Government Spokesperson Lt Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Prayut thanked government sectors for managing to maintain unemployment and keep inflation low.

The Thai economy expanded by 3.2 per cent last year via government spending, investment in transportation, private consumption, economic stimulus and measures to help people with lower incomes, Sansern said.

This year, the government is aiming to maintain economic stability as well as accelerate investment plans via its export strategy, fixing issues related to well-being and adjusting a workforce that currently depends on foreign nationals.

Tourism remained Thailand’s strength, he said, so the government wants quality tourists with higher income and is also encouraging Thai people to travel domestically.

Meanwhile, the top “least miserable” countries, as ranked by Bloomberg, are Thailand, Singapore, Switzerland, Japan, Iceland, Taiwan, Denmark, Israel and South Korea respectively.