Is Thailand Considered A Third World Country Or A Developing Nation?

[DavoTheGun]

I ask this because I have recently had the experience of visiting my GF's Mother in a Government Hospital, namely Banglamung and Chonburi, the conditions I found in these hospitals is most definitely Third world, I have only seen worst in Africa,

serious overcrowding, no Air conditioning, no Fans, very dirty, filthy beds and the list goes on, The lady was admitted to the Banglamung Hospital a month ago after having a small stroke, they found nothing wrong and was sent home, she is 80 years old, she the had another "Turn" a few days ago and this time was taken to Chonburi Hospital, and given an Xray, (MRI) they found an anurism in her head, and said the would insert a stent, an obvious thing to do! now they have changed there mind and said if she keeps her blood pressure down she "should" be OK, WHAT! Her Daughter and Grand son, 30 Year Old seem to accept this and I am unable to convince them to insist on placing a stent is a must, as she has a Time Bomb in her head waiting to go off,. as a stupid Farang, and do not know what I am talking about, I am at a loss as to what to do about his situation, some good advice would be useful.

I suspect that because of her age they have decided not to spend the money on what is basic surgery for her. I may be wrong but doubt it.

[GreenSnapper]

Any country which cannot even build proper foot pathes where people can walk, is called "underdeveloped". Thailand belongs to this group.

[driedmango]

HI, it sounds like your story isn't uncommon at hospitals around the world in any country..

I would say Thailand has traits of a 3rd world country, but also has many traits of the 1st world countries, but as a hold you can't really box it in that easy,

Almost no unemployment (unlike some western country say at 25% like spain)

Booming economy that won't slow down any time soon..

Rapid Development and changes .. unlike some stagnation...

I would classify Thailand as one of the richest countries on earth as far as it seems for say, like for amount of food and jobs around, but 3rd world in things like some hospitals here and there, and some laws...

The terms 1st and 3rd world are really dates and too complex... you can easily find the worst conditions of any place on the planet in some inner cites in the USA, but also find the best hospitals and stuff in the world 1 hour away, and highest paid jobs..

Overall I give Thailand a A+ for raising the wealth of the locals and a A+ on keeping things fun and free, but a c- on things like enviromental protection and traffic saftey

[meatballs]

The healthcare conditions in some so called "first world" countries like the US are far worse. Terribly expensive and only accessible by the well off. I'd rather be poor in Thailand than in the US(my former country of residence).

[JusMe]

It's all about infrastructure.

Any country which cannot even build proper foot pathes where people can walk, is called "underdeveloped". Thailand belongs to this group.

Yes, that's one. Try walking without either hanging yourself on electrical cables or awning supports, or dropping into one of the cracks and holes on the foot path.

Then try driving - avoid the holes and cracks and rubble on the sois and almost any road off the main ones. Big enough to surprise you with a cracked wheel, or toss you off your motorbike.

Communications? Still trying to implement 3G, while other "developing" countries now have 4G.

Internet? A couple of weeks ago, TOT's internet throughout the country crashed for up to seven hours in many locations. Apparently a server in Bangkok crashed. Backup server? What's that?

Power? I'm not in the boonies, just 180 km out of Bangkok in Rayong province. Yesterday we had no power for more than six hours.

I know that some people claim that Thailand is not a third world country, and I'll have to agree with them - there's lots of improvement needed to reach third world status.

[Banzai99]

Take the old girl to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, tell them what you want doing, they will do it very quickly

[DavoTheGun]

Take the old girl to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, tell them what you want doing, they will do it very quickly

Don't you think I would have done that already, She has no insurance and I do not have sufficient funds to do that, it would cost about 1 million bart at least, her insurance finished when 66 they just stopped it, her Daughter had been paying for years and NEVER claimed, bastards!

[bangkockney]

Thailand is classified as a newly industrialised country.

[jamescollister]

Always thought the 3rd world referred to non aligned nations during the cold war. Nothing to do with developed or developing nations.

Thailand is developing at break neck speed, in the 10 odd years I've been here, out in the boonies, the change and pace of change is unbelievable.

Give it 10 more years and I think they will have caught up to many western nations.

As to hospitals, at least they have free medical and dental, go to my rich country, Australia. If you have bad teeth and no money, they will rot in your head. Jim

[kevvy]

Always thought the 3rd world referred to non aligned nations during the cold war. Nothing to do with developed or developing nations.

Thailand is developing at break neck speed, in the 10 odd years I've been here, out in the boonies, the change and pace of change is unbelievable.

