Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, and it is also the most populated city in the country. Also known as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, the city is located in the Chao Phraya River delta in the central part of the country. The 2016 population of Bangkok is approximately 8,280,925, which was taken from the most recent census in 2010.
In 2016, Bangkok had an estimated population of 8.28 million according to data from the 2010 census. This number is up significantly from the 6.3 million recorded in 2000. The city is home to over 13% of the country's total population, and more than 10.6 million registered people were reported to live in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region according to figures from April 2015. Bangkok is considered a primate city, or one that serves as the population, political and financial center of a country with no other rival city.
Bangkok grew slowly through the 18th and early 19th centuries, despite being the capital since 1782. In 1822, the population was estimated at 50,000 or less. The population began to grow as the city became more modern in the 19th century, with faster growth in the 1930s after the discovery of antibiotics improved healthcare. In 1980, Bangkok was 51 times larger than Kat Yai or Songkhla in terms of population, which made it the most prominent primary city in the world, a distinction it still holds. The growth rate of Bangkok slowed in the 1990s.