Both foreign direct investment and export values are higher in Vietnam than Thailand. Although Vietnam has fewer high-quality universities than Thailand, within five years Hanoi aims to thrust its universities into the world's top 300. Vietnam also has a much larger population of roughly 100 million, compared with 66 million for Thailand. "Although the 1997 financial crisis was more severe than the current economic downturn, Thailand at that time did not face deep structural economic problems," said Mr Aat. As Thailand's competitiveness declines, its labour force is shrinking due to lower birth rates and a growing elderly population.

Source: Bangkok Post February 22, 2026 21:39 UTC