India, South Korea, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia are also part of Asia and they all have larger GDP's than Thailand. Perhaps remedy this major error and re-upload the video?
@@EM-cu5ss I was really wondering about as he listed so few countries. You don't even have to look anything up to know what he's missing. Also, at the end he says that Thailand has doubled it economy in the last decade while showing 50% on the screen.
I moved to Thailand earlier this year from the States. It's amazingly cheap, the infrastructure is good, low crime, people very hospitable. The one downside is the political leadership which is chaotic and self-sabotaging. Just last week the prime minister was dismissed by the supreme court here, and then in his place the daughter of an ex-convict-prime-minister billionaire was appointed in his place though she had zero experience in any elected capacity. The week before that the popular political party elected by the people was dissolved and its leaderes banned from political office for 10 years as it wanted to reform the monarchy which threatened the oligarchs.
The court that dismissed the prime minister and outlaw another party is not the supreme court. It's kind of the special !@# court established by the junta.
What a mess, right? The people are lovely and charming, you will find yourself rooting for the country and wanting things to get better, but politically it's an ongoing catastrophe. You can't help but shake your head in disbelieve.
I am a Thai living in Japan. Been considering moving back but the political shitshow does make me wanna just stay here where I know at least I'm getting good things back for the tax money I pay.
Yeah, which is why it's so dangerous when the government threatens to nationalise an industry. If you can't trust them to keep your assets safe, and not confiscate them, then why be there?
It's everything. You can have the most beautiful constitution in the world, the hardest working people, but if you can't trust people to abide by a common set of values, if corruption leaks around everything...It's kaput. "I trust I will be paid correctly for my work" "I trust my water is clean" "I trust the factory is not dumping toxic material into my children's backyard" "I trust my military won't decide they'd rather be in charge" "I trust the current government will relinquish power when called for" "My grocery store trusts my check is good." "My boss trusts I will be on time and will do my job without supervision" "I trust my neighbors not to kill me or burn my house over some wider sectarian dispute we have nothing to do with." So many, MANY things.
@@MrLachlan1903This comment is very misconstruing the idea of nationalisation. There’s times when it can be good, and times when it can be bad. The good times are when it’s best for the people, and a company/industry is LEGALLY purchased as opposed to ILLEGALLY confiscated.
Foreigners often find it surprising how a country with a GDP per capita at this level appears far more advanced than one might expect based on that figure alone. It's important to note that a significant portion of the economy operates in the informal or "gray" sector, which isn't fully captured in taxable income. As a result, many people enjoy a higher standard of living, and the actual income per capita is considerably higher than the official numbers suggest.
Also, there is a very wide gap between Bangkok and other provinces in the country. Outside the major city centers, many people still live in abject poverty.
As a Thai. I think no. Many people say Thailand's food, items etc are cheap. Yes they are, compared to USD. However,when you consider that the minimum wage here is around 330 THB (around $10-$11) per day and food is around 2$ each. Not even including the transport, water and other items. (I commented before I watched the video though)
Absolutely right. And when it comes to specific things if you know where to shop in america you can consistently find things for similar if not lower prices. I would argue the only meaningfully cheaper things in Thailand than California for example are rent, taxis, and restaurants.
@@WackyTournaments Same in the UK. When I first settled here 20 years ago I remarked that apart from government taxes, I lived as cheaply. if not more so there. Now Im finding it very expensive and I don't live a Western lifestyle. To say Thailand is cheap is a joke.
@@tamsinthai I'm really glad to hear someone back me up on this point lol. Everything at a grocery store is either just slightly cheaper or wildly more expensive than back home hahaha. After my lease in Bangkok ends I'm going to move to Taiwan to try it out over there for a year. If you get a chance, I'd recommend checking it out. Better grocery store prices, better transit, infrastructure, air quality. while hotels are more expensive than Thailand, The price of a year lease Is honestly about the same for similar quality. (At least compared to Bangkok) Plus they have Costco!
330 baht is the lowest minimum wage. For area around bangkok I think it's around 370. But for people in tourism sector they can easily make around 400-500 baht a day. The problem with Thailand is that a lot of people still work in informal sector where there is no minimum wage. Some people still earn less than 300 bath a day.
@@mimameta You've got a point there khrub 555+ How do you find the language barrier when talking to locals? That seems to be the common unspoken bane of existence among expats here.
@@honjokun0615if anything, Thailand is among few countries where you can actually survive on low to no funds. Heck even beggars can overcome poverty here.
I'd say Thailand is the envy of Southeast Asia (not Singapore). They have strong manufacturing, agricultural, and huge tourism industries. With a population of 70 million, its neither overpopulated nor underpopulated (just suitable for its landmass and economy). Most of the stuff we buy in grocery stores is manufactured in Thailand. Our staples like Rice is from Thailand too. If it's not just the political instability, Thailand's economy should be larger and bigger than it is now.
There's still a large Grey economy here but the Govt and Revenue have been slowly chipping away at it with the prompt pay and cracking down on the accountants, but you could probably still add 30-40% to the IMF and World bankster figs iMHo.
Many Thai people want it the same way so they dont have to pay tax, keep being poor to receive free benifit from the government without paying direct tax,personally I want the government to increase the VAT and cancel the income tax so that I dont have to pay my money to these grey sector.
A big issue you didn't mention for Thailand is demographics. The Thailand population is about to start declining and aging rapidly or already in that situation depending on the source. That's a terrible situation to be in when your still a developing economy.
I dont see it affecting Thailand as much, all the countries around it (except Malaysia) are very poor and have high growth rates. If you ever go to Bangkok, for example, youll find plenty of people from Myanmar working jobs Thais dont want to do. Labor will remain cheap in Thailand
Not really since myanmar , laos , cambodia , vietnam are slowlt taking over thailand. as a thai is hard to find an actual thai person nowadays because these immigrants who stayed here illegally are takingover alot of certain places and committing crimes.if you ask me I think thailand is propably overcrowded
One of Thailand's major problems, which is not addressed here, is the disparity of economic opportunity and resources as between the capital region, Bangkok, and the rest of the country. I recall one economist at a conference saying that Thailand could be best understood as being two economies, one being a modern city, like Hong Kong in the 1960s, and the other being rural Bangladesh. While this was some years ago, the analogy still holds true, and a dual economy approach provides a better measure of Thailand's performance, rather than applying an average to the whole country which fails to capture the dramatically increasing income and wealth disparity due to fewer resources going to the rural areas.
rural Bangladesh and rural Thailand is way apart. You need to stay in Thailand for a period and travel in regional area before jumping on your comment.
Thailand's economy is quite underwhelming. Per capita, it's comparable to pre-war Ukraine. But outside the Bangkok Metropolitan Area and other major tourist towns, it might as well be a backwater. Thailand's major cash cows are hard drives and automobiles. Solid state storage supplanting HDDs in consumer computers, and rise of EVs in the Asian market (primary importers of Thai automobiles) has kneecapped growth, and new investments are chilly. After all, this is a country with a military coup every 4.5 years on average, and whose constitution lasts about as long as half of a dog's lifespan. Thailand has the economy of pre-war Ukraine, with none of the domestic institutional knowledge to set up native heavy dual-use industries. Everything was licensed either from the Japanese auto industry, or from Western hard drive manufacturers like WD and Seagate. Now all of that is being undercut by Chinese dumping of electronics and EVs. Consequently, Thailand is a developing economy that grows about as much as the UK does.
Being in thailand was great but jarring, you have legitimate bustling cities with abject poverty 30 minutes away. We have homeless camps in my city though so its not judgement just a culture shock
One additional worry is potential impact of climate change. I think most of SE Asia will be impacted. The rice fields may not produce enough of that staple for export, etc.
@@jpny4750the reluctance to adopt modern industrial agriculture is also frustrating. The bulk of rice farms in Thailand are still submerged paddy farms. Highly water inefficient, releases inordinate amounts of methane due to creation of anaerobic conditions in the submerged topsoil, and frankly, the farmers can't afford combines to move onto the late 20th century. It's a structural and policy problem. Let's compare peers to peers. Ukrainian farmers are masters of their combines and turned their tractors into demining machines. Thai farmers are lucky to graduate high school, and most can't operate machinery more complicated than a two stroke engine, diesel water pump, or a small walk behind tractor (colloquially and descriptively named steel buffaloes). Thai education failed Thai farmers, and monopolies in the supply chain force the prices of agricultural commodities down, hence why most Thai farmers remain impoverished and undercapitalized, lacking the tools, the capital, and the knowhow to work the land granted to them by local authorities (or worse, rented from local lords). Thai conservatives and royalists resist calls for reform, saying it's ridiculous to compare Thailand to highly developed and wealthy nations. I scoff at them and give to them the example of Ukraine. The peer of Thailand in per-capita wealth, yet worlds apart in terms of industrialization, vocational educational outcomes, and advancement in primary and secondary industries.
