Let’s admit it straight: Thailand🇹🇭 has developed too slowly for decades. Do we notice it? Thai people are brilliant when they get to do it themselves. The nene royal phenomenon is the latest proof: Nene Royal Thailand – first winner of America’s Got Talent season 21, the first Thai to win that stage. Before her, Lisa, Milli and many others reached world level on their own money and their own patience.
Lisa holds 7 Guinness World Records, was the first solo K-pop artist to win an MTV VMA, and drew 73.6 million views in 24 hours. Milli was the first Thai artist on the Coachella stage in 2022, Atthaya Thitikul (Jeeno) was world No.1 in women’s golf through 2022 and 2025, and Panipak Wongpattanakit (Tennis) won 2 Olympic golds – the first Thai athlete with medals at 3 Olympics.
But the problem is a system that can’t produce enough of these people. In PISA 2025 Thailand is 53rd, up 5 places: science 432 (+23), maths 407 (+13), reading 392 (+13). Thailand is one of only 8 countries and economies whose scores in all 3 areas rose significantly from 2022. Yet only 1% of students are top performers, and 36.9% are still below the basic standard in all 3 subjects. That’s why the Thai education system needs a full overhaul, and why the nene royal phenomenon shouldn’t be just luck.
The World Bank also warns that about 2 in 3 Thai adults still read and write below standard, and 3 in 4 fall short on digital skills, dragging GDP down by about 20% a year. Thailand ranks 38th of 69 in IMD digital competitiveness. 62% of employers say talent is hard to attract, against a 37% global average, and 73% of science graduates work outside the field they studied.
On transparency, the Thailand corruption index (CPI) 2025 gives Thailand 33 points, 116th of 182 countries, down from 107th. In ASEAN we fell from 5th to 7th, the drop driven mainly by how investors and business see us. Politics is unstable too: Parliament was dissolved by royal decree on 12 December 2025 after the prime minister was removed by the Constitutional Court, and the Finance Ministry cut its 2026 GDP forecast to 1.6%.
This phenomenon teaches us 3 lessons:
1️⃣ The education system must be overhauled to keep up with the new world
2️⃣ Investing in yourself and endurance are what carry you there
3️⃣ Opportunity is the game changer – the government itself admits Thai children can stand alongside their global peers if they get the chance
But a new door is opening. In the AI era, 51% of Thai 15-year-olds use AI chatbots for schoolwork weekly, above the OECD average of 46% (and we mustn’t forget that AI is a tool that gets work done faster, more efficiently, and there is still a lot of AI knowledge we need to develop). The Ministry of Education is preparing an AI framework for learners and teachers, Thailand Future SkillMap, worth 4,500 million baht over 6 years, will reach 2.5 million people, and Talent Thailand is a national platform for talent. The IMF ranks Thailand among the world’s 4 biggest exporters of AI hardware.
I still believe in Thailand. Thai people are good and capable in every way. Let’s help each other.💪
Sources:
• Government Public Relations Department (PRD) — Prime Minister congratulates “Nene Royal” on winning America’s Got Talent Season 21, and the message on Thai children’s potential when given opportunity — https://radionarathiwat.prd.go.th/th/content/category/detail/id/9/iid/544724
• The Nation Thailand — Anutin congratulates AGT winner Nene Royal on September 24 — https://www.nationthailand.com/life/entertainment/40071421
• OECD — PISA 2025 Results Volume I: Country Note, Thailand — https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2026/09/pisa-2025-results-volume-i-country-notes_88d1164e/thailand_efd3ed2f/dfc5bcb9-en.pdf
• The Nation Thailand — Thai PISA scores below OECD averages while Cabinet expands SkillMap — https://nationthailand.com/news/policy/40070867
• World Bank — Fostering Foundational Skills in Thailand — https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/thailand/publication/fostering-foundational-skills-in-thailand
• Transparency International — Corruption Perceptions Index 2025 — https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2025
• The Nation Thailand — Thailand slips to 116th in TI corruption index, score 33 — https://www.nationthailand.com/news/general/40062365
• Bangkok Post — Thailand slips in digital competitiveness index — https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/3132871/thailand-slips-in-digital-competitiveness-index
• Guinness World Records — Most viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours by a solo K-pop artist — https://guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/654268-most-viewed-youtube-music-video-in-24-hours-by-a-solo-k-pop-artist
• Guinness World Records — First solo K-pop winner at the MTV Video Music Awards — https://guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/733744-first-solo-k-pop-winner-at-the-mtv-video-music-awards
• The Korea Herald — “Lisa outpaces solo K-pop singers with seven Guinness World Records” — https://www.koreaherald.com/article/3123799
• BBC Thai — Milli and the Coachella stage — https://www.bbc.com/thai/thailand-61133912
• LPGA — Atthaya Thitikul becomes No.1 in Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings — https://www.lpga.com/news/2022/atthaya-thitikul-becomes-no-1-in-rolex-womens-world-golf-rankings
• LPGA — Jeeno Thitikul moves to No.1 in Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings — https://www.lpga.com/news/2025/jeeno-thitikul-moves-to-no-1-in-rolex-womens-world-golf-rankings
• Olympics.com — Panipak Wongpattanakit — https://www.olympics.com/en/athletes/panipak-wongpattanakit
• Thai PBS News — “Tennis” wins 2 consecutive Olympic golds and is the first Thai athlete to win medals at 3 Olympics — https://www.thaipbs.or.th/news/content/342851
• Thai PBS News — 2026 election timeline: House dissolved 12 Dec 2025, ballots expected 1 or 8 Feb 2026 — https://www.thaipbs.or.th/news/content/359441
• ThaiPublica — Constitutional Court rules the prime minister removed from office — https://thaipublica.org/2025/08/constitutional-court-ruling-to-dismiss-paetongtarn-shinawatra-from-the-post-of-prime-minister/
• Thai PBS World — Amid stagflation fears, fledgling Anutin government juggles economic tools — https://world.thaipbs.or.th/detail/61183
• Thairath — Government set to build “think critically – media literate – use AI” after Thailand’s PISA rank rises 5 places — https://www.thairath.co.th/news/politic/2958413
• National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO) — Talent Thailand — https://talent.nxpo.or.th/en/about
• Government Public Relations Department (PRD) — IMF puts Thailand among the world’s 4 largest AI hardware exporters, government pushes ahead with future technology production base — https://www.prd.go.th/th/content/category/detail/id/39/iid/521127