Bangkok Stats & Facts: Population, Weather, Temples, Visitors and History (2026)

Every number worth knowing about Bangkok — the city, its weather, its temples, its trains and its history — in one place. Each figure is traced to Thailand's National Statistical Office, the Thai Meteorological Department, Airports of Thailand, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, UNESCO or Guinness World Records, so writers, planners and the perpetually curious have one page to cite.

Old and new Bangkok from the Golden Mount, Wat Saket. Photo: Slyronit / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Krung Thep Maha Nakhon

Bangkok by the Numbers

Thailand's capital since 1782 and, by international arrivals, the most-visited city in the world.

• Registered residents5.42 millionend of 2025, official register
• Urban area18.2 millionUN estimate, 2025
• Area1,568.7 km²605.7 sq mi
• Districts50khet, with 173 sub-districts
• Capital sinceApr 21, 1782City Pillar raised
• Full ceremonial name168 letterslongest place name, per Guinness
• Buddhist temples450wat, 2024 count
• Elevation1.5–2 mabout 5–7 ft above sea level
• Urban rail279.8 kmin service, January 2026
• Suvarnabhumi Airport62.9 millionpassengers in 2025

Bangkok's population depends on what is counted: 5.42 million people are registered as Bangkok residents (Department of Provincial Administration, end of 2025), the National Statistical Office estimates a further 2.8 million live or work in the city without registering there, and the UN counts 18.2 million in the wider urban area. Temple count: Office of National Buddhism, excluding Chinese and Vietnamese temples. Rail: Department of Rail Transport. Airport: Airports of Thailand annual report, calendar 2025; Don Mueang handled a further 31.7 million.

Records & trivia

Bangkok Records and Trivia

The extremes, the landmarks and the firsts, each traced to a published source.

Weather

• Hottest41.0°C105.8°F, May 7, 2023
• Coldest9.9°C49.8°F, January 12, 1955
• Average temperature28.9°C84.0°F year-round
• Rainfall1,702 mm67.0 in a year
• Wettest monthSeptember336 mm (13.2 in)

Thai Meteorological Department, Bangkok Metropolis station; averages are the 1991–2020 normals. The 41.0°C record was reported by the department in May 2023. The 2011 floods, from July to December, affected 66 of Thailand's 77 provinces and more than 13 million people, and closed Don Mueang Airport when its runways flooded on October 25 (World Bank, NASA).

Landmarks and firsts

• The longest place nameBangkok's full ceremonial name, beginning "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon", runs to 168 letters, the longest place name in the world according to Guinness World Records.
• The Reclining BuddhaThe gilded Buddha at Wat Pho is 46 metres long and 15 metres high.
• Thai massage, on UNESCO's listNuad Thai was inscribed as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2019. Wat Pho has run a traditional massage school since 1955.
• Songkran, tooUNESCO added the Songkran new-year festival to the same list on December 6, 2023.
• A Michelin star on the streetStreet-food cook Jay Fai won a star in the first Michelin Guide Bangkok in December 2017 and still holds it in the 2026 guide.
• The tallest buildingMagnolias Waterfront Residences at ICONSIAM stands 315 metres, per the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, just ahead of King Power MahaNakhon at 314 metres.

Foreign visitors to Thailand, year by year

• Record year39.9 million2019
• Pandemic low~428,0002021
• 202533.0 milliontop market: Malaysia

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International tourist arrivals to all of Thailand by calendar year; no official Bangkok-only series is published. 2010–2019 from the World Bank series of Ministry of Tourism and Sports data; later years from the ministry as reported by Reuters, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera and the Bangkok Post. 1 January–26 September 2026: 22.7 million, 3.7% below the same period of 2025, with China back as the top market.

Bangkok's airports, year by year

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Total passengers by Airports of Thailand fiscal year (October to September), from AOT's annual air transport statistics. Suvarnabhumi opened on September 28, 2006, taking over from Don Mueang, which later reopened for domestic and budget flights. Calendar-year totals published elsewhere differ slightly.

How Bangkok compares

Bangkok vs. Other Big Asian Cities

Official figures for each city, side by side, with the same source type for every column.

