GDP growth: 4.7%
GDP per head: $5,800 (PPP: $10,010)
Budget balance: (% GDP) -2.4
The prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, heads a populist majority government among whose aims is the rehabilitation of her elder brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, leader from 2001 until ousted in 2006. The main instruments are a constitutional reform and a “reconciliation” proposal that would allow Thaksin to return from exile without serving a pending prison sentence for corruption. Add to this an impending royal succession, with the revered but ailing king likely to be followed by an unpopular crown prince, and a rowdy 2013 awaits.