@@bullydungeon9631 India looks much the same, but it's still the fastest growing and one of the largest economies in the world. That contrast doesn't really say much.
My water bill in thailand is $4 per month lol Rent is $1600 for a 3 bed villa Electric is $150 per month Food is really cheap Internet is some of the best in the world I'm never leaving
1600 USD rent for a 3-bed villa is robbery. You could buy a 2-story house in Thailand if you saved that rent money for about two and a half year. But I guess it's understandable, since non-native can't buy property in Thailand under current laws.
Crazy how an agreement increasing the value of Japanese currency can impact Thailand economically because Thailand’s currency is pegged to the US’s. Economics really is a wonderful thing
No such thing. Money is always and everywhere neutral meaning even in the short term changing the currency has few real economic effects, aside from those lasting for a few hours affecting day traders.
this isn't really the subject of economics. you are confused because it is large numbers and involved money and economies. The subject of Foreign exchange and floating currencies is a completely different subject. Economics is supply and demand, when FOREX has more to do with manipulations, and pegged currencies and international politics.
The exploration of its strategic location and resilience really sheds light on why Thailand is such a unique player in Southeast Asia. Thanks for another great video!
@@dqdq4083 I thought he mean during 60-70 in before 1997 Asian financial crisis that time Korea and India still in ruin and recovery from war. It have some old Thai propaganda to be fourth tiger of Asia but Thai economy flopped in 1997 so it not recover until today
@@adrianveress i dont wanna defend EE, but Russia and Turkey usually mentioned in "european" lists. Turkey could be also in "middle eastern" lists, so usually they are excluded from "asia". But yeah, you are right with India and South Korea.
I agreed with everything in this video until the end - when you put Thailand on a par with Bangladesh and the Philippines. I have lived in Thailand for more than six years and it's the best place I have ever lived. The people here are happy, friendly, family oriented and they love their country.
Despite the terrible politics and the ever-present corruption, Thailand is still a relatively peaceful and prosperous country to live in. One clue as to why this is can be found by looking at what happened when Covid hit in 2019-2020. It should have been an unmitigated disaster with ruined economy, huge death tolls, undermined government, but no. Thailand had one of the best covid statistics in the world, low death toll, high vaccination rate, health services that coped well, and a government that was seen to make tough but good decisions that put the people first. Post-covid recovery steady, and gets nearer to pre-covid level every day. You would not expect any of this in a politically backward country riddled with corruption.
Part of that is that people don't shake hands much here. Just Wai. 60-80% of ALL human influenza like transmissions are via the hands believe it or not.
@@Ozjockey111 And another part of it is that Thai people have no problem with wearing masks, unlike in many western countries. Even today many people routine wear masks
Another factor is the Thai people have a very DIY mindset. We take care of ourselves better than how the government takes care it itself. Kind of a given, since the government's lifespan is shorter than a dog's life.
Being cheap is appealing and people will try to justify everything to say that the cheap place they settle down is good. 😂. Being cheap does not equal being inexpensive.
Thailand adopted modernization at the same and even earlier than Japan but it still lacks institutional knowledge in producing its own heavy industries.
Thai historical modernization was not distributed to all classes of the society, mainly for the elite, whose main goal was to keep Thailand out of Western colonialism. Thailand did not historically develop a grounded education or industry and remained largely agrarian into 1960s or 1980s.
I am from Thailand. Thank you very much for making this video. I found it very insightful. I want to comment a bit that the video is too optimistic. The growth has been recently slower than in other SEA nations. You can also mention the country's very high household debt. Lastly, the purpose of the coups are not to protect the monarchy. The popularity of King Bhumibol (Rama IX) makes that unnecessary. The coup leaders only tried to legitimize themselves by using different nonsense claims.
One downside of living in Thailand is that the air quality (by level of pm2.5) in the north, north eastern and central part of the country is pretty bad 4 - 5 months out of a year due to unregulated agricultural sector (crop burning). The government clearly cares more about the businesses of agricultural oligarchs than the public health of tax payers.
Huhhh??? The Air quality is a direct result of the neighboring countries and their factory pollution. Not Thailand or the government’s fault. It’s a precarious situation that the government has yet to address in order to maintain good relations with the neighbors and- I dunno, NOT go to war???🙄
@@punnboat9817 probably because of the growth rate. these countries had a bright future if things go well for them. but looking at the population pyramid of Spain, Turkey and Greece they will run out of steam in the next coming decades. They will heavily rely on outsourcing labor to other countries which we know could accelerate the growth the country which take the outsource labor since its basically a form of transferring knowledge to other country. I think the only odd ranking is Bangladesh since their situation is more unstable at the moment. their PM just resign and their country is under a state of chaos at the moment. I think Thailand should be rank just above the Philippines and Vietnam for now. Vietnam and Philippines is relatively equal in economic performance as of now, and Bangladesh should be rank a little lower.
@@iceteazen I (almost) completely agree with you. The only thing I disagree with is Spain. Spain can do advanced stuff(by global scale) locally. Thailand can't. To give you an example, Spain can design and manufacture cars, ships, part of airplanes etc. Thailand can't. Yes, Thailand manufactured cars. And someone can just come and set up a factory to build ships and planes. But Thailand can't design it themselves. Someone has to R&D and hire Thailand to manufacture it. All advanced economies have local businesses produce advance stuffs that operate at global scale. Either able to create advance goods that use globally (like US's Microsoft, Boeing etc... German's Car companies, Siemens etc...). Or have a financial institution that operates globally globally (Like Switzerland, Singapore or Hong Kong) Spain has Zara, CAF, Talgo, SEAT, Navatia etc. Thailand doesn't. That's why I think Spain is in a better position. Spain may have problems, but it also has knowhow to create high-margin goods.
Turbulent? but one of the slowest in the ASEAN region only second to Singapore, which is a developed economy Thailand need to really catch up because soon Vietnam will surpass them 😬 also @ 13:45 , Thailand is not the 4th largest economy in Asia 😭 South Korea? India?
I thought he mean during 60-70 in before 1997 Asian financial crisis that time Korea and India still in ruin and recovery from war. It have some old Thai propaganda to be fourth tiger of Asia but Thai economy flopped in 1997 so it not recover until today
It has taken me longer to read all of the comments than to watch the video. None are saying that you are wrong, which is a testimony to the the quality of this video. I am enjoying your series in general. Keep up the good work.
Thailand is far more developed than Bangladesh or the Philippines, not sure how they can even be in the same ballpark. Despite the low GDP average Thais live an ok life and the country is very modern. Its infrastructure is also incredible with road quality that would put many states in the US to shame.
It's about GDP growth. Philippines and Bangladesh grow much faster than the Thai economy. Thailand's economy is more well-rounded though but with an aging society, unlike the Philippines and Bangladesh that is having a population explosion.
Thailand, Bangladesh and the Philippines also scored higher than Spain and Turkey. I agreed that something is off about the scoring system. Because I don't believe that Thailand has better economy than Spain.
I think this ranking but heavy emphasis on economic growth but i will still put Thailand just a little above Philippines and Vietnam since they aren't so bad in terms of growth. Thailand is growing slower than Philippines, Vietnam or Bangladesh but they are more develop.Also Bangladesh should be lower than PH or VN due to their recent instability. TH, PH and VN are more stable and predicted to be the next trillion dollar economy in asia.
Hope you’ll cover Thailand l’s political context soon in your secondary channel as only economic data alone makes Thailand look too good to be true. Giving credit where it is due, high-speed internet really gives this country so much advantages. But other benefits like investments and tourisms only gathered in Bangkok and a few touristy cities, when in rural region, especially the Northeast, still lack of those opportunities.
Can we talk about that important bit ‘at some point, it didn’t need more investments and further investments would just drive up asset prices.’ How do you find that sweet spot? How do you turn the tap off?
