Economy of Thailand
The economy of Thailand is dependent on exports, which accounted in 2021 for about 58 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Thailand itself is a newly industrialized country, with a GDP of 17.367 trillion baht (US$495 billion) in 2022, the 9th largest economy in Asia. As of 2018, Thailand has an average inflation of 1.06% and an account surplus of 7.5% of the country's GDP. Its currency, the Thai Baht, ranked as the tenth most frequently used world payment currency in 2017.
Bangkok, the commercial hub of Thailand | |
| Currency | Thai baht (THB, ฿) |
|---|---|
| 1 October – 30 September | |
Trade organisations | WTO, APEC, IOR-ARC, ASEAN, RCEP |
Country group |
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| Statistics | |
| Population | 69,950,844 (2021) |
| GDP |
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| GDP rank |
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GDP growth |
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GDP per capita |
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GDP per capita rank |
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GDP by sector |
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| 5.02% (Jan 2023) | |
Population below poverty line |
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| 34.9 medium (2019, World Bank) | |
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Labour force |
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| Unemployment | 1.1% (2020 est.) |
Average gross salary | ฿15,352 / US$437 monthly |
Average net salary | ฿14,505 / US$413 monthly |
Main industries | Automobiles and automotive parts (11%), financial services (9%), electric appliances and components (8%), tourism (6%), cement, auto manufacturing, heavy and light industries, appliances, computers and parts, furniture, plastics, textiles and garments, agricultural processing, beverages, tobacco |
| External | |
| Exports | $287.07 billion (2022) |
Export goods | machinery (23%), electronics (19%), foods and wood (14%), chemicals and plastics (14%), automobiles and automotive parts (12%), stone and glass (7%), textiles and furniture (4%) |
Main export partners |
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| Imports | $303.19 billion (2022) |
Import goods | Capital and intermediate goods, raw materials, consumer goods, fuels |
Main import partners |
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FDI stock | $205.5 billion (2017 est.) |
Gross external debt | $163.402.95 billion (Q1 2019) |
| Public finances | |
Government debt | 44.01% (May 2020) |
| Revenues | THB 2.563 trillion (FY2019) |
| Expenses | THB 2.788 trillion (FY2019) |
| Economic aid | None |
Credit rating |
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| US$221.374 billion (net amount, 21 july 2023) | |
The industrial and service sectors are the main sectors in the Thai gross domestic product, with the former accounting for 39.2 percent of GDP. Thailand's agricultural sector produces 8.4 percent of GDP—lower than the trade and logistics and communication sectors, which account for 13.4 percent and 9.8 percent of GDP respectively. The construction and mining sector adds 4.3 percent to the country's gross domestic product. Other service sectors (including the financial, education, and hotel and restaurant sectors) account for 24.9 percent of the country's GDP. Telecommunications and trade in services are emerging as centers of industrial expansion and economic competitiveness.
Thailand is the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia. Its per capita GDP 247,828 baht (US$7,069) in 2022 ranks fourth in Southeast Asian per capita GDP, after Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia. In July 2018, Thailand held US$237.5 billion in international reserves, the second-largest in Southeast Asia (after Singapore). Its surplus in the current account balance ranks tenth of the world, made US$37.898 billion to the country in 2018. Thailand ranks second in Southeast Asia in external trade volume, after Singapore.
The nation is recognized by the World Bank as "one of the great development success stories" in social and development indicators. Despite a per capita gross national income (GNI) of US$7,090 and ranking 66th in the Human Development Index (HDI), the percentage of people below the national poverty line decreased from 65.26 percent in 1988 to 8.61 percent in 2016, according to the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council's (NESDC) new poverty baseline.
Thailand is one of the countries with the lowest unemployment rates in the world, reported as one percent for the first quarter of 2014. This is due to a large proportion of the population working in subsistence agriculture or on other vulnerable employment (own-account work and unpaid family work).