Third World Country?

[livinthailandos]

I don't know about 3rd world country but considering thailand's had 18 coups in 30 years, its made virtually no progress in terms of the government process. Thailand seems to either only have one of 2 directions its headed in

Stay the same meaning, more coups, constant every year protests disrupting everything

go downhill even further possibly a failed state

I don't know if wikipedia is a good source or not but thailand shows to have moved up 10 spaces on the list of failed state, where only 2 places away from being the same as Venezuela

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_count...ed_States_Index

failed nation is characterized by social, political, and economic failure, well lets see we already have been in a constant political failure, just need social oh wait we have the reds here and the yellows coming out next week, its not hard to see economic failure happening

but who knows I seriously hope i am wrong and thailand does not turn into a failed state but thailand's history shows it has no potential. just more of the same.

[Pikey]

Pikey's rule of thumb: the more stray dogs and the lower the standards of driving = the further that country still has to "emerge or develop".

Cheers,

Pikey.

[sokal]

Thailand is a Third World/developing country.

Bangkok is not representative of Thailand as a whole.

If you just hang around the upscale areas of Bangkok, you might think otherwise.

The fact remains that Thailand has a long way to go before it enters developed world status.

Another fact is that statistics in Thailand are notoriously bad.........always manipulated to make a bad situation look better than it is.

Most people in Thailand are rural "peasants" that live off of "next to nothing."

But they all seem to have cell phones. They are not suffering as bad as you think

[sokal]

Bangkok similar to any US city! No.

Is Thailand still a third World country? Yes.

No state benefits. Poor wages for the vast majority of citizens.

Poverty in large areas of the countryside and in Bangkok.

Ever been to Detroit ?

[Loz]

Mobile phones and Honda Civics on loans does not, a developed nation make.

[sokal]

Mobile phones and Honda Civics on loans does not, a developed nation make.

Are you aware that most cars on the road in North America are financed or leased ?

Do you think most Thais are skipping lunch so they can afford a cell phone ? I don't think so.......

[Ijustwannateach]

There are different standards of the third world. In Africa, being third world means in some countries most families only eat meat once a month or more rarely- I don't think that's so much the case here.

[ExpatJ]

I don't know about 3rd world country but considering thailand's had 18 coups in 30 years, its made virtually no progress in terms of the government process. Thailand seems to either only have one of 2 directions its headed in

Stay the same meaning, more coups, constant every year protests disrupting everything

go downhill even further possibly a failed state

I don't know if wikipedia is a good source or not but thailand shows to have moved up 10 spaces on the list of failed state, where only 2 places away from being the same as Venezuela

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_count...ed_States_Index

failed nation is characterized by social, political, and economic failure, well lets see we already have been in a constant political failure, just need social oh wait we have the reds here and the yellows coming out next week, its not hard to see economic failure happening

but who knows I seriously hope i am wrong and thailand does not turn into a failed state but thailand's history shows it has no potential. just more of the same.

Well, i and other investors have been making a tidy profit here investing in Thai stocks because the economic situation is actually good (not a 'failure' ) even with the 18 coups and current situation. Thai companies, for example, are paying stock dividends higher than any seen in Europe or America these days, Thai banks have been more stable and reliable than many in US, UK (100s of US banks have gone bankrupt, no Thai banks have). The big global investors- Goldman, Merrill, HSBC, companies and others are investing heavily in Thailand (there was a fall in stock mkt last week but today it is rallying upwards nicely)- so although there is political instability, the underlying business situation and is strong and growing at least from the perspective of foreign investors. This underlying strong and growing private sector is what makes it very difficult to see Thailand becoming a failed state...

[IanForbes]

Thank heavens Thailand IS a third world country. Otherwise most of us wouldn't be here...

I mean look where us Canadians have to live..

And we have to kill animals just to survive. And the only water is an ice cold silty river..

And we can only gather a few meagre sticks to burn and stay warm.

And it gets so cold you have to spend the night with only a plastic tarp over you.

Some people are lucky and have a tent.

And the real wealthy get to sleep in a log cabin.

[sokal]

I don't know about 3rd world country but considering thailand's had 18 coups in 30 years, its made virtually no progress in terms of the government process. Thailand seems to either only have one of 2 directions its headed in

Stay the same meaning, more coups, constant every year protests disrupting everything

go downhill even further possibly a failed state

I don't know if wikipedia is a good source or not but thailand shows to have moved up 10 spaces on the list of failed state, where only 2 places away from being the same as Venezuela

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_count...ed_States_Index

failed nation is characterized by social, political, and economic failure, well lets see we already have been in a constant political failure, just need social oh wait we have the reds here and the yellows coming out next week, its not hard to see economic failure happening

but who knows I seriously hope i am wrong and thailand does not turn into a failed state but thailand's history shows it has no potential. just more of the same.

