Thailand is an upper-middle income economy according to the World Bank. Its 2023 GDP of $514 billion accounts for 13.6% of the regional GDP of Southeast Asia. With a population of 72 million, Thailand’s GDP per capita is $7,182, the fourth-highest in the region.
From 2015 to 2023, 9,941 aid and development projects were implemented in Thailand by 66 development partners, totalling $13.5 billion in official development finance (ODF).
Key trends
ODF disbursements including grants, loans, and other forms of assistance to Thailand have experienced volatility from 2015 to 2023. After rising rapidly in 2016 and 2017, levels dropped again until a boom in 2021 as partners responded to the pandemic. However, 2023 ODF levels to Thailand were lower than in 2015.
ODF has fluctuated relative to Thailand’s economy but remains below 1% of GDP. The region’s second-largest economy, Thailand’s ODF to GDP ratio is the third-lowest in the region. ODF is most often provided to Thailand through loans, with 47% non-concessional loans, 36% concessional loans, and the rest delivered as grants.
Looking ahead, new commitments to Thailand have dropped dramatically from peaks in 2015 and 2019.
- Spent
- Committed
Development partners
Thailand’s primary development partners are China, responsible for more than one-third of Thailand’s ODF received from 2015 to 2023, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Japan. While their relative weighting has shifted over time, those three partners have accounted for more than 80% of Thailand’s ODF.
China’s support to Thailand peaked in 2017, coinciding with the height of the Belt and Road Initiative. The major sector of investment for China’s ODF is transport and storage, through a multi-billion-dollar loan for high-speed rail. There is a relatively even split in China’s ODF between concessional and non-concessional loans, with very limited use of grants.
The ADB’s contribution to Thailand was relatively modest leading up to the pandemic, but an extraordinary expansion of its activities saw it contribute more than $2 billion in 2021, 69% of Thailand’s total ODF for that year. Of that amount, $1.4 billion was directed to the government and civil society sector for budget support programs. The ADB has also supported Thailand’s energy transition through several wind, solar, and battery projects. The ADB’s ODF to Thailand is delivered primarily through non-concessional loans.
Japan’s contribution has remained largely stable, notwithstanding a strong increase in 2022 that was not sustained into 2023. The 2022 boost was driven by large disbursements in the government and civil society sector. However, the major sector for Japan’s ODF in Thailand is transport and storage, specifically for transport systems in Bangkok. Japan largely utilises concessional loans and occasional grants.
The United States, South Korea, and Germany make up Thailand’s second tier of development partners, collectively contributing around 11% of ODF from 2015 to 2023. While South Korea’s support has waned over time, Germany’s has strengthened. The United States has maintained steady assistance over time, reaching a new high in 2023.
Sectors
Thailand receives far more ODF, as a proportion of total ODF received, in the transport and storage and government and civil society sectors than the regional average. Like other upper-middle income economies, Thailand receives less than the regional average in the water and sanitation, health, education, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors.
The high concentration of ODF in the transport and storage sector (36% of all ODF received by Thailand) is attributable to a major high-speed rail project, with rail transport accounting for 89% of ODF received in that sector.
In the government and civil society sector, there is a strong emphasis on public finance management, trade facilitation, and social protection services. This sector experienced weaker disbursements in 2023 after very strong growth in 2021.
- Thailand
- Regional average
Policy goals
The Southeast Asia Aid Map tracks ODF with integrated policy goals across three policy domains or cross-cutting themes (as distinct from sectors): climate action, gender equality, and disability inclusion.
Over 2015–23, Thailand received more than the regional average for ODF integrating climate action (45%). The proportion of funding targeting gender equality was equivalent to the regional average at 25%, while funding with a focus on disability inclusion was lower than the regional average at 6%.
Provision of intra-regional ODF
Thailand is the region’s largest provider of intra-regional ODF, disbursing an average of $70 million annually from 2015 to 2022. The major beneficiaries of Thailand’s development program are Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia, though it has also disbursed assistance to Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Malaysia. Thailand uses a mix of concessional loans and grants, and is active in a range of sectors, especially transport and storage.
The Aid Map was unable to confirm Thailand’s provision of bilateral intra-regional ODF in 2023, with incomplete data recorded despite Thailand’s commendable history of voluntarily reporting its activities to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in previous years.