World Bank calls for Thai economic restructuring

The World Bank has urged Thailand to "play a new game", breaking free from the middle-income trap to unlock new growth engines.

- BOONSONG LIPIMAS

The World Bank recommended smarter investments in human capital.

Thailand must "dare to play a new game" if it wants to escape the middle-income trap and achieve high-income status by 2037, noted the global lender, calling for bold structural reforms, smarter investment in human capital, and a new economic model centred on innovation and competitiveness.

Speaking at the "Thailand Economic Outlook 2026" seminar, Melinda Good, division director for Thailand and Myanmar at the World Bank, said the nation's traditional growth engines, once hailed for transforming Thailand from a low-income agrarian economy into an upper-middle-income nation within a generation, have stalled for more than a decade.

"What got Thailand here will not get it there," Ms Good said.

"The growth model that once delivered success is no longer sufficient in a world driven by digital transformation, innovation, and fast-changing global dynamics."

She said Thailand's economy has struggled to sustain strong growth in recent years, with GDP expanding by only around 2% in 2025, well below the 5% annual rate needed to achieve high-income status by 2037.