangkok is the capital and largest city of Thailand, with 9,106,000 people inside the city limits in 2024. The wider metropolitan area had about 17.4 million people in 2024. It is best known for the Grand Palace, the Wat Arun and the Wat Pho. Its official language is Thai, and its currency is the Thai baht.
Bangkok is the capital and largest city of Thailand, with about 9.1 million people in the city and about 17.4 million in the metropolitan region (2024). It stands on the Chao Phraya River and is home to the Grand Palace, Wat Arun and Wat Pho.
Key facts
| Country | Thailand |
|---|---|
| Population (city) | 9,106,000 (2024) |
| Population (metro) | 17,400,000 (2024) · Bangkok Metropolitan Region, 2021 estimate |
| Elevation | 1.5 m above sea level |
| Time zone | Asia/Bangkok |
| Language | Thai |
| Currency | Thai baht (THB, ฿) |
| Coordinates | 13.7525° N, 100.49417° E |
Overview
Bangkok, known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, is the capital and largest city of Thailand. The city covers 1,568.737 square kilometres and had an estimated 9,106,000 residents in 2024, while the wider Bangkok Metropolitan Region held 17,400,000 people, about a quarter of the whole country. It sits on the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand, only about 1.5 metres above sea level.
Bangkok became the capital in 1782, when King Rama I moved the court to the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya and built the Grand Palace. It was the centre of Siam's modernisation in the 19th century and of the country's political struggles in the 20th, and it grew rapidly in the 1960s to 1980s into a megacity. Its landmarks include the Grand Palace, Wat Arun and Wat Pho, the Democracy Monument and the canals that cross the old city.
Today Bangkok is a regional centre for finance, business, pop culture and health care, and it has been named the world's most visited city in several international rankings. The city is famous for its street food, its markets and malls, its nightlife, and its temples — and notorious for its traffic, though ten urban rail lines now run across the city.
What Bangkok is known for
- Grand Palace
- Wat Arun
- Wat Pho
- Street food
- Chao Phraya River
- Khaosan Road
Landmarks
- Grand Palace
- Wat Arun
- Wat Pho
- Democracy Monument
- Giant Swing
- Chatuchak Market
- Jim Thompson House
Frequently asked questions
What is the population of Bangkok?
About 9.1 million people live in Bangkok (9,106,000 in 2024). The wider Bangkok Metropolitan Region had about 17.4 million people in 2021. That makes Bangkok an extreme primate city: it holds about a quarter of Thailand's population and dwarfs every other Thai city.
What is Bangkok famous for?
Bangkok is famous for the Grand Palace, Wat Arun and Wat Pho, for its street food and markets, and for its nightlife on Khaosan Road. It is also known as one of the world's most visited cities, as a regional centre for finance and health care, and for its traffic jams and its canals.
Where is Bangkok located?
Bangkok is in central Thailand, on the Chao Phraya River delta, near the head of the Gulf of Thailand. It is the capital of Thailand and the centre of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region. Its coordinates are 13.75° N, 100.49° E, and its time zone is Indochina Time.
Quick quiz
Three questions from the facts on this page. No sign-up, no score is saved.
Keep exploring
- Thailand — the country Bangkok is in
- Hat Yai — another city in Thailand
- Chiang Mai — another city in Thailand
- Nakhon Ratchasima — another city in Thailand
- All cities in Thailand
- All countries — the full list
Sources & last updated
Last updated: . Figures are shown with their year; where sources disagree, the value is left out rather than estimated.