Thailand's economy expanded at the fastest pace in three years in the first quarter on government spending, official data showed Monday.
Gross domestic product expanded 3.2 percent year-on-year, faster than the 2.8 percent rise seen in the previous period, data from the National Economic and Social Development Board reported.
This was the fastest growth since the first quarter of 2013, when it grew 5.2 percent.
Quarter-on-quarter, Southeast Asia's second-largest economy grew 0.9 percent versus 0.8 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2015.
On the expenditure side, private consumption expenditure expanded by 2.3 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, following a 2.6 percent rise in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, government spending growth picked up to 8 percent from 4.8 percent on social welfare benefits.
An increase in net export was drove economic growth, with a 5.1 percent increase in exports of goods and services and a 4.8 percent decline in imports of goods and services.
At the same time, the growth in gross fixed capital formation decelerated to 4.7 percent from 9.4 percent.
Thailand's economy got off to a solid start to 2016, but high household debt and continued political uncertainty are likely to drag down growth again over the coming quarters, Krystal Tan, an Asia economist at Capital Economics, said.
The economist noted that the ongoing drought will hurt growth if it extends into the second half of 2016 and a controversial draft constitution could trigger another flashpoint in the country's long-standing political crisis.
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