Give it 10 more years and I think they will have caught up to many western nations.

As to hospitals, at least they have free medical and dental, go to my rich country, Australia. If you have bad teeth and no money, they will rot in your head. Jim

actually you are wrong jim , Australia has a free dental program , but there is such a long waiting list to get them done and by the time you get there they are rotten. if you are in alot of pain then they can do it quicker , less than a week. my daughter just went through it .

[TommoPhysicist]

At 80, I don't expect much from any hospital in the world.

The UK most likely wouldn't do that operation .... too old.

[geriatrickid]

At 80, I don't expect much from any hospital in the world.

The UK most likely wouldn't do that operation .... too old.

Rubbish. The patient is assessed on criteria such as whether or not the patient would survive the treatment and what the underlying condition is.

Many 80 year olds in the UK undergo expensive and complicated open heart surgery. A sedentary obese smoker is not going to be considered a good candidate, but an active function 80 year old will be.

[swissie]

If the exchange rate (Bht versus "western currencies") is any indication, Thailand is on the verge of leaving the 3rd world status. Apart from daily fluctuations in exchange rates, this seems to be a long term trend.

Meaning that for a lot of Farangs living on a fixed pension from overseas, the party will be over soon.

Cheers.

[jamescollister]

Always thought the 3rd world referred to non aligned nations during the cold war. Nothing to do with developed or developing nations.

Thailand is developing at break neck speed, in the 10 odd years I've been here, out in the boonies, the change and pace of change is unbelievable.

Give it 10 more years and I think they will have caught up to many western nations.

As to hospitals, at least they have free medical and dental, go to my rich country, Australia. If you have bad teeth and no money, they will rot in your head. Jim

actually you are wrong jim , Australia has a free dental program , but there is such a long waiting list to get them done and by the time you get there they are rotten. if you are in alot of pain then they can do it quicker , less than a week. my daughter just went through it .

Last time I was back, watched one of those current affair shows about it. People were being told not to bother registering for the free dentist, just put down for false teeth as the waiting list was 5 years and you'll have no teeth left by then.

Not really a free dental system, here in our little local hospital, dentist comes twice a week and treats farangs for free as well, but there is only one off us. Jim

[Time Traveller]

Spend a few days in Bangladesh then when you return to Thailand you'll feel like you are in Singapore! Thailand is no where near developed countries either. It's simply in between. Perhaps forever.

And unless you are a specialized medical professional it's not advisable to second guess a doctor when they say an operation is not required. Usually they insist on upselling where-ever possible in Thai hospitals.

Edited February 27, 2013 by Time Traveller

[rgs2001uk]

Take the old girl to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, tell them what you want doing, they will do it very quickly

Don't you think I would have done that already, She has no insurance and I do not have sufficient funds to do that, it would cost about 1 million bart at least, her insurance finished when 66 they just stopped it, her Daughter had been paying for years and NEVER claimed, bastards!

Doesnt she have a 30 baht card?

Neighbour of mine has just had a 100k operation for free on such a card, I say for free, it cost her 10k cash to go to the top of the queue.

Just be thankful you are not being hit up to pay the bill.

[rattler]

Thailand might not be in the third world in some ways but mentally it feels like its stuck in the middle ages.

[chiangmaikelly]

Take the old girl to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, tell them what you want doing, they will do it very quickly

Don't you think I would have done that already, She has no insurance and I do not have sufficient funds to do that, it would cost about 1 million bart at least, her insurance finished when 66 they just stopped it, her Daughter had been paying for years and NEVER claimed, bastards!

I would take your question to the medical forum as I doubt it would cost a million baht at a Thai government hospital in Bangkok. But I'm not the expert and there are experts on the Thai medical forum. I know there was a 300,000 baht difference in the cost for a stent for me between a private and government hospital.

[GreenSnapper]

Spend a few days in Bangladesh then when you return to Thailand you'll feel like you are in Singapore!

Spend a few days in Singapore, and when you return to Thailand, you'll feel like in Bangladesh!

[simple1]

OP: I would not consider Thailand Third World if they can afford to invest in MRI technology and trained staff for diagnosis at a government funded hospital.

Two elderly Thai men in my wife's family (both poor) have been to Banglamung hospital for heart conditions & were transferred to Chon Buri Hospital for specialist treatment, both were recommended to have pacemakers. Not being anywhere near an expert, but seems fairly first world practice to me. However, one was terrified of Chon Buri, for the reasons you mentioned, so we took him to the "Red Cross" hospital in Sri Racha where they disagreed with the recommended treatment & put him on drugs, he's doing well. The other went ahead & twice very nearly died when released from hospital, but now doing OK. All in all not a bad outcome for generally underfunded government hospitals in Thailand.

