Occasional pejorative references in coup threads on this and other forums to Thailand as a second or third world country or banana republic caused me to revisit the UN's Human Development Report which has been updated since I
last posted about this measure of the world's nations' progress. The 2005 report uses 2003 HDI data, the 2004 report uses 2003 HDI data: indications of how difficult HDI is to calculate worldwide.
Countries are now rated on their level of human development. The Human Development Index (HDI: range 0 to 1) takes into account factors that affect the lives of individuals in the country such as quality of life, life expectancy, access to health-care, income, and literacy and education.
It's a horribly complex calculation in such a varied world, but it does drag the ranking of nations away from simple economic (GDP) considerations and moves the emphasis back on to the human experience.
The 2005 Human Development Report (HDR) places Thailand still firmly in the middle HDI group (what a simple bean counter would call 'second world') at number 73 overall (0.773) with Niger in 177th place (0.281) and Norway taking the top position (0.963). That the US rates only tenth is a reflection that this is not solely an economic rating, but a measure of how well citizens fare.
Thailand rose three places from it's 2002 ranking (76th; HDI:0.763).
73 Thailand
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Index: 2003 value (2002 value)
US 2005 value for comparison
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HDI:
0.778 (0.763)
0.944
Life-expectancy at birth (years):
70.0 (69.1)
77.4
Adult literacy rate (% ages 15 and above):
92.6 (92.6)
>99
Combined gross enrolment ratio for primary,
secondary and tertiary schools (%):
73 (73)
93
GDP per capita (PPP US$):
7,595 (7010)
37,562
It will be interesting to see what, if any, effect the coup has on the HDI of Thailand in the 2006 and 2007 HDRs (should be ready by 2008/9)
.
However, much has been made of the number of coups since the 1970's and the 14 years since the last of that series and the current coup. Plotting the UNDP's HDIs since 1975 gives an interesting tend:
Quote:
Recent Coups and Similar Events in Thailand (numbers correspond to graph above)
1) 1971: Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn returns to power and abolishes the constitution and dissolves the parliament.
2) October 1973: A student-led uprising ousts the "Three Tyrants'' _ Thanom, his son Col. Narong Kittikachorn and his father-in-law Field Marshal Praphas Charusathien _ who ruled Thailand for much of the 1960s and early 1970s. A brief period of democracy ensues.
3) Oct. 6, 1976: At least 46 student protesters, who were demonstrating against the return of Thanom to Thailand, are killed and hundreds more are wounded by the police and army. A coup installs a new military-guided, right-wing government.
4) March 26, 1977: The military government thwarts a coup led by Gen. Chalard Hiranyasiri after Chalard and about 300 men seized four government and military buildings.
5) Oct. 20, 1977: A bloodless military coup, led by Admiral Sangad Chaloryoo, installs Kriangsak Chomanan as prime minister.
6) April 1, 1981: Factions in the military attempt to overthrow Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda's government.
7) Sept. 9, 1985: Retired military officers stage a failed coup attempt.
8) Feb. 23, 1991: Gen. Suchinda Kraprayoon topples the civilian government of Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan in a bloodless takeover.
9) May 1992: Suchinda is forced from power when troops gun down at least 50 pro-democracy demonstrators in Bangkok. In the aftermath of the violence, his appointed prime minister resigns. King Bhumibol Adulyadej intervenes to end demonstrations, and parliament votes to reduce the power of the military in Thai politics.
(Source: Associated Press)
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So, it seems that improvement in Thailand, in terms of quality of life, is little affected by the presence or absence of 'coups'.