Thailand

Overview

Thailand lands at #35 of 72 on the Cooked Index — #35 Most Cooked. The clearest fault line runs through political institutions: political polarization (Polarization 70/100) is worse than 54% of countries tracked. Criminal justice policy isn't far behind — incarceration rate trails 92% of the field. And housing policy rounds out the picture: housing cost burden (28% cost-burdened by housing) sits worse than 43% of countries. Same scoreboard, different departments.

Thailand scores 28 out of 100, the global median sits at 27 — so this is 1 point above that line (higher means more cooked). Performance is lopsided: political polarization ranks worse than 54% of countries, while billionaires hoarded (26 billionaires) is the closest thing to a bright spot — and it still only beats 32% of the field. None of this is really about Thailand specifically — it's about what's propping up the political institutions numbers underneath.

Sources: V-Dem + Global Peace Index (2025) · World Prison Brief (2025) · OECD Affordable Housing Database (HC1.2) (2024)