Thailand
Country Report
Sachi Otsuki
Thailand, officially called
the Kingdom of Thailand is
an independent country
located in South East Asia.
Thailand is a constitutional
monarchy led by King
Bhumibol Adulyadej, King
Rama
the
ninth
of
Thailand, who, in 2006,
celebrated his sixty years in
reign, one of the longest in
the world. Thailand is the
only
Southeast
Asian
country that was never
taken over by a European
power. But the military coup in
September 2006 ousted former
Prime
Minister
Thaksin
Chinnawat, which lead to many
protests in the past few years.
Members of the parliament
elected Abhisit Vejjajiva Prime
Minister, on December 17, 2008.
He is the country’s youngest
Prime Minister. Despite of all the
political instability recently,
Thailand is classified as an NIC.
Buildings on fire in the middle of
Bangkok due to the riots
Indicators
MEDC (Japan)
NIC (Thailand)
LEDC (Laos)
Population growth
-0.24% (2010 est.)
0.65% (2010 est.)
1.71% (2010 est.)
Life expectancy
82
75
62
GDP per capita
$32,600 (2009 est.)
$8,100 (2009 est.)
$2,300 (2009 est.)
92.6% (2000 est.)
73% (2005 est.)
Education (literacy 99% (2002 est.)
rate)
Currently, Thailand is classified as a NIC, a newly industrialized country. NIC countries
are “nations with economies that are more advanced and developed than those in the
developing world but not yet with the signs of a developed country”. This is the category
between a Least Economically Developed Countries and More Economically Developed
Countries. But comparing to other NIC countries, Thailand’s GDP is lower. Thailand’s
GDP per capita is higher than both India
and China because it has a smaller
population than India and China. The
GDP per capita for MEDC, more
economically developed countries, are
much higher than Thailand’s GDP per
capita. For example, Japan, an MEDC in
Asia, also one of the most developed
countries in the world, has a GDP of
$5.069 trillion (2009 est.) and the GDP
per capita is $32,600 (2009 est.).
Thailand’s neighboring country, Laos is
an LEDC, has a $5.598 billion (2009 est.)
and her GDP per capita is $2,300 (2009
est.). This is a great difference of $30,300.
But, Thailand is in the middle of these two
countries as her GDP is $264 billion (2009 est.) and her GDP per capita is $8,100 (2009
est.). Even though this is still relatively low compared to Japan, it is still quite well off
compared to Laos and other countries located in South East Asia. Thailand is quite free in
terms of economic freedom. Thailand has a score of 64.1 and is ranked 66 in the world.
The score has improved 1.1 since last year due to the increased freedom of corruption and
investment freedom.
There are many indicators that show how Thailand is an MEDC. Thailand’s
population growth rate is decreasing, according to Nation Master. This also occurs with
many other MEDC countries as her population growth rate is also decreasing. Thailand’s
life expectancy is an average of 75, which is ranked eighty-ninth in the world. But, the
proportion of older population is increasing, while the proportion younger population is
decreasing. The population pyramid in 1990 was in a shape of a triangle but then changed
into a diamond shape in 2005, which means that the population growth rate was once
increasing but is now decreasing. Right now, 2010, the pyramid is looking similar to the
pyramid in 2005 with a triangle on top of an inverse triangle (diamond shape) on the
bottom. But in the 2050, the population pyramid is looking to be a rectangle shape, which
means that there is no population growth.
This is because of many reasons. 31% of the population lives and works in urban
areas, which leaves 69% of the population still living in rural areas. Also, one can see
from this map, most of the population (colored dark red, in blue circles) lives mainly in
Bangkok and also in the northern parts of Thailand particularly Chiang Mai (North of
Thailand) and Udon Thani (North east) area. Thailand is still a NIC because it has certain
characteristics of an LEDC while it has a few MEDC characteristics as well. Therefore it
cannot be clearly categorized as a LEDC or an MEDC. This is because there is still a
large proportion of the population, especially people living in rural areas are still exposed
to many diseases such as AIDS or other major infectious diseases. 1.4 percent of the
population has AIDS, which is 610,000 people. This is ranked eighteenth in the world.
Furthermore, there are around 3000 deaths a year due to AIDS, which is ranked
seventeenth in the world. There is also high risk of other major infectious diseases such
as waterborne diseases, vector borne diseases, and animal contact diseases, such as
rabies. All these diseases lead to lower life expectancy in rural areas. But people living in
urban areas are also exposed to other health issues such as pollution, heard diseases,
sickness from stress or cancer. Furthermore, Thailand also fits into many other indicators
that support LEDC’s such as a big gap between rich and poor. 9.6% (2008 est.) of the
population lives under the poverty line while there are many billionaires, such as
Chanchai Charuwat, chairman of Siam Paragon, one of the biggest, and most expensive,
shopping malls in Asia. Lumsum and the Soponphanich are big families that own
national banks, including Bangkok Bank.
Thailand’s
work
sectors are divided into
three, agriculture, service
and manufacturing sectors.
But, 42.4% (2008 est.) of
the population still works in
the agriculture sector, which
leads to most of the
population living in rural
areas. But even though
42.4% of the population
works in agriculture, the
agricultural sector only
contributes 11.6% (2008
est.) of the country’s GDP.
