Thailand has ranked first in ASEAN for five consecutive years in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index 2023. It ranks 43rd in the world, moving up one place from 2022, when it ranked 44th. 

Referring to the Sustainable Development Report 2023, Deputy Government Spokesperson Traisulee Traisoranakul said that Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha had learned about the report, which details progress by 166 countries on their achievement of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The Prime Minister was satisfied with the improvement in Thailand’s SDG ranking.

According to the report issued by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Thailand’s overall score is 74.7, which is higher than the East and South Asia average of 67.2. In ASEAN, coming after Thailand is Vietnam, in 55th place, Singapore 64th, Indonesia 75th, Malaysia 78th, the Philippines 98th, Brunei Darussalam 102nd, Cambodia 103rd, Lao PDR 115th, and Myanmar 125th. 

The Sustainable Development Report reviews progress made each year on the Sustainable Development Goals since their adoption by the 193 UN Member States in 2015. Globally, Finland comes first in the SDG Index 2023, followed by Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and Austria.

Ms. Traisulee stated that the higher score in Thailand’s SDG ranking came from the Government’s efforts to promote sustainable development in a concrete manner. Sustainability was set as the goal for national development, linking with the 20-year National Strategy and the 12th and 13th National Economic and Social Development Plans.

The Thai government attaches great importance to sustainable development in economic and social aspects, as well as the people’s quality of life. Thailand’s guidelines for national development has also been recognized internationally.

In order to promote sustainable development, Thailand has adopted the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy Model as a means to achieve a more balanced development in this recovery phase. The BCG Economy Model utilizes science, technology, and innovation to encourage the optimization of resources for environmentally friendly economic growth.