@@yeahthebois3617the video mentions that Thailand’s economy is the 4th largest in Asia which is FALSE. And even he actually meant East Asia + Southeast Asia, it is still WRONG. South Korea and Taiwan both have larger GDP than Thailand.
Either my home country is more stable than I think or you're overestimating. I was expecting a 4/5 considering our growth prospects haven't been the best. Coups has always been business as usual, not much changes and not a single bullet is fired.
It's been so hard for me to explain the economics and politics of my country to my friends. This video says it all and very well portrayed, thank you so much for making this video
@@deepisaddictedtoyt I thought he mean during 60-70 in before 1997 Asian financial crisis that time Korea and India still in ruin and recovery from war. It have some old Thai propaganda to be fourth tiger of Asia but Thai economy flopped in 1997 so it not recover until today
Hi content creator. This is a great video and I loved watching it. Just one correction. In the leader board discussion you mention Thailand as the 4th largest econlnomy in Asia. You mention Japan, Indonesia and China as higher. You missed India (which is also part of Asia) which is at a gdp of almost $4 trillion.
I thought he mean during 60-70 in before 1997 Asian financial crisis that time Korea and India still in ruin and recovery from war. It have some old Thai propaganda to be fourth tiger of Asia but Thai economy flopped in 1997 so it not recover until today
I am certainly not a Thai but have been here since 1990's. Red bull is famous and Chang Beer is doing well to be listed as a key stock component of the Straits Times Index in Singapore. Thailand has gotten certainly some things right over the years and of late. The massive road infrastructure, EVs making the key cities green, improved healthcare with low costs and the PRIDE movement which has the potential to make thailand the preferred destination for living, work and holiday for influential LGBTs. So Thais should always be hopeful but people who wanted change should concentrate in one thing or task at a time which collectively as a society, these will add up to be massive.
Thai GDP seems low mainly because there is a huge informal economic activity where transactions are done in cash. This is also the same reason why the reported unemployment rate is so low as there are not many reasons for people to report unemployment due to lack of social security and there are plenty of labor jobs in the agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism sectors
A sign that unemployment rate is very low in Thailand is that many shops and businesses are unable to hire enough staff. And in some cases the service is subpar because the business cannot find better staff.
There's also the fact that actually unemployed people self-report as "self-employed" which skews the number even further. Primary reason being that receiving unemployment welfare is just so unreliable. There's also the stigma of being unemployed, which is sort of self-enforced in society. Most people would rather take out loans and open a foot cart while paying back loan interests than be labeled as unemployed.
Thailand's manufacturing sector is having a hard time currently As China is pouring out more exports at a lower price, and the change toward the EV seriously hit the car component manufacturing sector (mainly in the Japanese brand supply chain) Currently, they just started to join China's EV supply chain and raise customs on some types of import, we just need to wait and see if these is enough to stabilize their manufacturing sector .
Patutlah satu ketika terdekat ini. Ada yang mempersoalkan keupayaan economic Malaysia baru2 ini. Hari ni baru perasan berkaitan nilai matawang Malaysia di peringkat dunia. Menarik juga..
I’m Thai and I can see that Vietnam and Philippines are doing great and will surpass us in the next 5-10 years for sure as their economic growth rate is relatively high compares to us. Malaysia already has a better economic than Thailand. ❤
The problem with coups, lawfare and political stitch-ups is that it means that long term investments is surpressed. It won't have any hope of becoming an advanced economy if the political situation remains so unstable or unpredictable. Even local companies can't think long term, as each new government formed between the periods of chaotic exchanges of power will changes policies. The fiasco of the last elections are a case in point.
Thailand just dismissed the prime minister last week. Even this one is not count as coup, it likely to have same effect. But still does not affect foreigners and industry.
Will the Economics Explained leaderboard be outdated already by the time its finished? Since many countries are covered during turbulent times which they might recover from, or the opposite.
I’m Thai and I moved to NYC and, shortly after 9/11, to Orlando. Grew up in Chanthaburi and despite the “instability”, I really love it. Especially the great people who live there.
A video elaborating more on the relationship between the royal family with coups and economic stability would be appreciated, you should had fleshed it out more.
By far my favorite youtube channel. Thank you for everything you do. Just one quick question/suggestion. Is there anyway we can get a little more math in some new videos? Econometrics, IS-LM curves, derivatives, etc.
There's also a huge amount of money circulating that goes nowhere near official statistics.... This can be said in a lot of countries but its off the charts in Thailand, especially in the north east (use your imagination to figure out why....)
My cousin was caught in one of these coups and held at the airport for some time before she could travel home. Yet people keep coming back. I’ve never been been it is one of the most common tourist countries for people here in Sweden. And I know many that have Thai girlfriends or wives.
I respectfully disagree with the statement. In fact, Thailand's current economic trajectory appears to be regressing when compared to the period of economic boom prior to the Asian Financial Crisis. A pertinent example is the recent exodus of factories from Thailand, driven by a confluence of factors that reflect broader global economic trends, increased regional competition, and domestic challenges. Over the years, labor costs in Thailand have risen significantly, particularly due to the implementation of minimum wage increases. As wages continue to climb, labor-intensive industries, such as manufacturing, find it increasingly less cost-effective to operate in Thailand compared to neighboring countries with lower labor costs, such as Vietnam. Thailand has also faced periods of political instability, which can create uncertainty for businesses. Although the country maintains a relatively stable investment climate, the potential for political unrest or policy shifts is a significant concern for long-term investors. Realistically, there has been a noticeable decline in investment coming into the country. As a result, Thailand's economy has become increasingly reliant on tourism, with limited growth in other sectors, leading to what can be described as a circular economy.
Since 2005, Thailand has been in very unstable government as no one was able to implement long term policies before being taken down. Nine year rule of the military prime minister who took power in that coup in 2014 from 2014 to 2023 did not do anything much either as Thailand relies heavily on tourism and lacks technological innovations nor domestic high skilled workers. Industry has been very reliant on Japan and has been outcompeted by rising neighbors like Malaysia or Vietnam and recently being flooded with Chinese cheap over produced products. Thai political situation is still volatile as I am typing this comment.
Korea has 4x the GDP of thailand, not to mention India, saudi Arabia, Turkey or Taiwan... so thailand is nowhere close to being the 4th largest economy in asia😅
I thought he mean during 60-70 in before 1997 Asian financial crisis that time Korea and India still in ruin and recovery from war. It have some old Thai propaganda to be fourth tiger of Asia but Thai economy flopped in 1997 so it not recover until today
I am Thai. Thailand has a fertile land. There are kind-hearted and polite people. Although there are some dark sides. But we love each other when the country has any crisis. Regarding the coup, I see it as a bad thing and it makes the country stop for a long time. But it will not be as bad as other parts of the world. And democracy will always come back. I have been watching these events for many years. A very important part of the Thai mindset is religion. Buddhism is like water used to extinguish a hot fire. Always. Throughout my life in this country since I was born, I have never gone hungry. If you work hard, you choose to have a good society around you. Live your life the right way. This country can definitely give you happiness.
Thanks for improving the cadence of your speech,i had to stop listening to your channel few months ago because i couldn't bare it. But im interested in Thailand and surprised that you improved your speech
It would be so cool if you do a Balkan country again. I am from Bulgaria, but really a video for any country from the Balkans would be something I would love to see and would share with my friends! 😁
This is too hopeful compared to what I a Thai feel. Sure, things are pretty okay here but I see no future here. We have no homegrown brand, relatively high corruption, aging society, lot of coup and special court political intervention, bad education, inequity and a lot more systemic problem.
I thought he meant just East/Southeast Asia, but then Korea (which is higher) is missing. Thailand would be 5th biggest in E/SE Asia based on the IMF database that he is looking at (IMF WEO April 2024 GDP current prices) (Also if you include Taiwan then Thai would be 6th in ESE Asia, though I would get if the exclusion was intentional)
As a Thai citizen I appreciate your views on Thailand as I can see most of your videos are talking about crisis 😂. So it's a good sign for us that you still see the bright future of our country and explain it with the very good understanding. In my point of view, Thailand still lack of new ways to grow its economy, lack of our own innovation. Other point is our income still low and I can't see realistic ways to improve.
