agriculture, although output is poor and this sector is decreasing in importance at the expense of trade and the service sector. Most of the population is poor and badly educated. Many labourers have been driven by poverty to seek work in other parts of Thailand or abroad. Although Isan accounts for around a third of Thailand's population and a third of its area, it produces only 8.9 percent of GDP. Its economy grew at 6.2 percent per annum during the 1990s. In 1995, 28 percent of the population was classed as below the poverty line, compared to just 7 percent in central Thailand. In 2000, per capita income was 26,317 baht, compared to 208,434 in Bangkok. Even within Isan, there is a rural/urban divide. In 1995, all of Thailand's ten poorest provinces were in Isan, the poorest being Sisaket. However, most wealth and investment is concentrated in the four major cities of Khorat, Ubon, Udon, and Khon Kaen. These four provinces account for 40 percent of the region's population. Special Economic Zones (SEZ) In his televised national address on 23 January 2015 in the program "Return Happiness to the People", Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha addressed the government's policy on the establishment of special economic zones. He said that the policy would promote connectivity and regional economic development on a sustainable basis. There are currently 10 SEZs in Thailand, with trade and investment valued at almost 800 billion baht a year. In 2014, the government launched a pilot project to set up six special economic zones in five provinces: Tak, Mukdahan, Sa Kaeo, Songkhla, and Trat. In the second phase, which is expected to begin in 2016, seven special economic zones will be established in another five provinces: Chiang Rai, Kanchanaburi, Nong Khai, Nakhon Phanom, and Narathiwat. In early 2015, the government approved an infrastructure development plan in special economic zones. In 2015, the plan includes 45 projects, budgeted at 2.6 billion baht. Another 79 projects, worth 7.9 billion baht, will be carried out in 2016. Relying on a mix of government revenue, bond sales, and other funding, Prayut plans to spend US$83 billion over seven years on new railways, roads, and customs posts to establish cross-border trade routes. The idea is to link some 2.4 billion consumers in China and India with Asia's newest economic grouping, the ASEAN Economic Community, of which Thailand is a member. Critics of the SEZs