Economy of Thailand

The Economy of Thailand is a newly industrialized economy. It is a heavily export-dependent economy, with exports accounting for more than two thirds of its gross domestic product (GDP). In 2011, Thailand has a GDP at current market prices of THB10.54 trillion (USD345.65 billion approx. ) with the growth rate of 0.1 percent, much lower than the expected growth rate of 3.5 percent due to severe damage from the historic flood the Kingdom confronted mainly in the last quarter of the year. In 2012, the Thai economy is expected to grow by 5.5-6.0 percent, a V-shaped recovery from last year’s flood.

The industrial and the service sectors serve as the two main sectors in the Thai gross domestic product, with the former accounting for 39 percent thereof. Albeit often seen as an agricultural country, Thailand has an agricultural sector which shares only 8.6 percent of the GDP – lower than the trading sector and the logistics & communication sector which account for 13.5 percent and 9.6 percent of the GDP respectively. The construction & mining sector adds 4.3 percent to the country’s gross domestic product. In addition to this, other service sectors - which include the financial, the educational, the hotel & restaurant sectors etc. - account for 25 percent of the country's GDP. The Telecommunications in Thailand as well as new types of Services trade are emerging at the center for the industrial expansions and economic competitiveness for the economy of Thailand.

Thailand is the second largest economy in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia. However, its per capita GDP in 2011 remains very low at THB155,926 (USD5,394 ) – slightly lower than China's per capita GDP in 2011. In Southeast Asia, the Kingdom ranks midway in terms of its per capita GDP, after Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia. As of 24 August 2012, Thailand holds USD178 billion reserve money and international reserves which ranks 2nd in Southeast Asia, after Singapore. With regard to the volume of the external trade, Thailand ranks 2nd in Southeast Asia, after Singapore..

Concerning the social and development indicators, Thailand is recognized by the World Bank as “one of the great development success stories”. It is now an upper-middle income country, despite a low per capita gross national income (GNI) of USD4,451 and a bad 103rd rank in the Human Development Index (HDI). Within 22 years, the percentage of the population living below the national poverty line decreased dramatically from 42.21 in 1988 to 7.75 in 2010. As of the second quarter of the year 2012 (Q2/ 2012), its unemployment rate is 0.85 percent, making Thailand the country of third lowest unemployment rate in the world – only after Monaco and Qatar. Recently, according to the authority, the inflation rate as of Q2/ 2012 remains controllable at 2.5 percent with the policy interest rate of 3 percent.