Thailand is a development success story, having transformed
rapidly from an economy dominated by agriculture to one that is
modern, industrialised and export-led. Thailand is now Southeast
Asia's second largest economy after Indonesia, with a
well-developed infrastructure, a free-enterprise economy and
generally pro-investment policies.
According to the World Bank, Thailand's economy grew at an
average annual rate of 7.5% in the boom years of 1960 to 1996, with
growth slowing to 5% a year in 1999 to 2005 after the Asian
Financial Crisis. It is now classed as an upper middle-income
Southeast Asian economy and successfully navigated a complex global
environment and maintained macroeconomic stability following the
COVID-19 pandemic.