Well, i and other investors have been making a tidy profit here investing in Thai stocks because the economic situation is actually good (not a 'failure' ) even with the 18 coups and current situation. Thai companies, for example, are paying stock dividends higher than any seen in Europe or America these days, Thai banks have been more stable and reliable than many in US, UK (100s of US banks have gone bankrupt, no Thai banks have). The big global investors- Goldman, Merrill, HSBC, companies and others are investing heavily in Thailand (there was a fall in stock mkt last week but today it is rallying upwards nicely)- so although there is political instability, the underlying business situation and is strong and growing at least from the perspective of foreign investors. This underlying strong and growing private sector is what makes it very difficult to see Thailand becoming a failed state...

And when Thailand and the rest of SE Asia stops buying US debt then the US can kiss their healthcare and social security good bye.

[IanForbes]

The point that I was making (in a semi-sarcastic manner) is if you take things out of perspective then you can make a case for just about anything.

Just what IS a third world country? Is it some country that's living standards are not on a par with another country? There are slums and poor living standards in the wealthiest of countries. Is it a country that has to rely on the exports of raw materials, and where the majority of the people are poor (by western standards)?

And, just who makes the standards? If the majority of people of a country are happy then shouldn't that matter? Has it everything to do with wealth and nothing to do with living standards? Thais have a health care system for the poor. That is something the USA does not.

[Pakboong]

If Thailand were first world, it wouldn't be so difficult to get a decent internet connection.

[Zstarx]

Looking on as a neutral from Australia I'd say the USA and Thailand are very similar countries at the moment, although I think the Thai's run their economy a bit better as they don't have so much debt.

[Aikido]

Definetly third world and will remain that way for a long time to come, problem with Thailand is on the face of it it wants to look like a developing democracy to the west, but its all about face the reality is the place is still in the middle ages in many ways, ie: poverty the penal system which is still barbaric at best, dont get me wrong great place for a visit but with the strong baht and the stupid mentality with regard to things like land ownership and farangs being lees than second class citizens it smacks of Thai elitism[Thai rak thai!].

i lived there for about 2 years and its not untill youve lived in Los [ha joke!] that you can really know.

Anyway theres no point trying to change something that doesnt want to change, remember a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.

Edited April 22, 2010 by Aikido

[kevozman1]

Bangkok similar to any US city! No.

Is Thailand still a third World country? Yes.

No state benefits. Poor wages for the vast majority of citizens.

Poverty in large areas of the countryside and in Bangkok.

The same goes for you. On your way please.

Sorry grumpy

[makescents]

No, its not third world anymore. It used to be a low income=third world=developing country but now Thailand is classified as a 'middle income country'.

Not at all. Economists describe South Korea as a developing nation and they are richer than Thailand.

Edit: Maybe that analysis is outdated, I'm sure I heard on the BBC that Korea was developing.

It's developing according to the IMF though.

Edited May 22, 2010 by makescents

[Heng]

although I think the Thai's run their economy a bit better as they don't have so much debt.

Having no debt rocks. If you can't just take off from work for several years at a time, then it's not so different from having a third world standard of living.

[GuestHouse]

I think 'Tin Pot' is a better description.

[rvsp]

Lists of developed countries

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developed_country

[NBD]

I refer to it as a backwoods country with no vision to the future.

" Don't care if my medical care is piss poor, corruption runs rampant, insufacture is simplistic at best, but don't let me miss my next installment of Master Key while eating my som tom balat" type mentallity.

Substitute Master Key for X Factor, and Som Tam for Pot Noodles and you could be talking about the UK.

Third world is like Third Party insurance. It was the countries that were not party to by negotiations between the major powers.

I was thinking about this the other night, and there's not much Thailand lacks that any western country has. Roads, motorways, cars, telephones, TV, mobile coverage in all but the most rural areas. There's factories, houses, reservoirs and drainage, 24h mains electricity. What exactly is Thailand lacking?

I know the roads arne't as silky smooth as some countries, you can't drink the tap water and power cuts happen more often than at home, but I would say to be truly considered a backwards country it should be lacking some of these things completely. Main roads should turn into dirt tracks, power should die at 6pm or you should meet people who've never seen a mobile phone before. Like in Wales.

IMO Thailand is a middle income country, that doesn't feel the need to go for all out economic growth in the same way as China or Malaysia seem to be doing. Sure they want growth but as mentioned earlier, for many Thais, if they have food and shelter then anything else is a bonus. It's part of Thailand's charm but also the frustrating thing about it sometimes.

[ExpatJ]

No, its not third world anymore. It used to be a low income=third world=developing country but now Thailand is classified as a 'middle income country'.

Not at all. Economists describe South Korea as a developing nation and they are richer than Thailand.

Edit: Maybe that analysis is outdated, I'm sure I heard on the BBC that Korea was developing.

It's developing according to the IMF though.

S korea is a developed country- thailand is classified as a 'middle income county'. I can only guess that the posters who consider thailand as a less developed country have never actually been to a less developed country e.g. rwanda, ghana, cambodia etc. The difference is huge.