Thailand Economy - 2024

Economic overview

upper middle-income Southeast Asian economy; substantial infrastructure; major electronics, food, and automobile parts exporter; globally used currency; extremely low unemployment, even amid COVID-19; ongoing Thailand 4.0 economic development

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$1.223 trillion (2021 est.)
$1.204 trillion (2020 est.)
$1.284 trillion (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real GDP growth rate

1.53% (2021 est.)
-6.2% (2020 est.)
2.15% (2019 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$17,100 (2021 est.)
$16,800 (2020 est.)
$18,000 (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$543.798 billion (2019 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1.23% (2021 est.)
-0.85% (2020 est.)
0.71% (2019 est.)

Credit ratings

Fitch rating: BBB+ (2013)

Moody's rating: Baa1 (2003)

Standard & Poors rating: BBB+ (2004)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 8.2% (2017 est.)

industry: 36.2% (2017 est.)

services: 55.6% (2017 est.)

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 48.8% (2017 est.)

government consumption: 16.4% (2017 est.)

investment in fixed capital: 23.2% (2017 est.)

investment in inventories: -0.4% (2017 est.)

exports of goods and services: 68.2% (2017 est.)

imports of goods and services: -54.6% (2017 est.)

Agricultural products

sugar cane, cassava, rice, oil palm fruit, rubber, maize, tropical fruit, poultry, pineapples, mangoes/guavas

Industries

tourism, textiles and garments, agricultural processing, beverages, tobacco, cement, light manufacturing such as jewelry and electric appliances, computers and parts, integrated circuits, furniture, plastics, automobiles and automotive parts, agricultural machinery, air conditioning and refrigeration, ceramics, aluminum, chemical, environmental management, glass, granite and marble, leather, machinery and metal work, petrochemical, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, printing, pulp and paper, rubber, sugar, rice, fishing, cassava, world's second-largest tungsten producer and third-largest tin producer

Industrial production growth rate

3.34% (2021 est.)

Labor force

40.213 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate

1.42% (2021 est.)
1.1% (2020 est.)
0.72% (2019 est.)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 7% (2021 est.)

male: 6.2%

female: 8.1%

Population below poverty line

9.9% (2018 est.)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income

35 (2020 est.)

Average household expenditures

on food: 24.3% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco: 3.4% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.8%

highest 10%: 31.5% (2009 est.)

Remittances

1.79% of GDP (2021 est.)
1.65% of GDP (2020 est.)
1.5% of GDP (2019 est.)

Budget

revenues: $104.689 billion (2020 est.)

expenditures: $128.581 billion (2020 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-3.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt

50.4% of GDP (2020 est.)
40.13% of GDP (2019 est.)
39.25% of GDP (2018 est.)

note: data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are sold at public auctions

Taxes and other revenues

14.48% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Fiscal year

1 October - 30 September

Current account balance

-$10.345 billion (2021 est.)
$21.058 billion (2020 est.)
$38.256 billion (2019 est.)

Exports

$296.002 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$257.981 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$323.878 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Exports - partners

United States 16%, China 13%, Japan 9%, Vietnam 4%, Australia 4% (2021)

Exports - commodities

office machinery/parts, cars and vehicle parts, integrated circuits, delivery trucks, refined petroleum, rubber  (2021)

Imports

$295.78 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$232.039 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$272.831 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Imports - partners

China 22%, Japan 14%, United States 7%, Malaysia 6% (2019)

Imports - commodities

crude petroleum, integrated circuits, natural gas, vehicle parts, gold (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$246.025 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$258.104 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$224.356 billion (31 December 2019 est.)

Debt - external

$167.89 billion (2019 est.)
$158.964 billion (2018 est.)

Exchange rates

baht per US dollar -

Exchange rates:
31.977 (2021 est.)
31.294 (2020 est.)
31.048 (2019 est.)
32.31 (2018 est.)
33.94 (2017 est.)