The US definitely had something to do with all those coups. Malacca strait is a chokepoint. The US is never letting that fall to enemies/socialist/communist hands.
Thailand had been mostly pro-US after WW2. Their monarchy had been always afraid of communism during the Cold War that's why they participated in US led alliance to contain the influence of communism during the cold war.
Kr’atom. I think an interesting point about Thailand is that it’s a subsystem coup. A coup of the democratic institution while maintaining the executive & security authority. Also, not a history of massive nationalistion of investment.
Crazy how an agreement increasing the value of Japanese currency can impact Thailand economically because Thailand’s currency is pegged to the US dollar. Economics really is a wonderful thing
Thailand has had overwhelming potential over decades, but the political instability and corruption hold it back so so so much. Especially with a monarchy like that, I’m surprised it’s still got any potential left to its name. They can’t thrive on tourism forever. Other countries have the capability to promote tourism of their own, for example, Vietnam and Mexico are so up and coming. The wealth disparity is so wild and even though many parts of Thailand rival that of cities in East Asia and Singapore, there are still so many underdeveloped areas in the country. Not enough funding for infrastructure goes to rural areas and indigenous lands. I also don’t think there’s great incentive to immigrate/seek refuge there anymore like there used to be when many people from poorer surrounding countries can just go to Japan, Korea, or the Middle East instead.
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You have a lot of bots in your comment section
@@StarkTripod2006 First time on TH-cam?
India, South Korea, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia are also part of Asia and they all have larger GDP's than Thailand. Perhaps remedy this major error and re-upload the video?
@@EM-cu5ss I was really wondering about as he listed so few countries. You don't even have to look anything up to know what he's missing.
Also, at the end he says that Thailand has doubled it economy in the last decade while showing 50% on the screen.
@@seanrodgers1839 bro forgot to get that chatgpt pro version when making the video 💀💀
I moved to Thailand earlier this year from the States. It's amazingly cheap, the infrastructure is good, low crime, people very hospitable. The one downside is the political leadership which is chaotic and self-sabotaging. Just last week the prime minister was dismissed by the supreme court here, and then in his place the daughter of an ex-convict-prime-minister billionaire was appointed in his place though she had zero experience in any elected capacity. The week before that the popular political party elected by the people was dissolved and its leaderes banned from political office for 10 years as it wanted to reform the monarchy which threatened the oligarchs.
At least it's not a dictatorship.
The court that dismissed the prime minister and outlaw another party is not the supreme court. It's kind of the special !@# court established by the junta.
What a mess, right? The people are lovely and charming, you will find yourself rooting for the country and wanting things to get better, but politically it's an ongoing catastrophe. You can't help but shake your head in disbelieve.
I am a Thai living in Japan. Been considering moving back but the political shitshow does make me wanna just stay here where I know at least I'm getting good things back for the tax money I pay.
I think Thailand's biggest economy threat rn is Vietnam,Laos and Cambodia.
The rise of its Neighbors
The more I try to understand economics, the more I come to realize that TRUST is the biggest factor.
"I trust that my government would take care of me when I'm drunk"
Yeah, which is why it's so dangerous when the government threatens to nationalise an industry. If you can't trust them to keep your assets safe, and not confiscate them, then why be there?
It's everything. You can have the most beautiful constitution in the world, the hardest working people, but if you can't trust people to abide by a common set of values, if corruption leaks around everything...It's kaput.
"I trust I will be paid correctly for my work"
"I trust my water is clean"
"I trust the factory is not dumping toxic material into my children's backyard"
"I trust my military won't decide they'd rather be in charge"
"I trust the current government will relinquish power when called for"
"My grocery store trusts my check is good."
"My boss trusts I will be on time and will do my job without supervision"
"I trust my neighbors not to kill me or burn my house over some wider sectarian dispute we have nothing to do with."
So many, MANY things.
@@MrLachlan1903This comment is very misconstruing the idea of nationalisation. There’s times when it can be good, and times when it can be bad. The good times are when it’s best for the people, and a company/industry is LEGALLY purchased as opposed to ILLEGALLY confiscated.
@@jamespowell5608 In theory, yes. But history has rarely seen nationalization by purchase at a fair price.
Foreigners often find it surprising how a country with a GDP per capita at this level appears far more advanced than one might expect based on that figure alone. It's important to note that a significant portion of the economy operates in the informal or "gray" sector, which isn't fully captured in taxable income. As a result, many people enjoy a higher standard of living, and the actual income per capita is considerably higher than the official numbers suggest.
Exactly! You put it better in words than what I have in thought.
Also, there is a very wide gap between Bangkok and other provinces in the country. Outside the major city centers, many people still live in abject poverty.
That's a very good point indeed! No one ever mentions the massive GRAY or cash market, but all that's just local consumption stuff.
You can see that same dynamic at work in Italy as well.
EE always skip Malaysia. Always ignored…hopefully for good reason
As a Thai. I think no. Many people say Thailand's food, items etc are cheap. Yes they are, compared to USD. However,when you consider that the minimum wage here is around 330 THB (around $10-$11) per day and food is around 2$ each. Not even including the transport, water and other items. (I commented before I watched the video though)
Absolutely right. And when it comes to specific things if you know where to shop in america you can consistently find things for similar if not lower prices. I would argue the only meaningfully cheaper things in Thailand than California for example are rent, taxis, and restaurants.
จะบ้าเหรอ ใช้ยังไงวันละ70บาท แหม......2$/วัน กินอะไรเหรอ
@@WackyTournaments Same in the UK. When I first settled here 20 years ago I remarked that apart from government taxes, I lived as cheaply. if not more so there. Now Im finding it very expensive and I don't live a Western lifestyle. To say Thailand is cheap is a joke.
@@tamsinthai I'm really glad to hear someone back me up on this point lol. Everything at a grocery store is either just slightly cheaper or wildly more expensive than back home hahaha. After my lease in Bangkok ends I'm going to move to Taiwan to try it out over there for a year. If you get a chance, I'd recommend checking it out. Better grocery store prices, better transit, infrastructure, air quality. while hotels are more expensive than Thailand, The price of a year lease Is honestly about the same for similar quality. (At least compared to Bangkok) Plus they have Costco!
330 baht is the lowest minimum wage. For area around bangkok I think it's around 370. But for people in tourism sector they can easily make around 400-500 baht a day. The problem with Thailand is that a lot of people still work in informal sector where there is no minimum wage. Some people still earn less than 300 bath a day.
I moved to Thailand almost a year ago now, best decision ever! Beautiful country, and kind and polite people 🙏
I moved to Thailand 25 years ago, and I totally agree with you.
Thailand born and raised. Please exercise cautious optimism. Life will get more difficult once your finances run low 😢
@@honjokun0615 That is true for any county if you don't know what you are doing 😜
@@mimameta You've got a point there khrub 555+
How do you find the language barrier when talking to locals? That seems to be the common unspoken bane of existence among expats here.
@@honjokun0615if anything, Thailand is among few countries where you can actually survive on low to no funds. Heck even beggars can overcome poverty here.
I'd say Thailand is the envy of Southeast Asia (not Singapore). They have strong manufacturing, agricultural, and huge tourism industries. With a population of 70 million, its neither overpopulated nor underpopulated (just suitable for its landmass and economy). Most of the stuff we buy in grocery stores is manufactured in Thailand. Our staples like Rice is from Thailand too. If it's not just the political instability, Thailand's economy should be larger and bigger than it is now.
There's still a large Grey economy here but the Govt and Revenue have been slowly chipping away at it with the prompt pay and cracking down on the accountants, but you could probably still add 30-40% to the IMF and World bankster figs iMHo.
Many Thai people want it the same way so they dont have to pay tax, keep being poor to receive free benifit from the government without paying direct tax,personally I want the government to increase the VAT and cancel the income tax so that I dont have to pay my money to these grey sector.
as malaysians we didnt envy thailand and our passport have 183 country visa free compared to thai weak passport 😂😂
@@bella8145-d9zHmmmm, the irony.
@@bella8145-d9zWe don't have second-class Chinese citizens though
Finally my country is in the economics explained. Thank you for making this video ขอบคุณมากครับ
Namo Boddhisatva
😂
เย้ เจอพวกเดียวกันแล้ววววว
ปล. เสียดายที่ EE ไม่พูดเรื่อง rapidly aging population
@@honjokun0615 112 ด้วยเลยครับ ทุกอย่าแก้ด้วย 112
who holds power in Thailand, is it the army or the monarchy?
