Thailand's Poverty Increases to 3.4 Million People, Signaling Chronic Issue Amid Economic Growth
Pattani and Mae Hong Son continue to rank among the top five provinces with the highest poverty rates in the country for over 15 years. The NESDC points out that the problem is deeply rooted in several provinces, where inequality remains difficult to reduce, with the majority of poverty concentrated in the agricultural sector.
The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) has reported on the progress of the 13th National Economic and Social Development Plan (2023-2027). Particularly in the first two years of the plan, despite efforts to drive various initiatives, the distribution of economic opportunities across sectors has not effectively reduced regional disparities, especially in addressing poverty.
The NESDC highlights that poverty has shown signs of becoming a chronic issue. In contrast to the past, where poverty typically decreased as the economy grew, in 2024, while the overall economy expanded slightly, the poverty rate increased to 3.4 million people, or 4.9% of the population, up from 3.4% in 2023.
During the COVID-19 pandemic (2019-2023), the poverty rate decreased continuously, largely due to government relief and economic stimulus measures. Additionally, Thailand still has a "near-poor" group—those whose expenses exceed the poverty line by no more than 20%—with 4.3 million people at high risk of falling back into poverty.
Moreover, poverty remains deeply entrenched in certain areas, such as Pattani and Mae Hong Son, which have had the highest poverty rates in the country for over 15 years.
Poverty is also significantly linked to other factors. Most of the poor have education levels no higher than primary school or below, and the majority live in the agricultural sector, which has a poverty rate of 9.6%. Furthermore, households with children aged 6-14 years, which have the highest poverty rate of 8.7%, are also particularly vulnerable. This is partly due to high living expenses, and household members responsible for childcare may have fewer opportunities to work, making these households more vulnerable to falling into deeper poverty.
The NESDC acknowledges that the primary focus of poverty reduction has been on providing short-term financial assistance to ease hardships. Alongside this, efforts have been made to improve the accuracy of identifying and targeting the most vulnerable groups.
Examples include enhancing benefits under the state welfare card program, increasing child allowances within the social security system, and advocating for broader access to child-rearing subsidies for all eligible families. The council has also worked to develop more efficient data-driven mechanisms to improve assistance programs.
In terms of social protection, the NESDC has worked to expand benefits and coverage for target groups, integrating data on vulnerable populations to make the welfare system more systematic.
Challenges in Reducing Intergenerational Poverty
Despite progress, several challenges persist in driving forward efforts to reduce intergenerational poverty.
Key limitations include the lack of adequate incentives for local agencies to address poverty, as performance evaluation indicators do not support effective action at the local level. There is also a gap in the continuous collection of longitudinal data, which hampers the precision and effectiveness of poverty alleviation policies.
A significant challenge in the social protection system is the fragmentation of services, which results in overlaps for some target groups and gaps for others, undermining the system's efficiency and wasting budget resources.
While many sectors now recognize the urgency of these issues and have made continued efforts to address them, the integration of work from policy to practice remains slow. Structural challenges such as data-sharing between agencies, disconnected public service management systems, and legal obstacles hinder the progress of these integrated efforts.
