Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Thailand instead of United Kingdom, you would:

Health

be 40.2% less likely to be obese

In United Kingdom, 27.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Thailand, that number is 16.4% of people as of 2024.

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live 4.8 years less

In United Kingdom, the average life expectancy is 81 years (80 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024. In Thailand, that number is 77 years (72 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 83.9% less spent on your healthcare

United Kingdom spends $6,606 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Thailand spends $1,067 as of 2023.

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have 83.6% fewer doctors per person

United Kingdom has 33.0 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Thailand has 5.4 as of 2021.

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be 73.7% more likely to die by suicide

United Kingdom has a suicide rate of 9.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Thailand, it is 16.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 83.6% less likely to be unemployed

In United Kingdom, 4.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Thailand, that number is 0.8% as of 2025.

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make 86.0% less money

United Kingdom has a GDP per capita of $57,602 as of 2025, while in Thailand, the GDP per capita is $8,057 as of 2025.

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Life

be 4.2 times more likely to die during childbirth

In United Kingdom, approximately 8.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Thailand, 34.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 87.8% more likely to die during infancy

In United Kingdom, approximately 4.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Thailand, on the other hand, 7.7 children do as of 2024.

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have 17.9% fewer children

In United Kingdom, there are approximately 9.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Thailand, there are 8.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 57.4% less on education

United Kingdom spends 5.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Thailand spends 2.5% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 59.2% less on healthcare

United Kingdom spends 11.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Thailand, that number is 4.5% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 74.1% less coastline

United Kingdom has a total of 12,429 km of coastline. In Thailand, that number is 3,219 km.

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Safety

be 10.6 times more likely to die in a road accident

In United Kingdom, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Thailand, they kill 25.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 64.7% less home broadband

United Kingdom has 42.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Thailand has 14.9 as of 2024.

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live with 60.3% more strain on fresh water

United Kingdom withdraws 14% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Thailand withdraws 23% as of 2022.

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use 29.3% less electricity

United Kingdom uses 4,195 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Thailand uses 2,965 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

be 2.2 times more likely to die from air pollution

In United Kingdom, air pollution causes 13.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Thailand, it causes 29.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

Compare further: United Kingdom vs. Thailand

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Thailand is 56.7% cheaper than United Kingdom overall
→
Size Comparison · See true size
United Kingdom is about 2.1 times smaller than Thailand.
→
Moving from United Kingdom to Thailand · UN DESA 2020
2,147 people born in United Kingdom live in Thailand.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of London vs Bangkok
→

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

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