A big issue you didn't mention for Thailand is demographics.
The Thailand population is about to start declining and aging rapidly or already in that situation depending on the source.
That's a terrible situation to be in when your still a developing economy.
Thai people joke that, Japan got rich before getting old, Thailand is getting old before getting rich
I dont see it affecting Thailand as much, all the countries around it (except Malaysia) are very poor and have high growth rates. If you ever go to Bangkok, for example, youll find plenty of people from Myanmar working jobs Thais dont want to do.
Labor will remain cheap in Thailand
Not really since myanmar , laos , cambodia , vietnam are slowlt taking over thailand. as a thai is hard to find an actual thai person nowadays because these immigrants who stayed here illegally are takingover alot of certain places and committing crimes.if you ask me I think thailand is propably overcrowded
@@Akniozo200 definitely is and definitely true. But i was responding to the economics of the country, not the cultural aspects.
@@Akniozo200i think you meant Bangkok not Thailand
One of Thailand's major problems, which is not addressed here, is the disparity of economic opportunity and resources as between the capital region, Bangkok, and the rest of the country. I recall one economist at a conference saying that Thailand could be best understood as being two economies, one being a modern city, like Hong Kong in the 1960s, and the other being rural Bangladesh. While this was some years ago, the analogy still holds true, and a dual economy approach provides a better measure of Thailand's performance, rather than applying an average to the whole country which fails to capture the dramatically increasing income and wealth disparity due to fewer resources going to the rural areas.
rural Bangladesh and rural Thailand is way apart. You need to stay in Thailand for a period and travel in regional area before jumping on your comment.
เรื่องนี่เป็น มุมมองใหม่ของผม ทำให้เข้าใจคำว่า ในเมือง และ ชนบท ดีขึ้น
** คนในชนบทจำนวนมาก ที่เป็นเกษตรกร มีที่ดิน 10- 100 ไร่
Thailand's economy is quite underwhelming. Per capita, it's comparable to pre-war Ukraine. But outside the Bangkok Metropolitan Area and other major tourist towns, it might as well be a backwater.
Thailand's major cash cows are hard drives and automobiles. Solid state storage supplanting HDDs in consumer computers, and rise of EVs in the Asian market (primary importers of Thai automobiles) has kneecapped growth, and new investments are chilly. After all, this is a country with a military coup every 4.5 years on average, and whose constitution lasts about as long as half of a dog's lifespan.
Thailand has the economy of pre-war Ukraine, with none of the domestic institutional knowledge to set up native heavy dual-use industries. Everything was licensed either from the Japanese auto industry, or from Western hard drive manufacturers like WD and Seagate. Now all of that is being undercut by Chinese dumping of electronics and EVs.
Consequently, Thailand is a developing economy that grows about as much as the UK does.
This! Thank you for clarifying, im a thai american and its amazing to see my second blossom
Being in thailand was great but jarring, you have legitimate bustling cities with abject poverty 30 minutes away. We have homeless camps in my city though so its not judgement just a culture shock
One additional worry is potential impact of climate change. I think most of SE Asia will be impacted. The rice fields may not produce enough of that staple for export, etc.
@@jpny4750the reluctance to adopt modern industrial agriculture is also frustrating. The bulk of rice farms in Thailand are still submerged paddy farms. Highly water inefficient, releases inordinate amounts of methane due to creation of anaerobic conditions in the submerged topsoil, and frankly, the farmers can't afford combines to move onto the late 20th century.
It's a structural and policy problem. Let's compare peers to peers. Ukrainian farmers are masters of their combines and turned their tractors into demining machines. Thai farmers are lucky to graduate high school, and most can't operate machinery more complicated than a two stroke engine, diesel water pump, or a small walk behind tractor (colloquially and descriptively named steel buffaloes).
Thai education failed Thai farmers, and monopolies in the supply chain force the prices of agricultural commodities down, hence why most Thai farmers remain impoverished and undercapitalized, lacking the tools, the capital, and the knowhow to work the land granted to them by local authorities (or worse, rented from local lords).
Thai conservatives and royalists resist calls for reform, saying it's ridiculous to compare Thailand to highly developed and wealthy nations. I scoff at them and give to them the example of Ukraine. The peer of Thailand in per-capita wealth, yet worlds apart in terms of industrialization, vocational educational outcomes, and advancement in primary and secondary industries.
@@bullydungeon9631 India looks much the same, but it's still the fastest growing and one of the largest economies in the world. That contrast doesn't really say much.
Thailand is a perfect example of middle income trap
yes sort of but for different reasons. but yep.
I don't think that Coups Georg can count as a perfect example of anything.
or maybe unequal province distribution
I don't think they count as "middle income" yet, given they haven't reached $10k GDP per capita.
@@phoenix5054 You need to do more research. They're already classified as upper-middle income. Even moreso when you consider GDP per capita PPP.
My water bill in thailand is $4 per month lol
Rent is $1600 for a 3 bed villa
Electric is $150 per month
Food is really cheap
Internet is some of the best in the world
I'm never leaving
1600 USD rent for a 3-bed villa is robbery.
You could buy a 2-story house in Thailand if you saved that rent money for about two and a half year.
But I guess it's understandable, since non-native can't buy property in Thailand under current laws.
The center of earth,wind,fire,water on the planet.
And your is kinda on a high/rich side too.
คุณใช้จ่ายมากกว่าคนชั้นกลางของไทยโดยเฉลี่ย10เท่า เฉพาะค่าบ้าน
Rent is not cheap
Crazy how an agreement increasing the value of Japanese currency can impact Thailand economically because Thailand’s currency is pegged to the US’s.
Economics really is a wonderful thing
Thailand currency Isn't exactly pegged
No such thing. Money is always and everywhere neutral meaning even in the short term changing the currency has few real economic effects, aside from those lasting for a few hours affecting day traders.
no it is not
@@Hasanaljadid it was in those days, but that was last century. 1990s ;-)
this isn't really the subject of economics. you are confused because it is large numbers and involved money and economies. The subject of Foreign exchange and floating currencies is a completely different subject. Economics is supply and demand, when FOREX has more to do with manipulations, and pegged currencies and international politics.
The exploration of its strategic location and resilience really sheds light on why Thailand is such a unique player in Southeast Asia. Thanks for another great video!
13:45, Thailand is definitely not the 4th largest economy in Asia
India doesn't exist 😮
Right: India, South Korea, Turkey, Russia are all bigger.
@@dqdq4083 I thought he mean during 60-70 in before 1997 Asian financial crisis that time Korea and India still in ruin and recovery from war. It have some old Thai propaganda to be fourth tiger of Asia but Thai economy flopped in 1997 so it not recover until today
@@adrianveress i dont wanna defend EE, but Russia and Turkey usually mentioned in "european" lists. Turkey could be also in "middle eastern" lists, so usually they are excluded from "asia".
But yeah, you are right with India and South Korea.
@@adrianveress because not all of those are considered asian countries, lol
I agreed with everything in this video until the end - when you put Thailand on a par with Bangladesh and the Philippines. I have lived in Thailand for more than six years and it's the best place I have ever lived. The people here are happy, friendly, family oriented and they love their country.
Despite the terrible politics and the ever-present corruption, Thailand is still a relatively peaceful and prosperous country to live in. One clue as to why this is can be found by looking at what happened when Covid hit in 2019-2020. It should have been an unmitigated disaster with ruined economy, huge death tolls, undermined government, but no. Thailand had one of the best covid statistics in the world, low death toll, high vaccination rate, health services that coped well, and a government that was seen to make tough but good decisions that put the people first. Post-covid recovery steady, and gets nearer to pre-covid level every day. You would not expect any of this in a politically backward country riddled with corruption.
Part of that is that people don't shake hands much here. Just Wai. 60-80% of ALL human influenza like transmissions are via the hands believe it or not.
@@Ozjockey111 And another part of it is that Thai people have no problem with wearing masks, unlike in many western countries. Even today many people routine wear masks
@@Deandre-j6hI mean masks make my face warm, me no sneeze in cold room 😂
Another factor is the Thai people have a very DIY mindset. We take care of ourselves better than how the government takes care it itself.
Kind of a given, since the government's lifespan is shorter than a dog's life.
