Bangkok Post
Spotlight on ballooning welfare spending
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Is Thailand becoming a welfare state? The answer remains to be seen, given the government's fiscal constraints.
Key facts
- Public debt has risen recently, nearing the statutory ceiling of 70% of GDP.
- Taken together, this spending accounts for more than half of the government's annual budget and is trending upwards, rising from 62% of total government spending in 2019 to 67% in 2023, before easing to 66% in 2024.
- Spending on civil servant welfare accounted for 12.7% of total government expenditure in 2019, rising to 15.1% in 2024, equivalent to 542 billion baht
- Welfare spending for the public tallied 11.9% of the annual expenditure budget in 2019, rose to 13.1% in 2021, then dipped to 12.2% in 2024, amounting to 437 billion baht.
- In response, the Finance Ministry set a target to reduce the fiscal deficit to a ceiling of 3% of GDP by 2029
- For fiscal 2026, the fiscal deficit is projected to remain at 4.4% of GDP.
Summary
Public debt has risen recently, nearing the statutory ceiling of 70% of GDP.
The government is striving to establish a welfare system that supports all segments of society, particularly low-income and vulnerable groups. While the financial assistance and benefits provided may be modest and intended merely to help recipients get by, they are significant for those who rely on them.