Will Thailand always remain a Third World Country?

[sidjameson]

To be fair, 30 years ago when I was first in Thailand I thought by now the gap between UK and Thai salaries would have closed more than they have.

 

Min wage convenience store work in the UK gets 82k bht a month for a 37.5 hour week. Thailand equivalent?

[Cameroni]

Every single person on this thread has severely misunderstood the meaning of the term "Third World". It was NEVER meant to relate to economic conditions, infrastructure, social development or anything of the kind.

 

It was originally used to describe non-aligned countries, ie countries not affiliated with NATO or the Warsaw Pact. As such this term has now completely lost its relevance and is superflous.

 

You are all hopelessly out of date. Get with the times people. 

 

At most you could ask is Thailand "underdeveloped", in which case you'd have to admit that motorways are way better in Thailand than in the UK, the internet is fantastically better, and you can pay with a QR code everywhere. Try that in England and let me know how it goes. Actually Thailand is ahead of the UK in many respects. Think of the shopping malls, vastly better than anything in the UK.

 

 

[Mike_Hunt]

No, Thailand is not considered a "Third World" country; it is classified as an upper-middle income economy, meaning it has made significant progress in economic development and is not considered a developing country in the traditional sense

[fredwiggy]

12 hours ago, worgeordie said:

There you go again Bob , just leave Thai's alone ,they are doing OK,

the only thing you seem to like here are the Thai Ladyboys ,is that

why you stay ...

 

 

regards Worgeordie

He's actually right about this. They aren't doing okay and just looking at the road deaths daily, crime with knives and machetes, daily, children passing school while failing or not attending, human trafficking not being punished severely enough, corruption, and many other things that need change. How are things changed? Complaining. If they think things are normal, they'll go along with it. Many protested but things didn't change because they were stopped and their words were ignored. Out with the old school thinking, in with progressive thinking helps everyone.

[fredwiggy]

11 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

Where do you live in Thailand?
Here in BangTao, Phuket is not third world.

But I doubt you could afford to live here.

 

Every country has slums and poor.

That is because the poor are ignored as much as they can get away with. Tourist areas are always going to be a priority regarding maintenance because it means money.

[JimHuaHin]

As long as China control Thailand, yes.

[Robert_Smith]

1 hour ago, fredwiggy said:

He's actually right about this. They aren't doing okay and just looking at the road deaths daily, crime with knives and machetes, daily, children passing school while failing or not attending, human trafficking not being punished severely enough, corruption, and many other things that need change. How are things changed? Complaining. If they think things are normal, they'll go along with it. Many protested but things didn't change because they were stopped and their words were ignored. Out with the old school thinking, in with progressive thinking helps everyone.

Fantastic reply, fred.

 

well done!

 

regards,

bob.

[Caldera]

14 hours ago, Robert_Smith said:

To my mind, after decades of living here I see nothing has moved on/improved.

 

Maybe so, but other countries have gotten worse in the meantime, so relatively speaking, Thailand has climbed up.

 

When I moved to Thailand, most European countries and the UK were still half-decent countries. Now? Horrible. 

[Yagoda]

Thailand is not "3rd world"

[newbee2022]

14 hours ago, Robert_Smith said:

To my mind, after decades of living here I see nothing has moved on/improved.

 

Thais still behave like ignorant, arrogant, petulant children.

They are brainwashed to the max.

 

The school system is a joke.

Healthcare is OK (only if you have money)

 

The wages are a laughing stock.

Pollution is a disgrace. The pavements are a dangerous joke, with more holes than a dry sponge..

 

The locals seem totally oblivious to what's is going on in the outside world, what's more important is whether it's moo ping or som tum for lunch...

 

The government and constant change in leadership is a joke.

The police are on the take 24/7 and driving standards are absolutely abysmal.

 

Did I miss anything?

 

Feel free to add your thoughts/comments.

 

regards,

bob.

Yeah, you should not live here. Not good enough for you😄

[ChrisKC]

Not a third world country and in any event, very little on your list actually affects you.

 

In my case, I have opinions on these matters but again, I am unaffected,

 

It doesn't mean I don't care but I have no control over any matters good or bad.

 

I just control myself - that is to say I don't allow such things to bother me in my everyday life!

[Cameroni]

The Art of massage is vastly more developed in Thailand than in the US or the UK. Thailand is a world leader in that regard.