The bs word sustainable again
Leaving USA and moving to Thailand in my 20s was the best decision I’ve made. Amazing culture, kind people, good expat community, and cost of living.
Being cheap is appealing and people will try to justify everything to say that the cheap place they settle down is good. 😂. Being cheap does not equal being inexpensive.
❤My favorite Chanel
@@Js136ThaiIt's all about the quality of life that is he always mentioned in his channel. ครับ😊
@@theauroralightyr because he might have been to the places for tourists. The real quality of life is 😂😂😂😂. Come and see it yourself.
@@Js136Thai All in all, it's about happiness. No country is 100% perfect. You live wherever you feel happy; this should be the best answer.🤗
13:45
I think you forgot South Korea, Taiwan, India, Saudia Arabia, Turkey, etc.
You think he fact checks? You must be new.
We had our screen time with the "I'M Fired" photo instead💀
@@knpark2025 Tom Yum Kug be making a hit debut all over Asia lol.
This video talking about Southeast Asia. 0.01-0.04
@@ThplusOnline You didn't watch that timestamped part of the video apparently.
Thailand adopted modernization at the same and even earlier than Japan but it still lacks institutional knowledge in producing its own heavy industries.
Thai historical modernization was not distributed to all classes of the society, mainly for the elite, whose main goal was to keep Thailand out of Western colonialism. Thailand did not historically develop a grounded education or industry and remained largely agrarian into 1960s or 1980s.
I am from Thailand.
Thank you very much for making this video. I found it very insightful.
I want to comment a bit that the video is too optimistic. The growth has been recently slower than in other SEA nations.
You can also mention the country's very high household debt.
Lastly, the purpose of the coups are not to protect the monarchy. The popularity of King Bhumibol (Rama IX) makes that unnecessary.
The coup leaders only tried to legitimize themselves by using different nonsense claims.
You are quite correct. Everybody, including myself, loved King Bhumipol. But what about the love for the new king?
@@willyvonbusche729 or complete lack thereof except for those trying to maintain the old power structure for their own good.
@@cakrit99 Absolutely.
One downside of living in Thailand is that the air quality (by level of pm2.5) in the north, north eastern and central part of the country is pretty bad 4 - 5 months out of a year due to unregulated agricultural sector (crop burning). The government clearly cares more about the businesses of agricultural oligarchs than the public health of tax payers.
Most of pm2.5 problem caused by our neighbor countries, which couldn't control by the government.
ส่วนมาก เกิดจากการเผ่าป่าของเพื่อนบ้านคะไม่ว่าจะเป็น พม่า ลาว กัมพูชา
Taxpayers lol? Yeah, they're all rushing to pay tax here.
Huhhh??? The Air quality is a direct result of the neighboring countries and their factory pollution. Not Thailand or the government’s fault. It’s a precarious situation that the government has yet to address in order to maintain good relations with the neighbors and- I dunno, NOT go to war???🙄
Try indonesia and particularly Jakarta's thick smog to compare with
Being scored equal to Bangladesh and Philippines seems like the scoring system needs to be altered significantly.
@@Based_n_Boredpilled nope, the points are valid and they are pretty much equal, keep your prejudices
@@XiWein Bangladesh is far behind Thailand. They are not even close to the same level. Bangladesh is closer to Africa
And Thailand, Bangladesh and the Philippines scored higher than Spain, Turkey and Greece. I think something is very off about the scoring system.
@@punnboat9817 probably because of the growth rate. these countries had a bright future if things go well for them. but looking at the population pyramid of Spain, Turkey and Greece they will run out of steam in the next coming decades. They will heavily rely on outsourcing labor to other countries which we know could accelerate the growth the country which take the outsource labor since its basically a form of transferring knowledge to other country. I think the only odd ranking is Bangladesh since their situation is more unstable at the moment. their PM just resign and their country is under a state of chaos at the moment. I think Thailand should be rank just above the Philippines and Vietnam for now. Vietnam and Philippines is relatively equal in economic performance as of now, and Bangladesh should be rank a little lower.
@@iceteazen I (almost) completely agree with you. The only thing I disagree with is Spain. Spain can do advanced stuff(by global scale) locally. Thailand can't.
To give you an example, Spain can design and manufacture cars, ships, part of airplanes etc. Thailand can't. Yes, Thailand manufactured cars. And someone can just come and set up a factory to build ships and planes. But Thailand can't design it themselves. Someone has to R&D and hire Thailand to manufacture it.
All advanced economies have local businesses produce advance stuffs that operate at global scale. Either able to create advance goods that use globally (like US's Microsoft, Boeing etc... German's Car companies, Siemens etc...). Or have a financial institution that operates globally globally (Like Switzerland, Singapore or Hong Kong)
Spain has Zara, CAF, Talgo, SEAT, Navatia etc. Thailand doesn't. That's why I think Spain is in a better position. Spain may have problems, but it also has knowhow to create high-margin goods.
Turbulent? but one of the slowest in the ASEAN region only second to Singapore, which is a developed economy
Thailand need to really catch up because soon Vietnam will surpass them 😬
also @ 13:45 , Thailand is not the 4th largest economy in Asia 😭 South Korea? India?
only if Vietnam can keep their rapid pace of growth which is not a given considering high levels of coruption thy are suffering from.
@@Alaryk111 I mean Thailand's political instability is also evident so for that basis, Vietnam can literally catch up
Philippines and Malaysia also surpass Thailand.Malaysia population is less then Half of Thailand
I thought he mean during 60-70 in before 1997 Asian financial crisis that time Korea and India still in ruin and recovery from war. It have some old Thai propaganda to be fourth tiger of Asia but Thai economy flopped in 1997 so it not recover until today
Also Saudi Arabia ,turkey and Taiwan have a bigger economy too
It has taken me longer to read all of the comments than to watch the video. None are saying that you are wrong, which is a testimony to the the quality of this video. I am enjoying your series in general. Keep up the good work.
Thailand is far more developed than Bangladesh or the Philippines, not sure how they can even be in the same ballpark. Despite the low GDP average Thais live an ok life and the country is very modern. Its infrastructure is also incredible with road quality that would put many states in the US to shame.
All the development is only confined to Bangkok.
You wouldn't like to go somewhere like Chainat and live there.
This is a very Bangkok centric view
It's about GDP growth. Philippines and Bangladesh grow much faster than the Thai economy. Thailand's economy is more well-rounded though but with an aging society, unlike the Philippines and Bangladesh that is having a population explosion.
Thailand, Bangladesh and the Philippines also scored higher than Spain and Turkey. I agreed that something is off about the scoring system. Because I don't believe that Thailand has better economy than Spain.
I think this ranking but heavy emphasis on economic growth but i will still put Thailand just a little above Philippines and Vietnam since they aren't so bad in terms of growth. Thailand is growing slower than Philippines, Vietnam or Bangladesh but they are more develop.Also Bangladesh should be lower than PH or VN due to their recent instability. TH, PH and VN are more stable and predicted to be the next trillion dollar economy in asia.
Yaaay, I was about to comment about the need to create a vid about this country in your last vid, and here we go!
Hope you’ll cover Thailand l’s political context soon in your secondary channel as only economic data alone makes Thailand look too good to be true.
Giving credit where it is due, high-speed internet really gives this country so much advantages. But other benefits like investments and tourisms only gathered in Bangkok and a few touristy cities, when in rural region, especially the Northeast, still lack of those opportunities.
There is an error in the graphic at 3:24. It should be 25 THB = $1 USD
no. Currently it's 35 to 36 THB =1$
25THB = 1$ was around year 1992
@@moautorace The video says ฿1 THB = $25 USD in the exact timestamp the guy linked, which is wrong. That's what he's correcting.
Can we talk about that important bit ‘at some point, it didn’t need more investments and further investments would just drive up asset prices.’
How do you find that sweet spot? How do you turn the tap off?
As of 2023, Thailand was the 10th largest economy in Asia
🤣🤣 I think bro went to the future and then made the video but forgot to schedule it properly.
The video mentions South East Asia, not Asia. South East Asia is a specific region in Asia
@@yeahthebois3617the video mentions that Thailand’s economy is the 4th largest in Asia which is FALSE. And even he actually meant East Asia + Southeast Asia, it is still WRONG. South Korea and Taiwan both have larger GDP than Thailand.
