What Worries Thailand? December 2025
The final What Worries the World survey of 2025 highlights a significant shift in the collective consciousness of the Thai public. While structural issues remain at the forefront, the year concludes with a sharp rise in environmental concern, marking the first time in 2025 that Climate Change has broken into the top five national worries.
The Surge of Climate Change and Environmental Anxiety
For the first time this year, Climate Change has entered the top five concerns, cited by 26% of Thais. This surge reflects the immediate impact of severe environmental events witnessed throughout the final quarter of the year.
Most notably, the historic flooding in Southern Thailand during November and December 2025 has left a profound mark on public sentiment. Described by officials as the heaviest rainfall in three centuries, the floods affected over 4 million people across provinces like Songkhla, Pattani, and Narathiwat. The devastation to infrastructure and livelihoods has transformed climate change from a theoretical future risk into a tangible, high-priority emergency for the Thai people.
Persistent Structural Worries: Corruption and Inequality
Despite the rise in environmental concerns, long-standing structural issues continue to dominate the national agenda:
Financial/Political Corruption remains the #1 worry, cited by 43% of the public. While this percentage has dropped slightly from previous months, it remains the most pervasive concern for the country.
Poverty & Social Inequality holds the second position at 33%, highlighting the ongoing struggle with the cost of living and wealth disparity.
Military Conflict between Nations remains a steady third at 29%, as geopolitical tensions persist despite various international peace initiatives late in the year.
Crime, Violence, and the "Scammer" Crisis
Crime & Violence maintains its presence in the top five at 24%. The end of 2025 has been characterised by intense public discourse regarding call centre gangs and digital scammers.
Recent joint operations between Thailand, China, and Myanmar to dismantle major scam centres have kept these issues in the headlines. Despite these crackdowns, the scale of financial damage and the evolving sophistication of AI-assisted scams have ensured that personal security remains a top-of-mind issue for Thais.
A Cooling National Outlook vs. Spending Resilience
As the year draws to a close, confidence in the country’s trajectory has seen a subtle decline. The proportion of Thais who believe the country is moving in the "Right Direction" has dropped to 54%, a decline of -2 percentage points from November and -7 from the December last year.
The economic mood has similarly cooled:
62% of Thais now describe the current economic situation as "Bad".
This represents a +4pp increase from last month and a +7pp increase compared to the same period last year.
This dip in economic sentiment is likely tied to the massive recovery costs associated with the year-end floods and a slowing GDP growth rate.
However, a paradoxical trend has emerged regarding consumer behaviour. Despite the pessimistic mood toward the broader economy, Thais are showing a surprising increase in their comfort level regarding spending. This month, 57% of respondents say they feel more comfortable making major purchases like a home or a car—a significant jump of +9pp compared to November.
Similarly, 67% report being more comfortable making other household purchases, up +7pp month-over-month. This suggests that while citizens are wary of national-level structural and environmental risks, personal consumer confidence is rebounding, perhaps driven by year-end seasonal spending or a perceived stabilisation in personal financial management.