 

 

[mfd101]

It's mixed. If you live in south Surin as I have permanently since late 2015, you see it all ...

 

'Undeveloped' villages like my family's. Low-tech agriculture the only 'economic' activity. Beautiful bright-as-a-button children turning slowly in to anxious then sullen teenagers who eventually depart to become slave labour in the industrial suburbs of the Big Smoke. No education that you'ld notice. Trying asking them to point out Australia on a world map ...

 

More and more vehicles on the ever-widening roads. When we built here during 2016 & moved in in March 2017, we had a 1.5-lane road and only a trickle of traffic. Now it's 2 lanes and triffic traffic 18 hours a day. As to the main east-west highway just up the road, it was 2 lanes now 4 and 6 and traffic thundering along 20 hours. And many vehicles are up-to-the-minute & expensive - mostly ICE SUVs, but increasingly upmarket and some EVs. (I'll be in the market in a year's time for a Toyota RAV4 non-plugin HEV. Gotta keep up with the neighbours!)

 

So, overall you would say 'developing country'. And, as all such, the development is extremely uneven, with little or no safety nets. Only a revolutionary & democratic political upheaval will make the necessary changes away from feudalism & hierarchy. Come back in 50 years ...

[jippytum]

When you allow one self serving devisive family  dominate Thai politics and the economy for decades there will be no upgrade from third world country statuc

[seajae]

The biggest problems in Thailand are graft/corruption and education, all govt offices/personel are corrupt in some way, it is there for anyone that actually looks, education standards are pathetic as well which leads to how many thais think and act. I love living here but I am not blind to the problems, I live happily in our little area away from most of the crap, we may say Thailand is third world but it is due to the way many thais think and act not the way it is classified, politicians and anyone in positions of authority are supplemented with back handers and are not interested in bringing the country into a more advanced nation as that would remove all their extra income/benefits and everyone living here knows it.

Ignoring the facts or denying them doesnt make them do away, Thailand biggest hope to advance is getting officials/politicains that are not in it for themselves but for the people and removing the graft and corruption as well as improving the education that holds the country back, we can only hope that this eventually happens but currently I cant see it happening any tiime soon, the ones in power are too fixated on how much they can drain from the coffers and put in their own pockets plus keeping the nations low education levels so people do not stand up against them. 

[NoshowJones]

15 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

In your mind maybe.... but on the world stage, Thailand aint 3rd world.

True. 4th world now.

[Ralf001]

4 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

True. 4th world now.

 

another stupid comment.

[NoshowJones]

10 hours ago, Cameroni said:

Every single person on this thread has severely misunderstood the meaning of the term "Third World". It was NEVER meant to relate to economic conditions, infrastructure, social development or anything of the kind.

 

It was originally used to describe non-aligned countries, ie countries not affiliated with NATO or the Warsaw Pact. As such this term has now completely lost its relevance and is superflous.

 

You are all hopelessly out of date. Get with the times people. 

 

At most you could ask is Thailand "underdeveloped", in which case you'd have to admit that motorways are way better in Thailand than in the UK, the internet is fantastically better, and you can pay with a QR code everywhere. Try that in England and let me know how it goes. Actually Thailand is ahead of the UK in many respects. Think of the shopping malls, vastly better than anything in the UK.

 

 

It's the UK that lives away in the past. You still have the "Sirs", knights without the horses and lances from the 12th century.

Then you have the lawyers and judges wearing wigs prancing about the UK courtrooms like transvestites.

Don't forget the Lords from a few centuries in the past.

So who is really living in the past?

 

[NoshowJones]

13 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

 

another stupid comment.

Not as stupid as yours. 

[Cameroni]

5 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

It's the UK that lives away in the past. You still have the "Sirs", knights without the horses and lances from the 12th century.

Then you have the lawyers and judges wearing wigs prancing about the UK courtrooms like transvestites.

Don't forget the Lords from a few centuries in the past.

So who is really living in the past?

 

It's a good point, I always found the wigs ridiculous beyond belief. The truth is in some things the UK is more advanced of course, arms manufacturing, chemical and drug manufacturing, financial services, maybe a few others. In other areas Thailand is more advanced, massage, motorways, electric vehicle adoption, payment methods, shopping malls, internet speeds across the country.

 

Personally I see little different in technological advancements in Europe and Thailand. If anything I prefer to pay with QR codes, enjoy the great motorways (apart from the driving, in driving skills the UK is vastly more advanced obviously), the brilliant malls, the faster internet.