You may wish to check that in fact the operation is being resisted by GF's mother due to fear. Some local Thais do not trust Chon Buri Hospital, see it as a death sentence.

It would immensely helpful if funding for medical institutions was not subject to corrupt skimming by Thai officials. Also accusations that hospital staff are on selling drugs to criminal gangs. Endemic corruption by government staff is Third World and so damaging for the poor in Thailand.

Edited February 27, 2013 by simple1

[Max2010]

Thailand is not a Third World Country. Her economy is much more sophisticated than most economies in poor nations like in Africa. I live in Japan, and every day, I read Japanese companies expanding and continue to invest heavily in Thailand. In 2012, FDI was over 11 Billion USD. Unemployment rate is under 1%. Surely, the economy is growing much faster in Thailand than in most of the so called "developed "countries at this moment including America and most of the EU. The problem with the OP issue is not with Thailand's medical care, but access to CASH. I have lived in America and I have travelled in EU. In America, they have 40 million people with no health insurance and two million homeless people, yet, on paper, America is the richest and the most powerful country in the world. So if 40 million Americans can't access proper healthcare, does it mean America is a Third World Country? Any Brit who used NHS would also agree that it takes a long tme to get an appointment with a specialist, unless ofcourse you happen to be a rich foreigner and pays in CASH. My non-Brit friend skipped the lines and saw any doctor he wished to see simply because he was a paying customer!

The OP cannot compare at all the health services provided in Thailand with Africa. As a person who has spent half my life in East Africa, I am quite confident that I would rather be sick in Thailand than in any African country save South Africa. Most African countries don't even have heart surgery facilities yet and depend on foreign donors to buy medicine for them. That's why most people with means go to India or Thailand for medical care, including government officials. I'm sure many of you have seen them in Thai Hospitals. If poor healthcare facilities was the case, then Thailand would not attract many foreign patients, would they?

[RabC]

Thailand is not a Third World Country. Her economy is much more sophisticated than most economies in poor nations like in Africa. I live in Japan, and every day, I read Japanese companies expanding and continue to invest heavily in Thailand. In 2012, FDI was over 11 Billion USD. Unemployment rate is under 1%. Surely, the economy is growing much faster in Thailand than in most of the so called "developed "countries at this moment including America and most of the EU. The problem with the OP issue is not with Thailand's medical care, but access to CASH. I have lived in America and I have travelled in EU. In America, they have 40 million people with no health insurance and two million homeless people, yet, on paper, America is the richest and the most powerful country in the world. So if 40 million Americans can't access proper healthcare, does it mean America is a Third World Country? Any Brit who used NHS would also agree that it takes a long tme to get an appointment with a specialist, unless ofcourse you happen to be a rich foreigner and pays in CASH. My non-Brit friend skipped the lines and saw any doctor he wished to see simply because he was a paying customer!

The OP cannot compare at all the health services provided in Thailand with Africa. As a person who has spent half my life in East Africa, I am quite confident that I would rather be sick in Thailand than in any African country save South Africa. Most African countries don't even have heart surgery facilities yet and depend on foreign donors to buy medicine for them. That's why most people with means go to India or Thailand for medical care, including government officials. I'm sure many of you have seen them in Thai Hospitals. If poor healthcare facilities was the case, then Thailand would not attract many foreign patients, would they?

Sure both Thailand and India have reasonable hospitals but how many are accessible to the locals ............ You can't class a countries success on what is available to the rich few.

[canuckamuck]

Any country where police are asking 6 bucks for a fake traffic fine and you can talk them down to 3, is a third world country.

[chiangmaikelly]

Thailand is not a Third World Country. Her economy is much more sophisticated than most economies in poor nations like in Africa. I live in Japan, and every day, I read Japanese companies expanding and continue to invest heavily in Thailand. In 2012, FDI was over 11 Billion USD. Unemployment rate is under 1%. Surely, the economy is growing much faster in Thailand than in most of the so called "developed "countries at this moment including America and most of the EU. The problem with the OP issue is not with Thailand's medical care, but access to CASH. I have lived in America and I have travelled in EU. In America, they have 40 million people with no health insurance and two million homeless people, yet, on paper, America is the richest and the most powerful country in the world. So if 40 million Americans can't access proper healthcare, does it mean America is a Third World Country? Any Brit who used NHS would also agree that it takes a long tme to get an appointment with a specialist, unless ofcourse you happen to be a rich foreigner and pays in CASH. My non-Brit friend skipped the lines and saw any doctor he wished to see simply because he was a paying customer!

