Figure 1 shows that Thailand’s economic growth rate has developed
successfully during 1988-2009. The rate of economic growth has improved
continuously, and as a result, the poverty level has dropped. However, the inequality
rate has remained very high. In the last 20 years, statistics show that the average
rate of economic growth of the country has been 5.1%, and in the same period,
the poverty rate fell from 40% in 1990 to approximately 10% in 2009. If the inequality
rate is measured by the GINI index, it was constant at 0.49 in 1990 and 0.48 in 2009,
reflecting the fact that although poverty rates dropped significantly, the disparity
still exists.