CLUSTER ANALYSIS OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROVINCES OF THAILAND

The article addresses the issue of spatial differentiation in the socio-economic development of Thailand’s provinces in the context of the national «Thailand 4.0» strategy. The research problem arises from the limited empirical evaluation of regional heterogeneity that integrates demographic, sectoral, and institutional dimensions. The objective is to identify structural patterns of provincial development and to propose a typology that may serve as a basis for differentiated regional policy. The study relies on provincial-level indicators for 2010 2021, including per capita gross regional product, labor migration, industrial investment, land use, and inbound tourism. The Williamson coefficient was applied to quantify inequality, revealing its growth over the past decade. Clustering was performed using k-means, hierarchical agglomerative methods, and DBSCAN in Python with scikit-learn. The k-means algorithm with three and four clusters produced the most robust results, isolating Bangkok as a distinct cluster. Three persistent groupings were identified: industrial centers in the central region, agricultural provinces of the northern and northeastern areas, and tourism-driven provinces in the south. The analysis also revealed β-convergence processes in several transitional provinces, suggesting gradual alignment of development trajectories. Policy recommendations emphasize modernization of agriculture, innovation support for industrial centers, and infrastructure projects in tourism-intensive provinces. The findings confirm the persistence of spatial polarization and highlight the utility of cluster analysis as a tool for refining Thailand’s regional development strategy.