{ "title": "Thailand's Economic Outlook in Six Charts", "publication": "IMF News, June 8, 2018", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2018/06/07/na060818-thailands-economic-outlook-in-six-charts", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2018/06/07/na060818-thailands-economic-outlook-in-six-charts", "overlayPath": "/en/news/articles/2018/06/07/na060818-thailands-economic-outlook-in-six-charts/index.md", "summary": "

Thailand's economic outlook is improving, with growth estimated at 3.9 percent in 2017—the fastest pace since 2013.", "publishDate": "2018-06-08", "sections": [ { "heading": "Economic performance and short-term outlook", "content": "- Growth is estimated at 3.9 percent in 2017—the fastest pace on an annual basis since 2013.\n- Thailand’s growth momentum is expected to continue in 2018 and 2019.\n- Strong growth in tourism and exports of manufacturing goods are expected to continue to sustain this momentum.\n- Investment and consumption are projected to recover gradually." }, { "heading": "Key drivers of growth", "content": "- Tourism:\n - Tourism is a key driver of growth and of the large current account surplus, which stood at 10.6 percent of GDP in 2017.\n - More than 34 million tourists visit Thailand yearly.\n - Benefits from the tourism boom are concentrated in a few select tourist hotspots and have yet to benefit other sectors of the economy.\n- Exports:\n - Exports of manufacturing goods are an ongoing source of growth support." }, { "heading": "Household sector and consumption constraints", "content": "- Household debt in the country is still high, which is one of the reasons why people are holding up spending.\n- High debt resulted partly from past policies that incentivized credit growth, such as the first car loan program; these policies have now been discontinued.\n- The Bank of Thailand has imposed limits on personal loans and credit card debt.\n- As these debts begin to be paid off, the drag on household spending should be reduced." }, { "heading": "Investment and fiscal policy recommendations", "content": "- Scaling up public investment can help spur domestic demand and make growth more inclusive.\n- This approach is critical after the steep slowdown in private investment observed over the last five years.\n- An infrastructure-based fiscal stimulus can:\n - Bring in private investors.\n - Raise long-run growth prospects by adding to the capital stock." }, { "heading": "Labor force, demographics, and social policy recommendations", "content": "- Thailand faces a rapidly aging population that will shrink the labor force without policy responses.\n- Promoting participation in the workforce can help ease the impact of a shrinking labor force.\n- Women’s participation rate in Thailand is relatively high by international standards, but still lags that of men.\n- Policy actions suggested:\n - Government support for child care services to increase women’s participation in the workforce and boost labor productivity.\n - Pension reform, including increasing the pensionable age and providing adequate coverage, to help increase overall labor force participation." }, { "heading": "Structural transformation and productivity", "content": "- Thailand’s service sector is expanding.\n- The government is embracing the digital revolution to boost productivity, including a recently launched national e-payment system intended to help boost tax collection efficiency.\n- Policy focus extends beyond manufacturing (automobiles and electronics) to new sources of growth, including robotics, aerospace, and biotechnology.\n- As automation transforms the future of work, promoting education and training initiatives can help upgrade skill-sets for today’s and tomorrow’s global job market.\n\nThailand's Economic Outlook in Six Charts — June 8, 2018\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- การคาดการณ์เศรษฐกิจไทยในแผนภูมิทั้ง 6 หัวข้อ\n - การคาดการณ์เศรษฐกิจไทยในแผนภูมิทั้ง 6 หัวข้อ (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n - การคาดการณ์เศรษฐกิจไทยในแผนภูมิทั้ง 6 หัวข้อ (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n\n---\n\n References\n\n- https://www.imf.org/en/News/country-focus\n- https://www.imf.org/en/News/Seminars/Campaigns/2018/VTI\n- PRESS CENTER\n- latest annual assessment\n- Latest regional economic outlook\n- Asia and the Pacific: Country Focus article\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2018/06/07/na060818-thailands-economic-outlook-in-six-charts" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2018/06/07/na060818-thailands-economic-outlook-in-six-charts/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2018/06/07/na060818-thailands-economic-outlook-in-six-charts/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2018/06/07/na060818-thailands-economic-outlook-in-six-charts/bundle-manifest.json)", "Published: June 8, 2018", "Growth is estimated at 3.9 percent in 2017—the fastest pace on an annual basis since 2013.", "Thailand’s growth momentum is expected to continue in 2018 and 2019.", "Strong growth in tourism and exports of manufacturing goods are expected to continue to sustain this momentum.", "Investment and consumption are projected to recover gradually.", "Tourism:", "Exports:", "Household debt in the country is still high, which is one of the reasons why people are holding up spending.", "High debt resulted partly from past policies that incentivized credit growth, such as the first car loan program; these policies have now been discontinued.", "The Bank of Thailand has imposed limits on personal loans and credit card debt.", "As these debts begin to be paid off, the drag on household spending should be reduced.", "Scaling up public investment can help spur domestic demand and make growth more inclusive.", "This approach is critical after the steep slowdown in private investment observed over the last five years.", "An infrastructure-based fiscal stimulus can:", "Thailand faces a rapidly aging population that will shrink the labor force without policy responses.", "Promoting participation in the workforce can help ease the impact of a shrinking labor force.", "Women’s participation rate in Thailand is relatively high by international standards, but still lags that of men.", "Policy actions suggested:", "Thailand’s service sector is expanding.", "The government is embracing the digital revolution to boost productivity, including a recently launched national e-payment system intended to help boost tax collection efficiency.", "Policy focus extends beyond manufacturing (automobiles and electronics) to new sources of growth, including robotics, aerospace, and biotechnology.", "As automation transforms the future of work, promoting education and training initiatives can help upgrade skill-sets for today’s and tomorrow’s global job market.", "**การคาดการณ์เศรษฐกิจไทยในแผนภูมิทั้ง 6 หัวข้อ**", "[https://www.imf.org/en/News/country-focus](https://www.imf.org/en/News/country-focus)", "[https://www.imf.org/en/News/Seminars/Campaigns/2018/VTI](https://www.imf.org/en/News/Seminars/Campaigns/2018/VTI)", "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)", "[latest annual assessment](http://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2018/06/04/Thailand-2018-Article-IV-Consultation-Press-Release-Staff-Report-and-Statement-by-the-45928)", "[Latest regional economic outlook](http://www.imf.org/en/Publications/REO/APAC/Issues/2018/04/16/areo0509)", "[Asia and the Pacific: Country Focus article](http://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2018/05/08/NA050918-Asia-and-Pacific-Good-Times-Uncertain-Times-A-Time-to-Prepare)", "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)" ], "related": [ { "title": "การคาดการณ์เศรษฐกิจไทยในแผนภูมิทั้ง 6 หัวข้อ", "role": "document", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/news/news-articles/other-loe/2018/na060818thai.pdf", "summary": { "path": "/-/media/files/news/news-articles/other-loe/2018/na060818thai.pdf.md", "mime": "text/markdown" }, "binary": { "path": "/-/media/files/news/news-articles/other-loe/2018/na060818thai.pdf", "mime": "application/pdf" } } ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/news/articles/2018/06/07/na060818-thailands-economic-outlook-in-six-charts/index.md", "json": "/en/news/articles/2018/06/07/na060818-thailands-economic-outlook-in-six-charts/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/news/articles/2018/06/07/na060818-thailands-economic-outlook-in-six-charts/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-25T21:53:41.865Z" }