Thailand

Overview

Thailand is Southeast Asia's second-largest economy and an established manufacturing base for the world's carmakers, with deep supply chains built around Japanese and Western investment. Agriculture — rice, rubber, seafood — remains important, and Bangkok anchors one of the region's busiest service and tourism economies.

The economy faces a familiar middle-income challenge: an ageing population, competition from Vietnam and Indonesia, and a tourism sector still rebuilding after the pandemic. Electric vehicles and Chinese automakers building factories in Thailand are reshaping its industrial base, and digital services are growing quickly.

On the rise

Electric-vehicle manufacturing, medical tourism and a strong digital economy offer Thailand routes beyond its middle-income plateau — with education, demographics and tourism recovery shaping the pace.