The most produced agriculture goods are rice and different types of fish. But Thailand
also has many natural resources such as tin, natural gas, which is only used domestically,
not imported, tungsten, tantalum, timber and lead. The manufacturing sector and service
sector is still not as large as the agriculture sector. But these two sectors are increasing in
increasing in importance while the agricultural sector is decreasing. Another issue why
Thailand is still a NIC instead of a MEDC is because Thailand has a relatively large
informal sector, people who do not work in offices or factories. These are, for example,
taxi drivers, peddlers (people who sell food and goods on cars and trolleys). To become a
MEDC, Thailand needs a smaller informal sector, and a larger formal sector, the people
who work in offices and factories, and this allows the government to know who works, as
these people have to pay tax and can be given benefits.
The service sector is expanding as more people are being educated. 37.9% of the
populations are turning towards working in the service sector that includes banking, hotel
management and tourism, as Thailand is a popular tourist destination. But another issue
that has occurred in the past few years is the decrease number of tourists in Thailand
during the political unrest. Due to political unrest, the Western embassies shut their doors
and had been warning their citizens to not travel to Thailand for a few months, especially
Bangkok, where most of the violence occurred. The manufacturing sector is also
increasing. The manufacturing sectors GDP has been increasing in time and now
contributes to 43.3% of the GDP. As Thailand has a relatively cheap labor cost, domestic
and international companies are producing their products in Thailand. Thailand’s
manufactured goods are mainly textiles and garments, agricultural processing, beverages,
tobacco, cement, computers and parts, and automobiles and automotive parts. Thailand is
also the world’s second-largest tungsten producer and the third-largest tin producer.
Because of their increasing productivity, Thai manufacturing companies are starting to
gather trust from buyers and consumers all around the world, which is helping with their
economy and for the future economy.
Thailand does not have a lot of capital stock, leading to the import of machinery
and other technologies from other countries. Thailand needs foreign direct investments
(capital goods), such as building factories, as well as financial investments, such as
buying and investing in stocks, to bring capital in the country. Furthermore, investing in
human capital is also an important factor for economic growth. For example, improving
in education and health and social welfare. Thailand has spent the largest proportion
(about 25%) of government budget on education. Therefore, the next step to improve the
country is to improve on the health and social welfare and to improve further on
education.
In the past year, most countries in the world, including Thailand, has suffered
from the economic crisis. The Thai government used various measures to stimulate the
economy, both to increase consumption as well as long-term investments. This has led to
a higher economic growth rate this year. With increasing exports and increasing
investments, Thailand can look towards a brighter future. Thailand has been investing in
large infrastructure projects to improve her future development.
Thailand has the potential to be a MEDC, but Thailand needs to improve
technology and innovations. There is not much leadership in management ability.
Recently, in 2008, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) have held a seminar promoting entrepreneurship in secondary schools.
According to this report, UNESCO held this seminar to teach secondary school students
(future working population) to become entrepreneurs. They want to increase the
awareness of entrepreneurship and want to teach these students how to become an
entrepreneur so they can use their knowledge to help raise entrepreneurship in Thailand
in the future.
Thailand has been taking some steps in improving her economy, for example by
training students to improve in technology and business management, which, if succeeds,
can improve the future greatly. This can also lead to more people working in the
manufacturing sector, resulting in moving people away from the agriculture sector, which
is one of the indicators for a country to become a MEDC. This can also lead to more
exports and imports, which in turn, can produce to a higher GDP for the country. More
and more, Thailand is qualifying for the factors of becoming a MEDC country. Even
though they are far away, there is still some possibility that one day, they might become a
MEDC.
References
Analysis: Thailand’s political crisis. (2010, May 17). Yalibnan Newspaper. Retrieved
from http://www.yalibnan.com/‌2010/‌05/‌17/‌analysis-thailands-political-crisis/
Bombing in Thailand [image]. (n.d.). Retrieved December 15, 2010, from http://aa1177.blogspot.com/‌2008/‌03/‌revised-fire-and-planes.html
Montesano, M. (2010, May 18). Analysis on Thailand’s Political Turmoil [Analysis].
Retrieved December 15, 2010, from Singapore Institute of International Affairs
website: http://www.siiaonline.org/‌?q=events/‌analysis-thailands-political-turmoil
Population density map of Thailand [image]. (n.d.). Retrieved December 15, 2010, from
http://www.bestcountryreports.com/‌Population_Map_Thailand.html
Population of Thailand. (2002). Retrieved December 11, 2010, from
http://www.hellosiam.com/‌html/‌thailand/‌thailand-population.htm
Statistics on Thailand. (2010). Retrieved December 7, 2010, from Nation Master website:
http://www.nationmaster.com/‌country/‌th-thailand
Thailand as an NIC [powerpoint]. (n.d.). Retrieved December 11, 2010, from
http://www.slideshare.net/‌ljordan/‌thailand-as-an-nic
Thailand information on economic freedom. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2010,
from 2010 index of economic freedom website: http://www.heritage.org/index/
country/Thailand
Thailand population pyramid [image]. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2010, from Nation
Master website: http://www.nationmaster.com/‌country/‌th/‌Age_distribution
The world factbook - Thailand. (2010, December 8). Retrieved December 7, 2010, from
Central Intelligence Agency website:
https://www.cia.gov/‌library/‌publications/‌the-world-factbook/‌geos/‌th.html