Mapping Child Well-Being in Thailand

Over the past two decades Thailand has made remarkable social and economic gains. The national poverty rate has fallen in the late 1990s, with extreme poverty almost eradicated today, while the country moved to an upper-middle income status. Expanded access to free basic education and universal immunisation have translated into significant improvements in child survival, literacy and many other human-development outcomes.

Yet headline averages tell only part of the story. Beneath national progress lie sizeable disparities among provinces – and even within regions – that risk slowing Thailand’s aspiration to reach high income status. Achieving those goals will require policies that look beyond national or broad regional means and focus on children and communities who may be lagging behind. 

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) has been conducted regularly in Thailand since 2005. MICS provides data on a wide range of indicators covering early childhood development, school attendance, learning quality, vaccination, living arrangements, child protection and more. While the survey is statistically representative at the national and regional levels, the regions themselves remain highly heterogeneous, limiting the precision of subnational analysis. 

With the 2022 MICS, the National Statistical Office (NSO) released an anonymised set of Geographic Information System (GIS) coordinates for each survey cluster. For the first time, researchers can disaggregate MICS results to lower sub-national levels, uncovering spatial patterns in child well being that were previously hidden. This analysis leverages the new GIS-enabled dataset to map provincial disparities, identify priority areas, and support more targeted, equity-focused policy responses that ensure no child is left behind.