Thai Date Today
As of Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 9:01 AM, today's Thai Buddhist Era (Suriyakati) date is:
Today's Thai Buddhist Era (Suriyakati) date — full detail
- Date
- 21 May BE 2569
- Thai
- 21 May BE 2569
- Short form
- 21/5/2569 BE
- Month
- May
- Year
- 2569 BE — พุทธศักราช (Phutthasakkarat)
- Gregorian
- Thursday, May 21, 2026
- Thai abbreviation
- พ.ศ. (Phor Sor) — the standard shortening of พุทธศักราช
- Gregorian-to-Thai BE
- Add 543 (e.g. 2026 → BE 2569)
- New Year (official)
- 1 January — but Songkran in mid-April remains the traditional new year
- Used on
- Passports, ID cards, contracts, newspapers, lottery, school records
Why today matters
Today is 21 May BE 2569. Thailand is the only country in the world that uses the Buddhist Era as its primary civil calendar — appearing on every Thai passport, ID card, birth certificate, newspaper headline, school certificate, and lottery ticket. While the Gregorian (Christian Era / คริสต์ศักราช, ค.ศ.) calendar is used in business with international partners, the Buddhist Era (พุทธศักราช, พ.ศ.) is the legal and cultural default for daily Thai life.
ปีพุทธศักราช — "the year of the Buddha's era" — counts Thailand's years from the Buddha's parinibbāna.
How we compute this
Thai Buddhist Era (Suriyakati) is a solar (gregorian-aligned) calendar. Each year contains 365 or 366 days — same as Gregorian, with each month averaging Same as Gregorian (31, 30, or 28/29 days). Years are counted from 1 January 543 BCE — Thai-specific Buddhist Era baseline (era: BE — พุทธศักราช (Phutthasakkarat)).
Thailand adopted the Buddhist Era as its sole civil calendar in 1912 under King Rama VI (Vajiravudh), as part of a broader modernization that included shifting the new year from April to January in 1941 under Field Marshal Phibun. The Thai BE differs by one year from the BE used in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos: Thailand counts from 543 BCE (the year of the parinibbāna under the local reckoning), while other Theravāda countries count from 544 BCE. To convert any Gregorian year to Thai BE: simply add 543. So 2026 CE = พ.ศ. 2569.
Used by: ≈70 million in Thailand and Thai diaspora communities. Regions: Thailand (sole official civil calendar for government documents, contracts, news, and education).