khunsanuk Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Hi, "Anyone know the average income in Thailand? If I remember last time I saw it was around 2,500 USD annual?" Think it is actually closer to $300 if I recall correctly. $2,500/year would be ~8,000 Baht/month. Many, many people don't make that much. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Scrutinizer Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 KS, Maybe median income this was, or average middle class income? I somehow remember a figure that was around 2,000 USD being quoted. 300 USD does seem low as the average annual income, especially now-a-days as the middle class has grown quite a bit over the past 10/15 years, but yeah, in the village, ours, I can see this as the annual income for many families there. Usually the landless ones that are hired to do the rice planting and picking every year. Why does that figure stick in my head? Thanks KS. Cent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 When I first came to Thailand, the North provided most of the BGs and MPs girls. They were in demand for their white skin! There was one village notorious for sending its daughters into the sex trade -- Dawk Kham Thai, I think it was. My Mrs told me that people used to ask her if she was from Dawk Kham Thai when she was a young, since it was known for its cuties. This was when she was a university student! All northern gals had to put up with the sly looks. Then in the late '70s or early 80s, the Isaan gals took over in the bars and MPs. Even if Chiang Mai most of the working girls are from Isaan now. p.s. I went through Dawk Kham Thai once years ago. You could tell the houses with daughters "in the business" because they were always the most modern, had TV antennas, pickups out front etc. Gave motivation to other families to send their daughters off to become whores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 [sorry, Flashermac, but I do not think we want to mention stuff like that here - KS] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Scrutinizer Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 KS, Just Googled this and so far found two sites that state the average annual income in Thailand is about $7,000.00 USD. Will check further and let you know what I find. That seems high to me for an average. I do know teachers, head nurses, and government workers making close to that much. A bit under 30,000 baht a month I was told recently. So middle class Thais ... yeah. But as an average annual Thai income this seems high to me. At least going by what I see in the rural areas. But like I said, middle class in the LOS has grown considerably in the past 2 decades. Cent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownFox77 Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Cent said:KS, Maybe median income this was, or average middle class income? I somehow remember a figure that was around 2,000 USD being quoted. 300 USD does seem low as the average annual income, especially now-a-days as the middle class has grown quite a bit over the past 10/15 years, but yeah, in the village, ours, I can see this as the annual income for many families there. Usually the landless ones that are hired to do the rice planting and picking every year. Why does that figure stick in my head? Thanks KS. Cent In my "Thailand Handbook" they had 2 average annual incomes quoted for LOS: $1200.00/year in rural areas but up to $6000.00/year in Bangkok - however that was back in the 90's era. Most recent things I've seen in various World fact books quote $2000-2500 average annual incomes in US dollars for LOS as a whole - but I haven't seen it broken down by city folks vs village folks lately. GeoHive The CIA World Book appears to show their relatve median purchasing level, which they show at $8100.00 / year CIA World Book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Scrutinizer Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Brownfox, "In my "Thailand Handbook" they had 2 average annual incomes quoted for LOS: $1200.00/year in rural areas but up to $6000.00/year in Bangkok - however that was back in the 90's era." Yeah, this sounds closer to my own observations. Thanks. Cent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Scrutinizer Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 BrownFox, "Most recent things I've seen in various World fact books quote $2000-2500 average annual incomes in US dollars for LOS as a whole" This is the CIA facts site, right? I think this is where I remember seeing the 2,000/2,500 USD numbers before. Cent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownFox77 Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Cent said:BrownFox, "Most recent things I've seen in various World fact books quote $2000-2500 average annual incomes in US dollars for LOS as a whole" This is the CIA facts site, right? I think this is where I remember seeing the 2,000/2,500 USD numbers before. Cent All the 'other' World fact books show $2000/2500 year (based on 2003-2004 estimates) and the old CIA fact book used to show this too. Currently however the CIA World Book quotes Thailand's median annual incomes via a Puchasing Power Parity quote in US dollars which they show at $8,100 / year (Purchasing Power Parity, Introduction ) Am guessing the village folks aren't all that much better off than they had been however the urban city folks might have relatively higher incomes. I visited a regular's home in the country and I swear our convicts in US prisons have better living conditions however her Thai neighbors, poor as they were, seemed quite happy (outwardly) and were eager to share with me what little they had... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tilac Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Hi, Most people I know in Bangkok don't make more then 10000 Baht per month (but these are not management positions), the maximum pay for Thai (State) University teachers is 17000 Baht per month. But a lot of people have side jobs, like having some businesss at Chatuchak Weekend market in Bangkok for example. The minimum wage in Bangkok is about 200 Baht per day (so abt 6000 Baht per month). Salaries might go up because the unemployment rate is quite low at just 2% ! Upcountry the wages are lower, so 2500-3000 US$ per year sounds like a good assumption to me. Cheers Tilac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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