Mr. Piyabutr cited a recent survey by the Bank of Thailand and the Finance Ministry as showing that three groups of people most at risk in piling up on debt were students, low-income people, and farmers. Shockingly, they make up at least 70 percent of the Thai population. He said that their poor spending habits resulted in higher household debts, which had risen from 55.6 percent in 2008 to an alarming 82.3 percent in 2013