@@yeahthebois3617 he does mention Southeast Asia, but Thailand is still the 10th largest economy in all of Asia.
@@ghrbaa6727 South Korea and Taiwan is not South East Asia
Great content as usual! I am Thai, and I will likely want to translate your video soon into the article 🎉
13:45 India is not a part of asia??
Now that I think of it, it also missed Taiwan , south korea, turkey, Russia, Saudi Arabia.
Pretty sure bangladesh has a bigger GDP in 2024 than Thailand
It's on his ee board. Not the world
@@koldafno , Thailand still has way higher GDP despite having significantly lower population.
I m a simple Traveler. I see Thailand. I click like! :)
Bro, you fixed the way you speak, and it's SO MUCH BETTER. I'm loving it!
Either my home country is more stable than I think or you're overestimating. I was expecting a 4/5 considering our growth prospects haven't been the best. Coups has always been business as usual, not much changes and not a single bullet is fired.
Thailand have no hope, those that know will know.
@@akane8615 That's why i'm so surprised at his assessment
@@plaisukhum7934 This channel has been called out by other economists for their inaccurate information so I'm not surprised.
@@akane8615 EE fails to take our inadequate education system and the aging population into account.
It's been so hard for me to explain the economics and politics of my country to my friends. This video says it all and very well portrayed, thank you so much for making this video
I'd love to go back to Thailand as a tourist but since Covid plane ticket prices have gone up 3x, it's just economically unfeasible.
Try Palawan or Boracay in the Philippines.
@@phoenix5054it’s not the same. Thailand is Awesome!
We look forward to welcoming you back to Thailand once again ❤.
go in the Low season May- September, it rains a lot but prices for flights and hotels are significantly cheaper
No they haven't. It's around 30k for a non-stop return to Heathrow at the moment, which is less than I was paying about 15 years ago.
Exactly the video I wanted from this channel 😮
13:49 I don't understand? Where is India? South Korea? Turkey? Saudi Arabia? Who made this stupid list?
@@temptemp4174 since when Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore are not part of 'east asia'?
@@deepisaddictedtoyt I thought he mean during 60-70 in before 1997 Asian financial crisis that time Korea and India still in ruin and recovery from war. It have some old Thai propaganda to be fourth tiger of Asia but Thai economy flopped in 1997 so it not recover until today
@@deepisaddictedtoytpretty sure Taiwan and South Korea are east asian not south east
@@felineboy1586then how is china and japan their 😂😂
I think it's south east asia.
Hi content creator. This is a great video and I loved watching it. Just one correction. In the leader board discussion you mention Thailand as the 4th largest econlnomy in Asia. You mention Japan, Indonesia and China as higher. You missed India (which is also part of Asia) which is at a gdp of almost $4 trillion.
13:47 India is also in Asia
I thought he mean during 60-70 in before 1997 Asian financial crisis that time Korea and India still in ruin and recovery from war. It have some old Thai propaganda to be fourth tiger of Asia but Thai economy flopped in 1997 so it not recover until today
But not south east asia
@@felineboy1586 neither are China and Japan
@@felineboy1586the video said biggest in asia. China isn't in Southeast Asia either and it's on the top of the list
India = South Asia not South East Asia FYI
As a Thai person, เราจะทำตามสัญญา ขอเวลาอีกไม่นานนนนนนนน
I am certainly not a Thai but have been here since 1990's.
Red bull is famous and Chang Beer is doing well to be listed as a key stock component of the Straits Times Index in Singapore.
Thailand has gotten certainly some things right over the years and of late. The massive road infrastructure, EVs making the key cities green, improved healthcare with low costs and the PRIDE movement which has the potential to make thailand the preferred destination for living, work and holiday for influential LGBTs.
So Thais should always be hopeful but people who wanted change should concentrate in one thing or task at a time which collectively as a society, these will add up to be massive.
Thais need to start insisting that their election results are honoured and not allowed to be interfered with by a few self-serving dinosaurs.
man is it a nice shiny day when you upload :D Love your content!
@13:46 How is it 4th largest in Asia? India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Taiwan are all bigger
I’m sure he means South East Asia
@@sandrapadmindra9698 even if it is SEA, what about South Korea and Taiwan?
@@adityabhatt7280Both of them are not in South East Asia.
@@raralili8407 neither is China or even Japan. If China is counted, then it's neighbour Taiwan can be counted as well
@@adityabhatt7280 Right. None of them are in SEA.
Thanks This is Great and Precise content
Thai GDP seems low mainly because there is a huge informal economic activity where transactions are done in cash. This is also the same reason why the reported unemployment rate is so low as there are not many reasons for people to report unemployment due to lack of social security and there are plenty of labor jobs in the agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism sectors
A sign that unemployment rate is very low in Thailand is that many shops and businesses are unable to hire enough staff. And in some cases the service is subpar because the business cannot find better staff.
There's also the fact that actually unemployed people self-report as "self-employed" which skews the number even further. Primary reason being that receiving unemployment welfare is just so unreliable. There's also the stigma of being unemployed, which is sort of self-enforced in society. Most people would rather take out loans and open a foot cart while paying back loan interests than be labeled as unemployed.
Some feedback for one of my favorite channels: I like the thumbnail with the arrows, but I preferred the one with the statue.
Thailand's manufacturing sector is having a hard time currently
As China is pouring out more exports at a lower price, and the change toward the EV seriously hit the car component manufacturing sector (mainly in the Japanese brand supply chain)
Currently, they just started to join China's EV supply chain and raise customs on some types of import, we just need to wait and see if these is enough to stabilize their manufacturing sector .
Always love these videos.
0:01 video starts here btw
Thanks, appreciated.
Legend
Thank you 🫡
Would have been so lost without you 😂
You a real one man 💪
This was a great example of unbiased research, well done!❤
oh my god so many compliments in this comment section for my country....but why my country still be like this😭
Nice vid. Another good one
Babe wake up EE dropped a new video
Patutlah satu ketika terdekat ini. Ada yang mempersoalkan keupayaan economic Malaysia baru2 ini. Hari ni baru perasan berkaitan nilai matawang Malaysia di peringkat dunia. Menarik juga..
I’m Thai and I can see that Vietnam and Philippines are doing great and will surpass us in the next 5-10 years for sure as their economic growth rate is relatively high compares to us. Malaysia already has a better economic than Thailand. ❤
You’re not Thai 😂😂. You are probably some jealous neighbour like Filipino or Cambodian or Malaysian
The problem with coups, lawfare and political stitch-ups is that it means that long term investments is surpressed. It won't have any hope of becoming an advanced economy if the political situation remains so unstable or unpredictable. Even local companies can't think long term, as each new government formed between the periods of chaotic exchanges of power will changes policies. The fiasco of the last elections are a case in point.
Thailand just dismissed the prime minister last week. Even this one is not count as coup, it likely to have same effect. But still does not affect foreigners and industry.
An Australian would be unlikely to regard a change in PM as a coup. 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
What kind of effect? Good or bad? cause the Thai stockmarket is rocket high when Srettha replaced by น้องเอ๋งๆลูกสาวเหลียม คริคริ
The real thing happened after the elections last year, when Pitha was the next PM of Thailand. Sad, huh? 😢
@@lucca_leeI beg to differ regarding the SET. The Index is still in the 1300s, a far cry from the recent peak in the 1800s about half a decade ago.
I love it when narrators robotically finish each sentence in the exact same way.
Will the Economics Explained leaderboard be outdated already by the time its finished? Since many countries are covered during turbulent times which they might recover from, or the opposite.
I’m Thai and I moved to NYC and, shortly after 9/11, to Orlando. Grew up in Chanthaburi and despite the “instability”, I really love it. Especially the great people who live there.
A video elaborating more on the relationship between the royal family with coups and economic stability would be appreciated, you should had fleshed it out more.
By far my favorite youtube channel. Thank you for everything you do. Just one quick question/suggestion. Is there anyway we can get a little more math in some new videos? Econometrics, IS-LM curves, derivatives, etc.
There's also a huge amount of money circulating that goes nowhere near official statistics.... This can be said in a lot of countries but its off the charts in Thailand, especially in the north east (use your imagination to figure out why....)
