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

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.

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.

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

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.

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 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).

Thailand: Poverty ratio, percent living on less than 1.90 USD a day: The latest value from 2021 is 0 percent, unchanged from 0 percent in 2020. In comparison, the world average is 5.30 percent, based on data from 71 countries. Historically, the average for Thailand from 1981 to 2021 is 3.15 percent. The minimum value, 0 percent, was reached in 2015 while the maximum of 22.7 percent was recorded in 1981.

Thailand TH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data was reported at 0.000 % in 2015. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 % for 2014. Thailand TH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 0.800 % from Dec 1981 (Median) to 2015, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 19.600 % in 1981 and a record low of 0.000 % in 2015. Thailand TH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % 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. Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $1.90 a day at 2011 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.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. The aggregated numbers for low- and middle-income countries correspond to the totals of 6 regions in PovcalNet, which include low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia). See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

Thailand TH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.20 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data was reported at 1.100 % in 2013. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.500 % for 2012. Thailand TH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.20 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 12.100 % from Dec 1981 (Median) to 2013, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 43.100 % in 1981 and a record low of 1.100 % in 2013. Thailand TH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.20 a Day: 2011 PPP: % 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. Poverty headcount ratio at $3.20 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $3.20 a day at 2011 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.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. The aggregated numbers for low- and middle-income countries correspond to the totals of 6 regions in PovcalNet, which include low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia). See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

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: 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.

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’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.

The aim of the Human Development Report is to stimulate global, regional and national policy-relevant discussions on issues pertinent to human development. Accordingly, the data in the Report require the highest standards of data quality, consistency, international comparability and transparency. The Human Development Report Office (HDRO) fully subscribes to the Principles governing international statistical activities.

The HDI was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone. The HDI can also be used to question national policy choices, asking how two countries with the same level of GNI per capita can end up with different human development outcomes. These contrasts can stimulate debate about government policy priorities. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living. The HDI is the geometric mean of normalized indices for each of the three dimensions.

The 2019 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) data shed light on the number of people experiencing poverty at regional, national and subnational levels, and reveal inequalities across countries and among the poor themselves.Jointly developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford, the 2019 global MPI offers data for 101 countries, covering 76 percent of the global population. The MPI provides a comprehensive and in-depth picture of global poverty – in all its dimensions – and monitors progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 – to end poverty in all its forms. It also provides policymakers with the data to respond to the call of Target 1.2, which is to ‘reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women, and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definition'.

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.

12.11 (%) in 2011. Head Count Index is the proprotion of the population for whom consumption (or other measures of living standard) is less than the poverty line.

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.

TH: Income Share Held by Fourth 20% data was reported at 21.900 % in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 22.100 % for 2014. TH: Income Share Held by Fourth 20% data is updated yearly, averaging 21.300 % from Dec 1981 (Median) to 2015, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 22.100 % in 2014 and a record low of 19.500 % in 1992. TH: Income Share Held by Fourth 20% 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. Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles. Percentage shares by quintile may not sum to 100 because of rounding.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

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.