Thailand joined the ranks of the upper-middle-income countries in 2011, with sustained high growth and rapid poverty reduction. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew an average of 9.5% per year between 1987 and 1996 on the back of political stability, a business-friendly regulatory environment, a large domestic market, open access to foreign investment, and greater participation in regional value c…
The economy has grown rapidly, with real per capita income doubling in the 12 years to 2013. Human development has improved, marked by a significant decline in poverty and gains across a range of socioeconomic variables. The key sectors of the economy have gone from strength to strength, with Cambodia now the world’s 8th largest rice exporter and Asia’s 10th largest garment producer. The to…
The Regional State of the Coral Triangle (RSCT) provides benchmarks on the biophysical, governance, and socioeconomic attributes of the six Coral Triangle countries, also known as CT6—Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste—and the threats, vulnerabilities, and emerging issues in each country and in the CT6 as a collective unit. Using t…
The Maldives, a chain of 26 coral atolls to India’s southwest, is one of the smallest countries in Asia and the Pacific by population and land area. Its estimated 341,200 people are widely dispersed over 188 inhabited islands across an archipelago more than 800 kilometers long and 130 kilometers wide. The capital city, Malé, is home to one-third of the people, yet has a total land area of le…