Thailand’s economic growth slows to 1.9%

BANGKOK: Thailand’s economy expanded 1.9 percent in 2023, slowing from a revised 2.5-percent growth in the previous year due to softening government spending and exports, the country’s economic planning agency said on Monday.

The gross domestic product (GDP) for the final quarter of last year grew 1.7 percent from a year earlier, up from a revised 1.4-percent growth in the third quarter, driven by rising private consumption, according to data released by the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC).

The NESDC expects the economy to expand in the range of 2.2 to 3.2 percent this year, down from a prior projection of 2.7 to 3.7 percent, supported by the return to expansion of goods exports, growth in private consumption and private investment, as well as an ongoing recovery of the tourism…