Historical chart and dataset showing Thailand poverty rate by year from 1981 to 2023.

In 2023, **** percent of the Thai population lived below the poverty line, a decline from the previous year. The poverty line is the minimum amount of income needed for day-to-day necessities.

Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) in Thailand was reported at 5.4 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Thailand - Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line (% of population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Thailand TH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: Rural: % of Rural Population data was reported at 13.900 % in 2013. This records a decrease from the previous number of 16.000 % for 2012. Thailand TH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: Rural: % of Rural Population data is updated yearly, averaging 25.900 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2013, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 51.400 % in 2000 and a record low of 13.900 % in 2013. Thailand TH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: Rural: % of Rural Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Thailand – Table TH.World Bank: Poverty. Rural poverty headcount ratio is the percentage of the rural population living below the national poverty lines.; ; World Bank, Global Poverty Working Group. Data are compiled from official government sources or are computed by World Bank staff using national (i.e. country–specific) poverty lines.; ; This series only includes estimates that to the best of our knowledge are reasonably comparable over time for a country. Due to differences in estimation methodologies and poverty lines, estimates should not be compared across countries.

Thailand Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data was reported at 17.100 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 18.000 % for 2020. Thailand Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 24.000 % from Dec 1981 (Median) to 2021, with 27 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 38.900 % in 1981 and a record low of 16.900 % in 2019. Thailand Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Thailand – Table TH.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line is the percentage of a population living in poverty according to the World Bank's Societal Poverty Line. The Societal Poverty Line is expressed in purchasing power adjusted 2017 U.S. dollars and defined as max($2.15, $1.15 + 0.5*Median). This means that when the national median is sufficiently low, the Societal Poverty line is equivalent to the extreme poverty line, $2.15. For countries with a sufficiently high national median, the Societal Poverty Line grows as countries’ median income grows.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

Historical dataset showing Thailand poverty rate by year from 1981 to 2023.

Poverty rate of Thailand plummeted by 17.82% from 0.0 % in 2013 to 0.0 % in 2014. Since the 27.21% surge in 2012, poverty rate sank by 42.51% in 2014. Population below $1.90 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $1.90 a day at 2011 international prices.

Thailand TH: Number of People Pushed Below the $1.90: Poverty Line by Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditure: 2011 PPP data was reported at 83,000.000 Person in 2010. This records a decrease from the previous number of 84,000.000 Person for 1998. Thailand TH: Number of People Pushed Below the $1.90: Poverty Line by Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditure: 2011 PPP data is updated yearly, averaging 115,500.000 Person from Dec 1994 (Median) to 2010, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 183,000.000 Person in 1996 and a record low of 83,000.000 Person in 2010. Thailand TH: Number of People Pushed Below the $1.90: Poverty Line by Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditure: 2011 PPP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Thailand – Table TH.World Bank: Poverty. Number of people pushed below the $1.90 ($ 2011 PPP) poverty line by out-of-pocket health care expenditure; ; Wagstaff et al. Progress on Impoverishing Health Spending: Results for 122 Countries. A Retrospective Observational Study, Lancet Global Health 2017.; Sum;

Thailand Proportion of Population Pushed Below the 60% Median Consumption Poverty Line By Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure: % data was reported at 0.700 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.720 % for 2020. Thailand Proportion of Population Pushed Below the 60% Median Consumption Poverty Line By Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure: % data is updated yearly, averaging 0.675 % from Dec 1994 (Median) to 2021, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.830 % in 1994 and a record low of 0.540 % in 2019. Thailand Proportion of Population Pushed Below the 60% Median Consumption Poverty Line By Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Thailand – Table TH.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. This indicator shows the fraction of a country’s population experiencing out-of-pocket health impoverishing expenditures, defined as expenditures without which the household they live in would have been above the 60% median consumption but because of the expenditures is below the poverty line. Out-of-pocket health expenditure is defined as any spending incurred by a household when any member uses a health good or service to receive any type of care (preventive, curative, rehabilitative, long-term or palliative care); provided by any type of provider; for any type of disease, illness or health condition; in any type of setting (outpatient, inpatient, at home).;Global Health Observatory. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023. (https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/financial-protection);Weighted average;This indicator is related to Sustainable Development Goal 3.8.2 [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].

2.527 (Baht per Person per Month) in 2011. Conceptualized, as a minimum standard required by an individual to fulfill his or her basic food and non-food needs and unit in baht/person/month.

