Santi Promphat, Deputy Minister of Finance of Thailand, told the media on November 14 that due to the long-term Covid-19 pandemic, the number of people in need of national welfare in Thailand is expected to increase from nearly 14 million at present to 15 million next year.
Promphat said that the ministry will start a new round of national welfare card registration early next year and will modify the criteria for who is eligible for welfare payments, adding that the number of people deemed eligible for the card will increase by one to two million. This new registration round.
At present, there are 13.65 million state welfare card holders nationwide. Eligible cardholders must be Thai nationals who are 18 years of age or older. Their annual income must not exceed 100,000 baht (US$3,060), and the ownership of certain assets, such as land parcels, is also considered.
In the new round of registration, the ministry may add other assets (such as cars owned) to the list and base eligibility for benefits based on the average household income of prospective cardholders rather than individuals.
“Poor people” and “people living below the poverty line”
However, even though the Deputy Finance Minister mentioned “the poor” in his statement, this does not mean that Thailand’s poverty rate has soared to 15 million, which will account for more than 21% of the total population living below the poverty line.
According to the World Bank’s international standards, welfare recipients are not the same as those living in poverty.
The poverty line currently defined by the World Bank Upper-middle-income economies For example, in Thailand, the per capita daily income is 5.50 US dollars, or 180 baht, which is significantly lower than the threshold of Thailand’s welfare card.
The prospects for improving living conditions are bleak
According to data released by the World Bank earlier this year, according to this standard, due to the Covid-19 crisis, the number of people living below the poverty line in Thailand will be 5.2 million in 2020, up from 3.7 million in 2019. Therefore, in fact, based on the total population of 69.8 million as of 2020, the poverty rate has risen from 5.3% in 2019 to 7.4% in 2020.
The outlook for 2021 remains bleak. Although the World Bank initially predicted that as employment recovers, Thailand’s economy will eventually rebound from Covid-19, slow manufacturing growth, tourism and services are telling a different story.
Santi Promphat, Deputy Minister of Finance of Thailand, told the media on November 14 that due to the long-term Covid-19 pandemic, the number of people in need of national welfare in Thailand is expected to increase from nearly 14 million at present to 15 million next year. The ministry will A new round of national welfare card registration will begin early next year, and the criteria for who is eligible for welfare payments will be revised, Promphat said, adding that the number of people deemed eligible for the card will increase by one or two million in this new…
Thai Deputy Finance Minister Santi Promphat told the media on November 14 that due to the long-term Covid-19 pandemic, the number of people in need of national welfare in Thailand is expected to increase from nearly 14 million at present to 15 million next year. .
Promphat said that the ministry will start a new round of national welfare card registration early next year and will modify the criteria for who is eligible for welfare payments, adding that the number of people deemed eligible for the card will increase by one to two million. This new registration round.
At present, there are 13.65 million state welfare card holders nationwide. Eligible cardholders must be Thai nationals who are 18 years of age or older. Their annual income must not exceed 100,000 baht (US$3,060), and the ownership of certain assets, such as land parcels, is also considered.
In the new round of registration, the ministry may add other assets (such as cars owned) to the list and base eligibility for benefits based on the average household income of prospective cardholders rather than individuals.
“Poor people” and “people living below the poverty line”
However, even though the Deputy Finance Minister mentioned “the poor” in his statement, this does not mean that Thailand’s poverty rate has soared to 15 million, which will account for more than 21% of the total population living below the poverty line.
According to the World Bank’s international standards, welfare recipients are not the same as those living in poverty.
The poverty line currently defined by the World Bank Upper-middle-income economies For example, in Thailand, the per capita daily income is 5.50 US dollars, or 180 baht, which is significantly lower than the threshold of Thailand’s welfare card.
The prospects for improving living conditions are bleak
According to data released by the World Bank earlier this year, according to this standard, due to the Covid-19 crisis, the number of people living below the poverty line in Thailand will be 5.2 million in 2020, up from 3.7 million in 2019. Therefore, in fact, based on the total population of 69.8 million as of 2020, the poverty rate has risen from 5.3% in 2019 to 7.4% in 2020.
The outlook for 2021 remains bleak. Although the World Bank initially predicted that as employment recovers, Thailand’s economy will eventually rebound from Covid-19, slow manufacturing growth, tourism and services are telling a different story.
