Evidence Record

Thailand

Southeast Asia

Leading cause: Cancer · 82% plant-based · 78.8 yr life expectancy · UHC 82/100

Heart Disease

37 / 100k

Plant-Based Score

82%

Life Expectancy

78.8 yr

Alzheimer's Prevalence

1.6%

What People Eat

Whole-plant-food score 82%

Animal foods

10%

Plant foods

83%

Added sugars

17%

% of dietary energy (calories) · Diet breakdown: share of dietary energy supply by food group, FAO Food Balance Sheets via Our World in Data.

Traditional Thai diet (jasmine rice, tofu, vegetables, legumes, minimal meat) linked to very low CVD and metabolic disease burden.

Disease Burden

Leading cause of death: Cancer · 122 / 100k

Cancer

122

Stroke

Heart Disease

Respiratory

Kidney Disease

Diabetes

Bars show each rate against the global range; the tick marks the world median.

Thailand pairs a very low heart-disease rate (37/100k) with cancer (122/100k) leading mortality and a high diabetes burden. Its near-universal coverage scheme delivers strong outcomes on modest spending, but rising sugar intake and obesity are eroding the traditional rice-tofu-vegetable advantage.

Healthcare System

Universal health coverage index 82/100

Health spending per person $330

Sources: WHO UHC Service Coverage Index (SDG 3.8.1) & WHO Global Health Expenditure Database. Latest available year.

What Could Improve

Curb added sugar and sweetened drinks driving the diabetes burden.
Preserve the plant-forward traditional diet against processed-food growth.
Build on the universal-coverage scheme with stronger metabolic-disease prevention.

Explore the evidence: Cancer

Thailand Cohort Study · 2019

→ 37 CVD deaths per 100k

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