Thailand TH: Increase in Poverty Gap at $3.20: Poverty Line Due To Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditure: 2011 PPP: % of Poverty Line data was reported at 0.001 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.010 % for 2009. Thailand TH: Increase in Poverty Gap at $3.20: Poverty Line Due To Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditure: 2011 PPP: % of Poverty Line data is updated yearly, averaging 0.135 % from Dec 1994 (Median) to 2017, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.385 % in 1994 and a record low of 0.001 % in 2017. Thailand TH: Increase in Poverty Gap at $3.20: Poverty Line Due To Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditure: 2011 PPP: % of Poverty Line data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Thailand – Table TH.World Bank.WDI: Poverty. Increase in poverty gap at $3.20 ($ 2011 PPP) poverty line due to out-of-pocket health care expenditure, as a percentage of the $3.20 poverty line. The poverty gap increase due to out-of-pocket health spending is one way to measure how much out-of-pocket health spending pushes people below or further below the poverty line (the difference in the poverty gap due to out-of-pocket health spending being included or excluded from the measure of household welfare). This difference corresponds to the total out-of-pocket health spending for households that are already below the poverty line, to the amount that exceeds the shortfall between the poverty line and total consumption for households that are impoverished by out-of-pocket health spending and to zero for households whose consumption is above the poverty line after accounting for out-of-pocket health spending.; ; World Health Organization and World Bank. 2019. Global Monitoring Report on Financial Protection in Health 2019.; Weighted average;

2.477 (Baht per Person per Month) in 2011. Conceptualized, as a minimum standard required by an individual to fulfill his or her basic food and non-food needs and unit in baht/person/month.

Thailand’s middle class is currently emerging, and it is forecasted that around ** percent of the households will earn at least *** thousand Thai Baht by 2020. And yet, Thailand is seen as a country with huge income inequality. By 2020 the number of millionaires (in U.S. dollars) will reach ** thousand . The development of income inequality in ThailandThe differences in income seen in Thailand today are the result of a long-term political and economic process from which, until recently, only leading households in urban areas benefited from. However, in doing so, the government was highly successful in continuously fueling economic growth. Even though the banking- and export sectors developed and grew from the 1960s up to the early 1990s, the majority of the population was still working in agriculture. In 1997, however, Thailand was badly hit by the Asian crisis, resulting in a further rise of the poverty rate. Political leaders were thus forced to implement reforms supporting the low-income households, and a series of social reforms such as the introduction of a healthcare plan and affordable housing followed. While these reforms sometimes resulted in an improvement of living standards, most had the unfortunate consequence of increasing corruption in the public sector.

0.20 (النسبة المئوية) in 2023. Population below $3.1 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $3.1 a day at 2005 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

Thailand TH: Increase in Poverty Gap at $1.90: Poverty Line Due To Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditure: 2011 PPP: % of Poverty Line data was reported at 0.438 % in 2010. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.026 % for 1998. Thailand TH: Increase in Poverty Gap at $1.90: Poverty Line Due To Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditure: 2011 PPP: % of Poverty Line data is updated yearly, averaging 0.068 % from Dec 1994 (Median) to 2010, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.438 % in 2010 and a record low of 0.026 % in 1998. Thailand TH: Increase in Poverty Gap at $1.90: Poverty Line Due To Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditure: 2011 PPP: % of Poverty Line data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Thailand – Table TH.World Bank.WDI: Poverty. Increase in poverty gap at $1.90 ($ 2011 PPP) poverty line due to out-of-pocket health care expenditure, as a percentage of the $1.90 poverty line; ; Wagstaff et al. Progress on Impoverishing Health Spending: Results for 122 Countries. A Retrospective Observational Study, Lancet Global Health 2017.; Weighted average;

2.245 (Baht per Person per Month) in 2011. Conceptualized, as a minimum standard required by an individual to fulfill his or her basic food and non-food needs and unit in baht/person/month.

1,938.6 (Thousand Persons) in 2011. Number of poor mean the population have consumption expenditure less than the poverty line.

Thailand is a country of 67 million peoplea which, despite challenges, has had sustained economic growth since the late 1980’s.b After many years of progress Thailand has attained upper middle income status and is likely to meet most of the Millennium Development Goals.b A universal health-coverage scheme was established in 2002c and in 2013 total expenditure on health was 4.6% of GDP.d Investments in population health and infrastructure, though, are likely to be threatened by climate change – particularly through increased exposure to rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and sea level rise. Poverty (12.64% of the population was below the poverty line in 2012e), urban expansion, deforestation, and soil degradation may further complicate the situation, reducing community resilience and adaptive capacity. A climate-change strategy is currently being devised, but efforts are still required to ensure the health system in Thailand is fully prepared to respond to many of the worst effects of climate change.

Thailand TH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: % of Population data was reported at 10.500 % in 2014. This records a decrease from the previous number of 10.900 % for 2013. Thailand TH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 18.950 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2014, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 42.300 % in 2000 and a record low of 10.500 % in 2014. Thailand TH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Thailand – Table TH.World Bank: Poverty. National poverty headcount ratio is the percentage of the population living below the national poverty lines. National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys.; ; World Bank, Global Poverty Working Group. Data are compiled from official government sources or are computed by World Bank staff using national (i.e. country–specific) poverty lines.; ; This series only includes estimates that to the best of our knowledge are reasonably comparable over time for a country. Due to differences in estimation methodologies and poverty lines, estimates should not be compared across countries.

2.160 (Baht per Person per Month) in 2011. Conceptualized, as a minimum standard required by an individual to fulfill his or her basic food and non-food needs and unit in baht/person/month.