Thai GDP Growth Falls Further Behind Neighbors: Chart of the Day

Thailand’s economy in the fourth quarter beat expectations by expanding 2.3 percent from a year earlier. At that pace, it’s extending a two-year streak of lagging behind its neighbors in Southeast Asia.

The CHART OF THE DAY tracks quarterly economic growth of Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines since 2010. Thailand’s gross domestic product expansion has been about half that of its neighbors through much of the period amid political turmoil, including a coup last May and martial law since, plus record flooding in 2011 that triggered a recession as hundreds of factories and some hotels in Bangkok and neighboring provinces were shut for months. The lower panel compares the total annual GDPs of Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines, based on International Monetary Fund data.