BANGKOK, September 22, 2026 — Thailand can accelerate its transition to high-income status by unlocking the full economic potential of its cities, according to a new World Bank report released today. The report finds that improving productivity in Bangkok while empowering secondary cities to take on larger, complementary roles can drive investment, create jobs, and strengthen resilience across the country.
Thailand Cities of the Future: Urban Foundations for a High-Income Economy finds that Thailand’s growth is already overwhelmingly urban, and that stronger urban productivity will be critical to the country’s high-income ambition. Around 89 percent of GDP growth between 2010 and 2020 came from urban districts. With Thailand needing around 5.4 percent annual GDP per capita growth over the coming decade to reach high-income status by 2037, the performance of its cities will be central to closing the gap.
“Building Thailand’s cities of the future is not simply an urban planning agenda. It is an agenda for growth, competitiveness, jobs, and resilience,” said Stephen N. Ndegwa, Division Director for Thailand and Myanmar, World Bank. “Unlocking the potential of secondary cities as stronger engines of productivity and investments with economic roles that complement Bangkok will be central to Thailand’s next phase of growth.”
The report builds on the World Bank Group’s Building Thailand’s Future Today flagship report launched at the Bangkok Business Summit 2026, which sets out four key areas for action to support Thailand’s transition to high-income status: industries of the future, firms of the future, the future workforce, and cities of the future. Thailand Cities of the Future takes a deeper look at the urban foundations of this agenda and the reforms and investments needed to make Thailand’s cities stronger drivers of growth.
Thailand’s urban system remains heavily concentrated in Bangkok, which generates close to half of national output and is nearly 27 times larger than Chiang Mai, the country’s second-largest city. This concentration has supported Thailand’s economic development, but its costs are rising. Congestion costs 7 to 10 percent of Bangkok’s GRP (Gross Regional Product) each year, while climate risks and infrastructure pressures are increasing costs. Secondary cities, meanwhile, have yet to reach their full potential.
Rather than choosing between Bangkok and other cities, the report calls for a stronger urban network: Bangkok as the national anchor, supported by secondary cities with complementary economic roles. A successful network will depend on complementary specialization, productive density, strong connectivity and institutions, and resilient infrastructure.
“The key is to invest more strategically,” said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Poon Thiengburanathum, Deputy Director for Planning and Strategic Management, Program Management Unit for Area Based Development (PMUA) under the Research and Innovation Acceleration Agency for Competitiveness and Area Development (RCAD). “Thailand can get more from its urban investments by concentrating complementary infrastructure and services in places where they reinforce a city’s economic strengths, rather than spreading resources too thinly.”
The report proposes action along three parallel tracks: reinforce Bangkok as a productive national anchor; put stronger urban foundations in place across Thai cities; and prepare selected secondary cities to take on larger economic roles. Translating these priorities into coordinated city investment programs will require aligning infrastructure, land use, resilience and financing with local economic strengths, while strengthening the institutions needed to plan and deliver across agencies and levels of government. This can help ensure that major public investments reinforce one another and create stronger conditions for private investment, jobs and productivity.
