World Bank: Thailand Within Reach of High-Income Status

The World Bank group has advised Thailand to strengthen secondary cities and develop them as cities of the future by enhancing knowledge, technology, innovation, and basic skills to accelerate growth. A new World Bank report unveiled today at the Bangkok Business Summit 2026 states that Thailand has the opportunity to accelerate its transition to a high-income economy driven by innovation through productivity expansion, by strengthening capacity and creating dynamism in business, labor, and local sectors.

The report "Building Thailand's Future Today" presents a vision and roadmap to help Thailand move toward higher-value economic activities and create more and better-quality jobs. The report was launched as government and business leaders are discussing Thailand's economic restructuring ahead of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings to be held in Bangkok in October.

The report indicates that future growth requires stronger productivity expansion driven by technology adoption, innovation, labor skills, increased domestic value addition, more competitive business sectors, and high-productivity cities. When these reforms are implemented together, they can help Thailand achieve GDP per capita growth of 5.4 percent annually, the rate necessary to reach high-income status by 2140.

"Thailand has previously created transformative growth in just one human lifetime, and Thailand can do it again," said Stephen N. Ndegwa, World Bank Country Director for Thailand and Myanmar. "The World Bank group is ready to work with the government, private sector, and other development partners to bring global knowledge, capital, and operational experience to support reforms that will raise productivity, strengthen competitiveness, and create higher-quality jobs."

Looking ahead, the report proposes a reform agenda based on two mutually supportive pillars: upgrading and dynamism.

Upgrading requires moving into higher-value economic activities through accelerating technology adoption, promoting innovation, developing labor skills, adding domestic value, and expanding positive spillovers from investment. The report identifies five future industries where Thailand has comparative advantage and high potential to create better jobs: advanced manufacturing, sustainable and health tourism, digital services, agriculture and food business, and the creative industries.

"Thailand's goal of becoming a high-income country is within reach, but getting there requires a new form of growth with higher value," said Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, World Bank Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific. "Thailand can build on its existing strengths by enabling more businesses to expand and compete, investing in labor skills and innovation, and ensuring the benefits of prosperity reach people and communities across the country."

Creating stronger dynamism at the business, labor, and city levels will be essential to achieving this vision. Building Thailand's future business sector requires opening opportunities for more businesses to enter the market, expand, and compete, which requires stronger competition, technology transfer, and knowledge sharing.