A boy fishes in front of the Bangchak Oil Refinery, home to Thailand's newest sustainable aviation fuel facility, in Bangkok on Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Thailand's economic growth slowed last year, official figures showed Monday, with the incoming government facing a struggling tourism sector and declining private and public consumption.
The economy expanded by 2.4 percent last year compared with 2.9 percent growth in 2024, the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) said.
Private and government consumption grew in 2025 by 2.7 percent and 0.6 percent, the council said, also below the previous year.
Exports rose 11.9 percent compared to 4.4 percent in 2024, despite global uncertainty amid a slew of US tariff announcements last year.
Growth in the Southeast Asian nation is anaemic, with the tourism sector vital but arrivals yet to return to their pre-COVID highs, and fast-growing Vietnam is now attracting more foreign direct investment.
Ahead of the Feb. 8 general election, all three major parties offered various populist handouts and socioeconomic policies to boost the economy.
Shivaan Tandon, Asia economist at Capital Economics, said the election outcome should "reduce near-term political risk," but the country's economic outlook remained challenging.
"We doubt fiscal policy will provide sustained support as authorities remain committed to tight fiscal targets," Tandon said in a note.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Thailand's GDP grew by 2.5 percent year-on-year, picking up pace from the previous quarter, NESDC figures showed.
But Tandon said despite the "quarter of broad-based strength, we expect growth to soften again, reflecting both cyclical headwinds and structural constraints."
