Over the last four decades, Thailand has made remarkable progress in social and economic development, moving from a low-income country to an upper-income country in less than a generation. Trade is extremely important to Thailand’s economy. The average applied tariff rate is 3.6 percent.
Thailand has laid out its long-term economic goals in its 20-Year National Strategy (2017-2036) for attaining developed country status through broad reforms. The reforms address economic stability, human capital, equal economic opportunities, environmental sustainability, competitiveness, and effective government bureaucracies.
The country of 67 million populations Thailand is the South-east Asia’s second largest economy with its gross domestic product (GDP) of around USD 300 billion. As a free-marketing economy with the private sector being the main engine of the growth, the kingdom has a strong domestic market and a growing middle class. Thai economy is well integrated into the global market with exports accounting for over 70 percent of the Kingdom’s GDP. In view of industry and service, the country also has a strong industrial sector that accounts for 40 percent of its GDP and a robust and growing services sector, 50 percent shares of GDP, which centers on the tourism and financial services industries.
Economy Expected to Pick Up in 2016-2017
According to the World Bank, although affected by current slowdowns of global trades, Thailand’s economy keeps moving and is seen to pick up in 2016-2017 as several large public investment projects are implemented while inflation and interest rates remain low. Meanwhile, the Bank of Thailand sees the country’s economy continue to grow sustainable in 2016, primarily driven by increased public investment.