Life Under Thai Junta by Number

On May 22, 2014, after months of street protests, the Thai military staged a coup and seized power from the government. Led by General Prayuth Chan-ocha, the coupmakers established the National Council for Peace and Order and formed a military government to rule the country.

Touted to solve what seemed like a deadlock in Thai politics, the junta promised to deliver a happy, peaceful and corruption-free country. More than 500 days have passed, what do Thais get at the expense of their rights?


compiled by Thitipol Panyalimpanun

video from Thai PBS




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Breaking the record

Last Semtember, the junta announced a new roadmap plan to stay in power for 20 more months, promising an election in mid-2017. By that time, Thai people will get the longest-running military government in Thailand since 1958, according to Prachatai.

Are people happier?

Although the junta's famous "Return of Happiness" campaign has faded, General Prayuth still continues as a host of the Return of Happiness TV program every Friday. Streets are quiet most of the time while the number of prosectution of the junta's oppositions is rising. The mental health index from by Department of Mental Health shows that, despite all the measures, the change is nominal from last year.

Prevalent oppression

The freedom of expression was asked to be withheld for the sake of peace and happiness. Aggressively cracking down on activists and its critics, the junta has summoned, arrested and detained from Thairath Newspaper's cartoonist Sia, journalist Pravit Rojanaphruk and 14 student activists.

Thai Economy

A look at the national stock market index from the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), which reflects the confidence among investors in Thailand, found that the market was seemingly optimistic after the May 22 coup, with a noticeable increase from May to June 2014. However, from June 2015, the market index started to drop drastically. In November 2015, the SET Index stood at 1359.7, lower than in May 2014.

Rubber farmers in the south of Thailand are hit harder, struggling to make profits from decreasingly low market price. According to the Rubber Authority of Thailand, the average market price for raw rubber sheet at Hatyai Rubber Market in October stood at 41.06 Baht per unit, the lowest since 2009.


This web page is for educational purposes only. It is produced based on publicly data available.