anywhere in thailand there are city signs in both english and thai there are hello signs but no population figures. they have the house books so they know down to the latest births how many people are counted in every city and village. but never put them on the signs why? any thoughts?

You don't have that in Europe either.. must be an American thing. What is the point of it anyway.

Edited October 7, 201312 yr by robblok

You don't have that in Europe either.. must be an American thing. What is the point of it anyway.

And it would be terrible wrong anyway, as they have no idea how many people really live there. There is no register like in Europe

those house registration books worth little when it comes to real population of the place.

LOL, OP's question made me laugh, hihihi... this isn't Kansas...

Other than small-town US where else puts population on city-limit signs?

Other than small-town US where else puts population on city-limit signs?

Never seen it in Australia.

Don't do it in Indonesia.

No need for it in Korea.

No signs as you pass through Changi.

Only ever seen it in American movies/tv shows.

Whats the point of it? To remind local residents how inbred they are?

Other than small-town US where else puts population on city-limit signs?

San Diego, Los Angeles, San Jose, San Antonio, Denver, Chicago, to name a few in cities I've been in this year.

But to the OP, it is an American thing, I think. Most people in the US know the largest few cities by population, and most know the population of their own city. It was a big deal when Phoenix overtook San Diego in population to move to Number 6, both in Phoenix and SD, but then when San Antonio moved ahead of San Diego to number 7, people bitterly complained in the San Diego press and started pointing out that at least SD had an NFL and MLB team.

In Thailand, while most people know that Bangkok is the largest city by population, not many know what that population is, nor do they know how big other cities are. I have rarely met an Thai who knows the population of his or her own city.

Distances are also considered differently. While in the US, most people know how many miles it is between regional cities, in Thailand, I don't think I have ever heard the distance described in kilometers but rather in hours. Of course, hours by car, bus, or train are all different, but that is the response I usually get.

The problem this world faces. Wherever I go, my holidays are marred by the fact that I do not know the population of the town

Aside from the previously mentioned "American thing" and "the household registration database is wholly inaccurate," both of which are true -- Thailand has a very limited formal definition of what constitutes a "city," along with zero data gathering efforts that would track population and/or economic development at said "city" level.

Edited October 8, 201312 yr by planr

I just spoke with my boss over lunch. He has three in his family now living at home. He has eight others who live there to take care of the place, and there has not only been no one ever coming to do some sort of a headcount, there was never any paperwork done for any of them.

TO me, that just lends credence to the probability that the official 8 million population figure for Bangkok is woefully fewer then the actual figure.

I grew up in the US and this would be the last question I would ask about Thailand

Easy answer for the OP....you aint in Kansas any more Toto...

Whats the point of it? To remind local residents how inbred they are?

squeal like a pig...boy

LOL, OP's question made me laugh, hihihi... this isn't Kansas...

Dodge City perhaps?

The OP must be up for the 'Most Provincial Post of the Day' award no?

with all the births and road deaths it would never be correct anyway

with all the births and road deaths it would never be correct anyway

7 born, 5 road deaths.....that cancel itself almost out and no one will check if the numbers are 100 % correct.

I would think it is charming.

Ban Lek

357 people

57 chicken

17 Soi Dogs

3 Buffalo

2 Farangs

Kind of Western movie Thai style

Thais would never have the patience to add +1 to the sign when people arrive and -2 when people leave.

Whats the point of it? To remind local residents how inbred they are?

squeal like a pig...boy

The OP must be up for the 'Most Provincial Post of the Day' award no?

Nah, all the steriotypical replies show a much more provincial attitude, the op simply asked a question.

America actually had a system to keep track of residents for a couple hundred years, Census, Birth Certifications, Voter Regs, SS #, Tax Roles, Property Tax, etc. Doesn't work anymore as we have between 19M and 99M illegals (we don't really know), fraudulent voter registrations, identity theft, etc. So maybe Thailand and Europe are way ahead of USA, not posting their numbers. Now futile in the US as well. BTW, Babies born way too fast in Thailand, signs would have to change weekly, budget thing. US had advantage of a being a recent start up Nation. Just 300 years of History. Set up from day one basically.

Whats the point of it? To remind local residents how inbred they are?

squeal like a pig...boy

Yeh, when Deliverance came out, I was living in Georgia, told my Southern Bell Georgia born and raised GF "there really were people like this in the North Georgia Hills". She cut me off for two weeks. Really offended her. When we finally got to it, I squealed like a pig, and she cut me off for 2 months.

Whats the point of it? To remind local residents how inbred they are?

squeal like a pig...boy

Yeh, when Deliverance came out, I was living in Georgia, told my Southern Bell Georgia born and raised GF "there really were people like this in the North Georgia Hills". She cut me off for two weeks. Really offended her. When we finally got to it, I squealed like a pig, and she cut me off for 2 months.

Think yourself lucky she just didn't cut you off

I have seen story after story saying that Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand....actually according to the numbers it is number SIX.

Whats the point of it? To remind local residents how inbred they are?

squeal like a pig...boy

Yeh, when Deliverance came out, I was living in Georgia, told my Southern Bell Georgia born and raised GF "there really were people like this in the North Georgia Hills". She cut me off for two weeks. Really offended her. When we finally got to it, I squealed like a pig, and she cut me off for 2 months.

I was working an offshore O&G job many years ago with the normal muti-national crew including a few red necks and coon ar*es...it was either a British or Aussie who started playing a recording of Dueling banjo's over the facility PA, the colonial cousins were not amused to say the least, even the facility manager thought it was funny, but being the manager he had to do the "right" thing and tell off the guy who had put it on the PA