The 2024 Report on Poverty and Inequality in Thailand shows that the number of poor people has risen to 3.43 million, accounting for 4.89% of the total population, higher than 3.41% in 2023. The poverty line has also been raised in 2024, from a monthly income of 3,043 baht (401.63 ringgit) to 3,078 baht (406.25 ringgit).
According to the China News Service citing a report released by Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Council on the 17th, although there has been a trend of sustained improvement in Thailand’s poverty situation over the past few years, the increase in the poor population in 2024 has sounded an alarm for Thailand. This is especially worth paying attention to at a time when both global and domestic economies are facing high levels of uncertainty due to multiple factors.
At the same time, poverty is fluid — people can transition between “poverty” and “non-poverty” status due to economic, social, structural factors, or natural disasters. In 2024, the number of people vulnerable to poverty in Thailand has increased at various levels. Among them, the “extreme poor” group (whose consumption expenditure is more than 20% below the poverty line) reached 879,000; the “mildly poor” group rose to 2.55 million.
The report also points out that agricultural laborers remain the group most prone to falling into poverty, accounting for 45.49% of the total poor population. This reflects the structural vulnerability of the agricultural sector, as farmers mainly rely on income from production, which is extremely susceptible to weather and market price fluctuations. Climate change has caused many farming households to fall back into poverty during agricultural downturns.