In the 10 years before the global financial crisis, from 1999 to 2008, Thailand’s GDP grew on average 4.7%. In 2009, the economy recorded a contraction of 2.3%, which was the strongest GDP drop in 12 years. Afterward, the economy experienced ups and downs. After having grown an impressive 7.8% in 2010, mainly due to an increase in export volume, the economy expanded a meager 0.1% in 2011. The significant slowdown was due to the severe floods which occurred during the 2011 monsoon. The economy managed to bounce back in 2012 and grew 6.5%. However, political turmoil that emerged in the country last year caused weaker growth of 2.9% in 2013Structure of Thailand Gross Domestic Product
Thailand has a growth model that is trade oriented. Exports of goods and services account for about 74% of GDP, which is one of the biggest GDP shares in the region. In addition, imports account for around 70% of GDP. Thailand’s external position is highly subject to price volatility as the economy is highly dependent on trade.
Thailand’s economic structure relies mainly on services and manufacturing. The services sector accounts for around 45% to total GDP. The most important contributors are tourism, retail sales, transportation, as well as banking and finance. Tourism is one of the biggest contributors to the sector, while its share alone in total GDP is around 10%. Industry accounts for 42% of Thailand’s total production and its main component is manufacturing. The country’s top manufacturing products include automobiles, hard disk drives, natural and synthetic rubber, textiles, etc. A significant share of these products is exported. Agriculture contributes the remaining share of total GDP.