Overall economy. Thailand has a professional-organization market place financial system driven by robust foreign investments and export oriented producing particularly in electronics, foods and automobiles. Thailand's exports account for sixty% of your place's GDP. Thailand expert sturdy economic advancement previous to the Asian economic disaster of 1997 with GDP growth averaging nine.4% on a yearly basis. On the other hand, the crisis adversely influenced companies in Thailand and observed the value on the Thai Baht drop by in excess of fifty% in opposition to the US greenback. Since the crisis, the economy has grown over a growth path.
Thailand's GDP was US£163.five billion using a GDP for each capita of US£2,537 in 2004. Thailand's GDP grew by an average of 4.6% per year from 2000 to 2004 driven generally by exports of higher know-how products and solutions mostly electronics. Inflation remained underneath two.0% from 2000 to 2003 but improved to 2.8% by 2004. However, unemployment showed a declining trend from 3.6% in 2000 to 1.eight% by 2004.
Approximately sixty% of Thailand's workforce is involved in the agriculture market but contributed to only 9.8% on the place's GDP in 2004. The expert services business contributed toward forty six.one% of Thailand's GDP and producing forty four.1% in the course of the period of time. Important industries include tourism, electronics, textiles and clothes, processed foods, beverages, agriculture deliver, jewellery, home furnishings, plastics, motor vehicles and vehicle parts and mining of tungsten and tin. Significant agriculture goods consist of rice, tapioca, rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybean and milk.
DEMOGRAPHY. Ethnic Thais account for 75% of Thailand's sixty five million populace and One more 11% are Chinese or Sino-Thais who have assimilated into the Thai society or are from combined marriages. Minorities contain Malays who lived primarily in southern Thailand and account for 4% on the populace. Other people include the Mon, Lao, Khmers, Puan and Karen minorities and immigrants from India. Nearly ninety five% in the country's populace are Buddhists although Malays in Thailand are predominantly Muslims. Thai will be the countrywide language although languages employed by the minorities incorporate Malay, Isan and Khmer. Faculties teach English but proficiency is lower and generally, the educated elite tend to be more proficient Using the language.
Nearly all of the Thai populace continue to reside in The agricultural communities even though the proportion of your urban populace is increasing. Thailand's urban populace increased from 22% of the whole inhabitants in 2000 to 31% by 2004. Thailand's capital and key town Bangkok accounts for practically eight% of your nation's overall inhabitants. Other significant metropolitan areas include Nonthaburi, Pak Kret, Hat Yai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Chiang Mai and Udon Thani.
Thailand successfully diminished the poverty amount from 27% in 1990 to 10% by 2004. The proportion from the Thailandelite visa populace categorised belonging from the low-earnings family is approximated at sixty% when Center and high-earnings households account for 30%. The typical residence money in Bangkok is two times when compared to the countrywide average.
INFRASTRUCTURE. Telecommunication solutions to the general public are General ample. Net broadband companies are generally concentrated in Bangkok. Metropolitan areas and towns are well connected by roadways but lacks Tremendous highways connecting Thailand's metropolitan areas and main towns. Cities the foremost cities are served by airports and properly linked by buses and rail method.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE. Thailand's major investing companions consist of Japan, US, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. Primary exports from Thailand include electronics, auto and car or truck areas, textiles, garments, footwear, seafood, processed foods, rice, rubber, jewellery, electrical appliances together with pcs. Principal imports include machineries and equipments, Uncooked supplies and concluded merchandise, customer merchandise and fuels.
Buyer Use OF Know-how. There were just about 17.3 million mounted mounted-line telephones in 2004 supplying a penetration of 40% of all Thai residences installed with telephones. The penetration of cellphones increased from just 7% with the population in 2001 to 42% or 27 million cellphones by 2004. The penetration of computers continues to be very low but elevated from 5.one% of your households in 2001 to almost 12% by 2004. The volume of Web end users arrived at an estimated 8 million in 2004 but a lot of the web buyers are concentrated in Bangkok and the main metropolitan areas and towns. The penetration of television in households in ninety three% indicating many reduced-cash flow households have televisions.
RETAIL MARKET. The retail business in Thailand totalled an estimated US$24.5 billion in 2004. You can find just about three hundred,000 regular "Mother and pop" suppliers in Thailand accounting for sixty five% of the overall retail profits. Having said that, there are four,five hundred present day retail institutions (hypermarkets, supermarkets, shops and ease retailers) accounting for 35% of the entire retail product sales. Many of the present day retail establishments can be found in Bangkok. Searching in present day retail establishments is significantly well known and a lot more establishments envisioned while in the close to future.
Food items Lifestyle. Rice will be the staple food stuff but even though These in central and southern Thailand like white fragrant rice People in northern Thailand favor the glutinous wide range. Thai dishes are typically hot and spicy but foods with the northern region are normally milder. Thais are much less adapting to western foods regardless of whether they could afford to pay for it when compared with consumers in Singapore and Malaysia. Even so, bakery and coffer store chains are gaining level of popularity amongst younger professionals who may have tailored to western society.