BANGKOK: Thailand's economy expanded 1.9 percent in 2023, slowing from a revised 2.5-percent growth in the previous year due to softening government spending and exports, the country's economic planning agency said on Monday.

The gross domestic product (GDP) for the final quarter of last year grew 1.7 percent from a year earlier, up from a revised 1.4-percent growth in the third quarter, driven by rising private consumption, according to data released by the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC).

The NESDC expects the economy to expand in the range of 2.2 to 3.2 percent this year, down from a prior projection of 2.7 to 3.7 percent, supported by the return to expansion of goods exports, growth in private consumption and private investment, as well as an ongoing recovery of the tourism industry.

However, reduced fiscal impetus and space resulting from a delay in 2024 fiscal budget approval, a high ratio of household debt to GDP and global geopolitical uncertainty remain a challenge for this year's growth, the NESDC said in a statement.

It also forecasts the Southeast Asian nation's headline inflation growth to range between 0.9 and 1.9 percent this year, compared with an actual 1.2-percent increase in 2023.

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