Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is a newly developing country. Thailand is a country located in Southeast Asia bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. Bangkok is the capital city and known as the commercial hub of Thailand. The government system of Thailand is a constitutional monarchy; the chief of state is the king, and the head of government is the prime minister.
Thailand is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). In 1997, the Asian financial crisis hits the Thai currency “thai baht”, as it falls sharply against the dollar, leading to unemployment and bankruptcies. The economy begins to pick up again as the government implements economic reforms in 1999. After Indonesia, Thailand is the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia. Thailand’s economy grew at an average annual rate of 7.5 percent in the boom years of 1960 to 1996.
Thus, 5 percent following the Asian crisis during 1999-2005, creating millions of jobs that helped pull millions of people out of poverty. Thailand moving from a low-income country to an upper-income country with sustained economic development. Thailand’s economic growth in 2012. Thailand’s GDP grew until 15.3 percent (peak), with a headline inflation rate of 1.91 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012. In 2016, the economy continued to grow, expanding by 3.2 percent higher than the previous year’s growth of 2.8 percent.
Overall in this 30 years, the rate of inflation and unemployment rate of Thailand ups and downs in the beginning then decrease and remain stable afterwards. Export and import activities are significance for Thai’s economy growth. The main exports partners of Thailand are China (20.3%), Japan (15.4%), US (6.9%), Malaysia (5.9%), UAE (4%). Industrial and service sector are the main sector in Thai gross domestic product. Thailand’s industrial sector produces 35.9 percent of GDP and service sector produces 55.3 percent of GDP respectively.
In addition, Thailand’s agriculture sector produces 8.9 percent of GDP. The government has embarked on an ambitious reform program to raise Thailand’s long-term growth path and achieve high-income status.
