Thailand's Relief Program Reaches 39 Million People
Thailand's relief program has reached 39 million people and circulated 78 billion baht through the economy since June, with over 1 million shops participating to help ease citizens' living costs amid rising energy prices.
The government announced the success of the 'Thai Help Thai Plus' program, which has assisted over 39 million people with 78,000 million baht circulating through the economy and distributing income to over 1.09 million shops. Deputy Government Spokesperson Lalida Perdsiviwat explained that the Cabinet was informed on July 21, 2025 of the program's progress, implemented within a budget framework exceeding 175,000 million baht over four months to relieve citizens' living costs amid rising energy prices while boosting grassroots economic activity.
The three sub-projects have helped over 39 million people and created sustained money circulation. Sub-projects 1 and 2 assisted 13.18 million welfare card holders by increasing their benefit allocation by 700 baht, bringing total monthly assistance to 1,000 baht per person for four months, covering essential expenses including food, consumer goods, transportation, water, electricity, cooking gas, and disability benefits. From June 1–30, 2025, 13,581.13 million baht was allocated, with 12,925.72 million baht spent primarily through community shops.
Sub-project 3, 'Thai Help Thai Plus (60/40)', had reached 26.04 million people by July 19, 2025 at 11 p.m., generating 78,142 million baht in economic circulation—comprising 33,176 million baht (42 percent) from public contributions and 44,966 million baht (58 percent) from government. Over 1.09 million shops have registered and are operational, with over 99 percent being small businesses, dominated by restaurants, general stores, and community shops.
Perdsiviwat noted that program funds have spread across all regions, with 22 major cities accounting for 63 percent of spending—led by Bangkok, Chon Buri, Samut Prakan, Pathum Thani, and Nonthaburi—while 55 secondary cities represent 37 percent, led by Nakhon Si Thammarat, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, Ratchaburi, and Chiang Rai, demonstrating that funds are not concentrated in major cities but stimulate grassroots economies nationwide.
Spending behavior shows citizens utilized benefits most heavily in the first week of the month, with over 12 million users daily averaging 20 million transactions and 2,200–2,800 million baht daily before declining to 500–2,000 million baht after the first week. Weekend activity surged, and in the first month, 94 percent of users spent over 800 baht of government co-payment while 48 percent fully used the 1,000 baht entitlement.
The government also promoted technology adoption for small retailers through 'Nok Krasip' (WhisperingBird), an AI assistant in the digital wallet app that summarizes and analyzes sales, identifies peak hours, checks raw material prices, and generates sales reports for future loan applications. By June 30, 2025, over 640,000 shops used the chatbot and over 440,000 used the Sales Insight feature.
"The 'Thai Help Thai Plus' program demonstrates that government measures effectively reduce living costs while creating continuous economic circulation," Perdsiviwat concluded.