That gets factored in, I’m pretty sure. Statisticians are well aware of informal economies
about 45-50 percent of thai gdp are in shadow economy
Exactly, and its endemic in the society... I'd say possibly 30-40% of official GDP
@@iamachicken4288 that gets factored in. Statisticians aren’t stupid
Couldn't tell you where thailand is on a map, but here I am watching an overview of their economics :D
As a younger Thai, i am deeply exhausted and hopeless for this country.
เราก็เหมือนกันอ่ะ.. ประเทศไร้คุณภาพ ทุนจีนกินหมดตัว ไปญิ่ปุ่นดีกว่า เศษรฐกิจ ทุนนิยมดีด้วย
Nobody gets any younger, life is not eazy you have to fight for it, do you really know what you want ??
@@carbone913 flee to japan
รีบไปชะ แล้วอย่ากลับมาไปพรุ่งนี่เลยก็ได้
@@ひなたのかぜ_2007 The Japanese economy is in a terrible state and will only get worse: that is terrible advice you are giving.
My cousin was caught in one of these coups and held at the airport for some time before she could travel home. Yet people keep coming back. I’ve never been been it is one of the most common tourist countries for people here in Sweden. And I know many that have Thai girlfriends or wives.
I've been to Thailand. Fantastic place. It is clear the country is rapidly developing. ❤
I respectfully disagree with the statement. In fact, Thailand's current economic trajectory appears to be regressing when compared to the period of economic boom prior to the Asian Financial Crisis.
A pertinent example is the recent exodus of factories from Thailand, driven by a confluence of factors that reflect broader global economic trends, increased regional competition, and domestic challenges.
Over the years, labor costs in Thailand have risen significantly, particularly due to the implementation of minimum wage increases. As wages continue to climb, labor-intensive industries, such as manufacturing, find it increasingly less cost-effective to operate in Thailand compared to neighboring countries with lower labor costs, such as Vietnam.
Thailand has also faced periods of political instability, which can create uncertainty for businesses. Although the country maintains a relatively stable investment climate, the potential for political unrest or policy shifts is a significant concern for long-term investors.
Realistically, there has been a noticeable decline in investment coming into the country. As a result, Thailand's economy has become increasingly reliant on tourism, with limited growth in other sectors, leading to what can be described as a circular economy.
@@panupongrattanasawasd2671This year's FDI is record high and the value of new business and factory registrations outpaced the closures by FAR.
@@panupongrattanasawasd2671 you apparently don’t know anything about Thailand . Even though you’re from the country 😂😂
@@joshhansan-999 Oh, great-another white guy trying to school the locals. I’m all ears, go ahead and explain what exactly you know about Thailand?
as a long time viewer, i am glad you finally talk about my country 😂
Since 2005, Thailand has been in very unstable government as no one was able to implement long term policies before being taken down. Nine year rule of the military prime minister who took power in that coup in 2014 from 2014 to 2023 did not do anything much either as Thailand relies heavily on tourism and lacks technological innovations nor domestic high skilled workers. Industry has been very reliant on Japan and has been outcompeted by rising neighbors like Malaysia or Vietnam and recently being flooded with Chinese cheap over produced products. Thai political situation is still volatile as I am typing this comment.
I read somewhere that in 1978 Thailand's biggest export was tapioca!
Korea has 4x the GDP of thailand, not to mention India, saudi Arabia, Turkey or Taiwan... so thailand is nowhere close to being the 4th largest economy in asia😅
@@heldercaze6333nope, @ 13:45 Japan is included which is not an ASEAN country
@@XiWein oh
„Biggest economy in South East Asia“
That is just not true
I thought he mean during 60-70 in before 1997 Asian financial crisis that time Korea and India still in ruin and recovery from war. It have some old Thai propaganda to be fourth tiger of Asia but Thai economy flopped in 1997 so it not recover until today
Guess the dude went for holiday in Thailand and everyone was nice to him.
I am Thai. Thailand has a fertile land.
There are kind-hearted and polite people. Although there are some dark sides.
But we love each other when the country has any crisis.
Regarding the coup, I see it as a bad thing and it makes the country stop for a long time. But it will not be as bad as other parts of the world.
And democracy will always come back. I have been watching these events for many years.
A very important part of the Thai mindset is religion.
Buddhism is like water used to extinguish a hot fire. Always.
Throughout my life in this country since I was born, I have never gone hungry.
If you work hard, you choose to have a good society around you.
Live your life the right way.
This country can definitely give you happiness.
I keep saying we need an official list like on a EE website or something
Thanks for improving the cadence of your speech,i had to stop listening to your channel few months ago because i couldn't bare it. But im interested in Thailand and surprised that you improved your speech
Still talks way too rapidly. Irratatingly so.
@naturalconditions i don't feel that,for me it is the way and tone he ends every sentence
We need an official EE country Leaderboard
It would be so cool if you do a Balkan country again. I am from Bulgaria, but really a video for any country from the Balkans would be something I would love to see and would share with my friends! 😁
This is too hopeful compared to what I a Thai feel.
Sure, things are pretty okay here but I see no future here. We have no homegrown brand, relatively high corruption, aging society, lot of coup and special court political intervention, bad education, inequity and a lot more systemic problem.
Your content is always informative and engaging. [01:30]
" the 69420th coup "
thais: just a normal day in Thailand
How's Thailand the 4th largest economy in Asia ?!? What happened to India, South Korea and etc 😢?!? 13:48
I thought he meant just East/Southeast Asia, but then Korea (which is higher) is missing. Thailand would be 5th biggest in E/SE Asia based on the IMF database that he is looking at (IMF WEO April 2024 GDP current prices)
(Also if you include Taiwan then Thai would be 6th in ESE Asia, though I would get if the exclusion was intentional)
Do one on India
He did two
No sarre
As a Thai citizen I appreciate your views on Thailand as I can see most of your videos are talking about crisis 😂. So it's a good sign for us that you still see the bright future of our country and explain it with the very good understanding. In my point of view, Thailand still lack of new ways to grow its economy, lack of our own innovation. Other point is our income still low and I can't see realistic ways to improve.
Couldn’t click to watch any faster when I see my own country in this channel 😂
Same here. Been waiting for this for ages. 😅
3:24 I think the numbers are swapped lol
คนไทยทุกคนไม่เคยลืม ที่IMFกับอเมริกา ที่เคยทำกับประเทศไทยตอนปี2540 ไม่ได้ช่วยแถมกับมาซ้ำเติมด้วย ประเทศไทย คนไทยจำจนตาย
แล้วจีนไม่กลัวเหรอ
@3:25 typo: 1thb = 25 usd
Yes, I thought so. Otherwise Thailand would be the richest country in Asia 😂
@@paulsz6194 maybe the world at that rate?
Forget Thailand. Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia are the countries to shine in the coming decades in Southaeast Asia
The US definitely had something to do with all those coups. Malacca strait is a chokepoint. The US is never letting that fall to enemies/socialist/communist hands.
Thailand had been mostly pro-US after WW2. Their monarchy had been always afraid of communism during the Cold War that's why they participated in US led alliance to contain the influence of communism during the cold war.
Kr’atom.
I think an interesting point about Thailand is that it’s a subsystem coup. A coup of the democratic institution while maintaining the executive & security authority. Also, not a history of massive nationalistion of investment.
I think you might be covering the Malaysian economy next, after all the Southeast Asian videos you’ve made
10:03 please don’t forget the north - Thailand is so much cooler than just Bangkok and Phuket :)
Cooler as in climate? Warming is alarming especially to south east asia.
Crazy how an agreement increasing the value of Japanese currency can impact Thailand economically because Thailand’s currency is pegged to the US dollar.
Economics really is a wonderful thing
I can't wait for my country to show up
Ever tried Thai beer? It's delicious 😋 🍻
Wait until we liberalise it more. Local (underground) stuffs are even better!
Thailand has had overwhelming potential over decades, but the political instability and corruption hold it back so so so much. Especially with a monarchy like that, I’m surprised it’s still got any potential left to its name. They can’t thrive on tourism forever. Other countries have the capability to promote tourism of their own, for example, Vietnam and Mexico are so up and coming. The wealth disparity is so wild and even though many parts of Thailand rival that of cities in East Asia and Singapore, there are still so many underdeveloped areas in the country. Not enough funding for infrastructure goes to rural areas and indigenous lands. I also don’t think there’s great incentive to immigrate/seek refuge there anymore like there used to be when many people from poorer surrounding countries can just go to Japan, Korea, or the Middle East instead.