Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Thailand instead of Belgium, you would:

Health

be 54.8% less likely to be obese

In Belgium, 22.1% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Thailand, that number is 10.0% of people as of 2016.

live 4.2 years less

In Belgium, the average life expectancy is 82 years (79 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022. In Thailand, that number is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 83.5% less likely to be unemployed

In Belgium, 5.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Thailand, that number is 0.9% as of 2023.

be 48.8% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Belgium, 12.3% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Thailand, however, that number is 6.3% as of 2021.

pay a 34.8% lower top tax rate

Belgium has a top tax rate of 53.7% as of 2016. In Thailand, the top tax rate is 35.0% as of 2016.

make 66.8% less money

Belgium has a GDP per capita of $63,600 as of 2023, while in Thailand, the GDP per capita is $21,100 as of 2023.

Life

be 5.8 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Belgium, approximately 5.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Thailand, 29.0 women do as of 2020.

be 2.0 times more likely to die during infancy

In Belgium, approximately 3.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Thailand, on the other hand, 6.5 children do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 52.2% less on education

Belgium spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Thailand spends 3.2% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 60.4% less on healthcare

Belgium spends 11.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Thailand, that number is 4.4% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 48.4 times more coastline

Belgium has a total of 66 km of coastline. In Thailand, that number is 3,219 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Service Public Fédéral Finances, The World Factbook, The Revenue Department, Government of Thailand.

Thailand: At a glance

Thailand is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 510,890 sq km. A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century. Known as Siam until 1939, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US treaty ally in 1954 after sending troops to Korea and later fighting alongside the United States in Vietnam. Thailand since 2005 has experienced several rounds of political turmoil including a military coup in 2006 that ousted then Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat, followed by large-scale street protests by competing political factions in 2008, 2009, and 2010. THAKSIN's youngest sister, YINGLAK Chinnawat, in 2011 led the Puea Thai Party to an electoral win and assumed control of the government. A blanket amnesty bill for individuals involved in street protests, altered at the last minute to include all political crimes - including all convictions against THAKSIN - triggered months of large-scale anti-government protests in Bangkok beginning in November 2013. In early May 2014 YINGLAK was removed from office and in late May 2014 the Royal Thai Army staged a coup against the caretaker government. Thailand has also experienced violence associated with the ethno-nationalist insurgency in Thailand's southern Malay-Muslim majority provinces. Since January 2004, thousands have been killed and wounded in the insurgency.
Read more

How big is Thailand compared to Belgium? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Thailand.or Belgium It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.