ECONOMY
Industry:
In 2007 industry contributed 43.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) but employed only 14% of the workforce. This proportion is the opposite of the one applying to agriculture. Industry expanded at an average annual rate of 3.4 percent during the 1995–2005 period. The most important subsector of industry is manufacturing, which accounted for 34.5 percent of GDP in 2004.
Thailand is becoming a center of automobile manufacturing for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market. By 2004 automobile production had reached 930,000 units, more than twice as much as in 2001. Two automakers active in Thailand are Toyota and Ford. The expansion of the automotive industry has led to a boom in domestic steel production.
Thailand's electronics industry faces competition from Malaysia and Singapore, while its textile industry faces competition from China and Vietnam.
Agriculture:
In 2008 agriculture, forestry, and fishing contributed only 8.4% percent to GDP. Thailand is the world's leading exporter of rice and a major exporter of shrimp. Other crops include coconuts, corn, rubber, soybeans, sugarcane and tapioca.
In 1985 Thailand officially designated 25 percent of the nation's land area for protected forests and 15 percent for timber production. Protected forests have been set aside for conservation and recreation, while production forests are available for the forestry industry. Between 1992 and 2001, exports of logs and sawn timber increased from 50,000 cubic meters to 2 million cubic meters per year.
The regional avian flu outbreak led to a contraction of Thailand's agricultural sector during 2004, and the tsunami disaster of December 26, 2004, devastated the west coast fisheries industry. In 2005 and 2006 agricultural GDP was stated to have contracted by 10 percent.
Tourism:
Tourism makes a larger contribution to Thailand's economy (typically about 6 percent of gross domestic product) than that of any other Asian nation. Most tourists come to Thailand for various reasons -- mostly for the beaches and relaxation, although with the ongoing insurgency in the deep South, Bangkok has seen a large increase in tourism over the past years.
Also, a sharp increase in tourism from other Asian countries has contributed largely to Thailand's economy even though the Baht has gained strength compared to most other currencies in the past two years. In 2007 some 14 million tourists visited Thailand. The Thai tourism industry includes a successful and developing sex industry.
The present monetary crisis, the 2008–2009 Thai political crisis and the 2009 flu pandemic have a very negative impact on foreign tourism to Thailand. Revenues in 2009 from tourism are estimated to be 22% down compared to 2008.