---
title: "Thailand: Politics & Democracy | Model Diplomat"
description: "Thailand politics: ranks #95 of 179 on the V-Dem liberal democracy index in 2025 (score 31.4/100). Current leaders, democracy trend since 1946, and upcoming elections."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/thailand"
---

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# 🇹🇭 Thailand: Politics & Democracy

Only partially — Thailand's V-Dem liberal democracy score of 31.4 (0–100 scale) puts it in hybrid territory: some electoral competition exists, but liberal-democratic checks are weak.

Liberal democracy rank (2025)

\#95 of 179

Score (0–100)

31.4

10-year change

+20.9

[Full rankings →](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/democracy-index)

## Current leaders

Rama X of Thailand

Head of State

since 2016-10-13

Phumtham Wechayachai

Head of Government · Pheu Thai Party

since 2025-07-03

## Democracy trend

Thailand — V-Dem liberal democracy index, 1900–2025 (0–100 scale). Latest: 31.4 in 2025.

## Voting alignment

Thailand's closest UN General Assembly voting partners since 1946:

[Suriname · 94.1%](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/alignment/sur-vs-tha)[Djibouti · 93.4%](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/alignment/dji-vs-tha)[Brunei · 93.4%](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/alignment/brn-vs-tha)[All friends & foes →](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/alignment/thailand)

## Frequently asked questions

Is Thailand a democracy?

Only partially — Thailand's V-Dem liberal democracy score of 31.4 (0–100 scale) puts it in hybrid territory: some electoral competition exists, but liberal-democratic checks are weak. It ranks #95 of 179 countries in 2025.

Is democracy in Thailand improving or declining?

Thailand's V-Dem liberal democracy score rose by 20.9 points over the past decade (an improvement on this index), standing at 31.4 in 2025 (1-year change: +0.8).

Who leads Thailand?

Rama X of Thailand is Thailand's head of state; Phumtham Wechayachai serves as head of government (Pheu Thai Party).

## More on Thailand

[Full country profile](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/thailand)[Blocs & alliances](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/thailand/blocs-alliances)[Treaties](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/thailand/treaties)[Background](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/thailand/background)[Politics & democracy](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/thailand)

- [Thailand's UN voting friends & foes](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/alignment/thailand)
- [Where Thailand ranks on the global democracy index](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/democracy-index)
- [Upcoming elections worldwide](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/elections)
- [UN General Assembly voting by topic](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/un)

Data source: Coppedge, Michael et al. 'V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v16', Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project, https\://www\.v-dem.net, CC BY 4.0.