The Economic Impact of Covid-19 on Thailand’s Children

Thailand has been cited as a success story in containing the coronavirus outbreak, having gone more than 40 days without any local transmission of COVID-19.

Yet its economic outlook is grim, and according to World Bank Poverty projections, the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 are likely to be significant.

The service sector is a main component of the Thai economy (including hotel and restaurant sectors), accounting for 24.9%[i]. The country is also highly dependent on exports, accounting for more than two-thirds of its GDP[ii].

With annual tourist arrivals forecast to drop to 8 million, just one-fifth of last year’s total, analysts such as the Bank of Thailand forecast a deep contraction in Thailand’s economy this year. This is The Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Thailand’s Children

This includes provisions to protect employment earnings. But there are major challenges in reaching out to the most vulnerable. To apply for the income support, people have to access

the internet and hold a savings account. This, and 47% of 15-year-olds in rural areas being functionally illiterate, has excluded all too many of those from the poorest communities.

Even before the coronavirus outbreak, Thailand remained one of the most unequal societies in Southeast Asia. More alarmingly, Thailand ranked first in the world for its wealth gap. In 2018, the bottom 50% of Thais had only a 1.7% share of the country’s wealth.

The coronavirus outbreak will only deepen these existing inequalities. If Thailand’s economic history offers any guide, income distribution will worsen in the coming months.

Poverty forces people to make unbearably tough choices. With a dark economic outlook, rising inequality and poverty, the most common reason parents choose to put children into care, sadly, the year ahead will see many more children at risk.

[i] “Thailand at a glance”. Bank of Thailand. 2013.

[ii] 16.316 trillion baht (US$505 billion) in 2018