 

In another key area Thailand is also more advanced, culinary arts. The cooking in Thailand is worlds beyond UK development, just vastly better. Even if the UK has some wonderful products like crumpets, Cumberland sausage and a few other delights. There is nothing like Massaman curry or coconout smoothie.

[Robert_Smith]

22 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

 

another stupid comment.

Why is it stupid?

 

Thailand isn't developing well at all in most of the critical areas.

 

In fact on could argue that it is actually going backwards!

 

regards,

bob.

[alanrchase]

If you think nothing has changed in decades then you have not actually been here for decades. Monumental changes since I first visited in 1988. 

[Robert_Smith]

8 minutes ago, alanrchase said:

If you think nothing has changed in decades then you have not actually been here for decades. Monumental changes since I first visited in 1988. 

I bet it was better then, more fun and the people were friendlier!

 

regards,

bob.

[Purdey]

Not sure how you measure development, but things like the level of industrialization, income per capita, gross domestic product per capita, life expectancy, the rate of literacy and so on.

By these measures, Thailand is far from being a developed country.

One major problem for me is that I don't trust the government to tell the truth. I remember the case 20 odd years ago when the government announced a literacy rate of 95%, but friends at the Ministry of Education told me it was actually 65%. The government was too embarrassed to reveal the real number. Losing face makes them try to look good.

[EVENKEEL]

Who really cares? I don't. 

[trainman34014]

5 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

That is because the poor are ignored as much as they can get away with. Tourist areas are always going to be a priority regarding maintenance because it means money.

Really; have you seen the state of the Pavements in Hua Hin for instance ?   The condition of the Roads around the Moat in Chiang Mai ?   Electrics just about everywhere ?

[fredwiggy]

1 minute ago, trainman34014 said:

Really; have you seen the state of the Pavements in Hua Hin for instance ?   The condition of the Roads around the Moat in Chiang Mai ?   Electrics just about everywhere ?

I've seen the roads all over, like all other countries, need work, faster. My point was that tourist areas get more attention then others because of the money they bring in. Where I live, the main road was potholes constantly for the first 3 years I lived here, and according to my ex, years before that. They finally paved it. It's a main road between two major, although small, towns. Thousands use it daily but it took a long time before they finally fixed it. Just like back in the US, they fix repave roads here that are fine, and neglect roads that have needed work for years. From what I see and hear, the tourist areas still get a lot more, and faster work than country areas.

[Cameroni]

6 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

I've seen the roads all over, like all other countries, need work, faster. My point was that tourist areas get more attention then others because of the money they bring in. Where I live, the main road was potholes constantly for the first 3 years I lived here, and according to my ex, years before that. They finally paved it. It's a main road between two major, although small, towns. Thousands use it daily but it took a long time before they finally fixed it. Just like back in the US, they fix repave roads here that are fine, and neglect roads that have needed work for years. From what I see and hear, the tourist areas still get a lot more, and faster work than country areas.

 

That is pretty normal everywhere though, in rural areas generally the roads will always be poorer in every country. That's not a Thailand specific issue.

[fredwiggy]

2 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

 

That is pretty normal everywhere though, in rural areas generally the roads will always be poorer in every country. That's not a Thailand specific issue.

They're fixed a lot faster in the US than here. Roads don't go years until they're repaired. People complain as soon as a pothole appears. New Jersey, where I was born, has more traffic then almost anywhere on earth, and the potholes are there because of the traffic, salt and extreme weather changes, but they're fixed very fast because they know people need to use the roads daily. Here they go years  before they get to them, along with the nonsense practice of repairing roads that don't need repair to justify the money for the next year. .I've not been to the UK yet so I'm not aware how fast they're repaired there unless people from there talk about it. When I hunted Mexico for three years, the roads there weren't as bad as those I see here, and it's a poor country also. Canada, from what I've seen, hasn't any problems on the main roads I was on, although it's a huge country and I've only been in three provinces.

[fredwiggy]

12 hours ago, sidjameson said:

To be fair, 30 years ago when I was first in Thailand I thought by now the gap between UK and Thai salaries would have closed more than they have.

 

Min wage convenience store work in the UK gets 82k bht a month for a 37.5 hour week. Thailand equivalent?

My girlfriends son and his girlfriend get 9000 baht a month working full time at 7-11.