More than 6% of all Thais still live on less than 2,803 baht per month
Although poverty has decreased in Thailand, incomes have risen and income inequality has decreased, disparities persist and require attention, the National Economic and Social Development Council said in a report.
The report put the poverty line at 2,686 baht per month per person in 2017 and at 2,803 baht per month per person in 2021.
It focused on poverty under the government of former prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his 12th National Economic and Social Development Plan (2017-2021).
The report says that poverty declined in Thailand during the four years. In 2017, 7.87% of all Thais lived on less than 2,686 baht per month, but by 2021 only 6.32% of all Thais lived below the poverty line – monthly per capita income of 2,803 baht. The target set for poverty reduction in the 12th development plan was to reduce it to below 6.5%.
The report also said that individual incomes rose and income inequality fell.
Government spending to reduce the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 played a role in reducing poverty, the report said.
Measures were taken to provide relief and reduce expenses for 13.65 million state welfare cardholders. Electricity, water and student tuition fees were also reduced, while relief was provided for employers and those insured under the social security system.
Average per capita income rose from US$6,104 in 2016 to $7,850 in 2019, but fell to $7,091 in 2021.
The report said income inequality has decreased. The income gap between the wealthiest 10% of the population and the bottom 40% of the population, fell from 250% in 2017 to 220% in 2021.
However, due to anaemic economic growth between 2017 and 2021, average income rose only 2.7% per year, the report said.
The bottom 40% consists primarily of people working in the agricultural sector whose educational levels constrain their ability to increase their incomes. Others in this group are economically inactive, such as the elderly, young children, students, home-makers, patients, and persons with disabilities.
The Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, showed improvement, decreasing from 0.453 in 2020 to 0.430 in 2021. However, it has not yet reached the target of 0.41 set in the 12th development plan.
The gap in income and economic development between different regions of Thailand has also improved, the report said. The disparity in income between the East (with the highest average income) and the Northeast (with the lowest average income) has decreased, according to the report.