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Population and area: each country's official statistics office, latest figure (2024–2026). Climate: 1991–2020 normals from each national weather service. Metro: metro-standard lines only, which leaves out commuter rail such as Tokyo's JR network and Bangkok's Red Lines and Airport Rail Link. Airport passengers: main international airport, calendar 2025. Cost of living: Mercer's 2024 ranking of 226 cities, which measures costs for expatriate employees rather than visitors (1 = most expensive). By Euromonitor's count of international arrivals in 2025, Bangkok ranked first with 30.3 million, Hong Kong second with 23.2 million and Kuala Lumpur tenth with 17.3 million. ¹ Tokyo Metropolis; the 23 central wards have 9.9 million people on 627.5 km². ² Korea Meteorological Administration normals, as republished. ³ Registered residents only; see the population note above. ⁴ Bangkok's total urban rail network, including monorail and commuter lines, is 279.8 km. ⁵ Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur only.

History

Bangkok Timeline

From a customs post on the Chao Phraya to a city of more than 18 million, in dated milestones.

1. By the 15th centuryBangkok, a riverside village on a bend of the Chao Phraya, serves Ayutthaya as a customs post for ships sailing upriver.
2. December 28, 1767After the fall of Ayutthaya, King Taksin makes Thonburi, on the river's west bank, his capital.
3. April 21, 1782King Rama I has the City Pillar raised on the east bank, the date regarded as Bangkok's founding as capital.
4. May 6, 1782Construction of the Grand Palace begins.
5. 1784–85The Emerald Buddha is installed at Wat Phra Kaew. Traditionally dated March 22, 1784; Thailand's Fine Arts Department recalculates it to February 28, 1785.
6. 1832King Rama III begins a 16-year rebuild of Wat Pho, home of the Reclining Buddha.
7. 1851Wat Arun's central prang is completed.
8. March 16, 1864Charoen Krung, Thailand's first road built with modern methods, opens to traffic.
9. September 22, 1888Bangkok's first tram, horse-drawn, begins running on Charoen Krung.
10. June 25, 1916Hua Lamphong railway station opens.
11. April 6, 1932Memorial Bridge opens across the Chao Phraya, marking Bangkok's 150th year.
12. January 2, 1982The Chatuchak Weekend Market moves to its present site, opening with 979 vendors.
13. April 1982Bangkok celebrates its bicentennial with a royal barge procession on the river.
14. December 5, 1999The BTS Skytrain opens on the Sukhumvit and Silom lines.
15. July 3, 2004The MRT Blue Line, Bangkok's first underground railway, opens with 18 stations.
16. September 28, 2006Suvarnabhumi Airport opens, taking over from Don Mueang.
17. August 23, 2010The Airport Rail Link to Suvarnabhumi begins full service.
18. December 6, 2017The first Michelin Guide Bangkok awards stars to 17 restaurants, including street-food stall Jay Fai.
19. November 10, 2018ICONSIAM opens to the public on the Thonburi riverbank.
20. February 15, 2022The capital's official English styling becomes "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok)"; "Bangkok" remains correct.
21. January 19, 2023Long-distance trains move from Hua Lamphong to Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal.
22. July 3, 2023The MRT Yellow Line monorail opens, followed by the Pink Line on January 7, 2024.
23. December 6, 2023UNESCO inscribes Songkran on its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
24. December 2025Euromonitor ranks Bangkok the world's most-visited city for 2025.

Related BangkokVacay Guides

• How Many Temples in Bangkok? Why Counts Vary
• Bangkok Airport to City: Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang
• Grand Palace Bangkok Opening Hours and Best Time to Visit
• Where Is Chatuchak Market in Bangkok? Stations and Routes

Sources

• National Statistical Office of Thailand — Statistical Yearbook 2025 (population, area, districts, temples, elevation); Department of Provincial Administration — registered population
• UN World Urbanization Prospects 2025 — urban-area population; Guinness World Records — longest place name
• Thai Meteorological Department — Bangkok Metropolis climate normals and records; World Bank and NASA — 2011 floods
• Airports of Thailand — annual reports and fiscal-year air transport statistics; Department of Rail Transport, BTS Group and MRTA — rail network
• Ministry of Tourism and Sports, World Bank, Reuters, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera and the Bangkok Post — visitor arrivals; Euromonitor International via the Tourism Authority of Thailand — city ranking
• UNESCO, Michelin Guide, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Wat Pho, City Pillar Shrine, Bangkok Post "Thailand Journey" archive and the Tourism Authority of Thailand — landmarks and history

Last checked October 2026. Spot a number that needs updating? Let us know — accuracy is the whole point of this page.