The OP cannot compare at all the health services provided in Thailand with Africa. As a person who has spent half my life in East Africa, I am quite confident that I would rather be sick in Thailand than in any African country save South Africa. Most African countries don't even have heart surgery facilities yet and depend on foreign donors to buy medicine for them. That's why most people with means go to India or Thailand for medical care, including government officials. I'm sure many of you have seen them in Thai Hospitals. If poor healthcare facilities was the case, then Thailand would not attract many foreign patients, would they?

Sure both Thailand and India have reasonable hospitals but how many are accessible to the locals ............ You can't class a countries success on what is available to the rich few.

Rajawithi Government Hospital.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/532345-aortic-heart-valve-replacement-surgery-anyone-had-any-personal-experience/?hl=%20valve%20%20replacement

Thai Visa is good for a lot of things including straight talk about Thai government hospitals from people who really know what they are talking about.

[GuestHouse]

Thailand doesn't like the tag 'Third World Country', 'Developing Nation' is OK....... but don't go as far as to say 'Developed Nation'.

Not that there is anything wrong with the idea of Thailand being a 'Developed Nation' its just the concept doesn't sit well with the Politicos who in the first instance have been selling 'Thailand the abused underdog' to the populace and in anycase would not be too happy having to live up to being a 'Developed Nation'.

[Beetlejuice]

(I ask this because I have recently had the experience of visiting my GF's Mother in a Government Hospital, namely Banglamung and Chonburi, the conditions I found in these hospitals is most definitely Third world, I have only seen worst in Africa).

Have you ever experienced the National Health hospitals in the UK? Makes the Thailand government hospitals appear like the Ritz in comparison. A patient literally has to be on the point of booking an undertaker before they even consider medical treatment.

I thought that the term, developing nation was a new politically correct way of describing a third world country so as not to cause offense to those who do live or originate from a third world country?

[BEVUP]

Always thought the 3rd world referred to non aligned nations during the cold war. Nothing to do with developed or developing nations.

Thailand is developing at break neck speed, in the 10 odd years I've been here, out in the boonies, the change and pace of change is unbelievable.

Give it 10 more years and I think they will have caught up to many western nations.

As to hospitals, at least they have free medical and dental, go to my rich country, Australia. If you have bad teeth and no money, they will rot in your head. Jim

actually you are wrong jim , Australia has a free dental program , but there is such a long waiting list to get them done and by the time you get there they are rotten. if you are in alot of pain then they can do it quicker , less than a week. my daughter just went through it .

& wrong again on the free medical

Aussies free system called Medicare = Minimum of 1.5 perc. of gross income + another 1 perc if you earn above limit

which can add upto roughly $2500 + a year & not fully covered Ie: Doctor visit $60 get $35 back

[HaruHaru]

List of countries by Human Development Index

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

Thailand ranking 103

Medium human development

Edited February 27, 2013 by HaruHaru

[Rob8891]

There seems to be a basic confusion over terminology (not that this has ever prevented deep, meaningful and 'well-informed' debate in Tv up to now )

"3rd World" was a politically inspired term that referred to political alignment (or not) during the Cold War, the '3rd World' being, as someone posted, the non-aligned countries. Most of the world's non-aligned countries (being members of neither NATO or the Warsaw Pact) were the less developed countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America, (which is how '3rd World' has become almost synonymous with lack of economic development)

This thread is more concerned with whether or not Thailand is an ELDC...an Economically Less Developed Country. Between the ELDCs and the EMDCs (M = More), lie the Newly Industrialised Countries (for example, Brazil).

The crux of the thread is whether Thailand is an ELDC or an NIC. I think the answer to that depends where you look for the evidence.

[endure]

(I ask this because I have recently had the experience of visiting my GF's Mother in a Government Hospital, namely Banglamung and Chonburi, the conditions I found in these hospitals is most definitely Third world, I have only seen worst in Africa).

Have you ever experienced the National Health hospitals in the UK? Makes the Thailand government hospitals appear like the Ritz in comparison. A patient literally has to be on the point of booking an undertaker before they even consider medical treatment.

I'm sorry but this is just nonsense. When was the last time you visited an NHS hospital or had any treatment on the NHS?