Demographics of Thailand


Life in Thailand

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Thailand, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Population

Thailand's population (1950-2015).

The 2014 population of Thailand is estimated to be 67,200,000.[1]

Thailand's population is mostly rural. It is concentrated in the rice-growing areas of the central, northeastern, and northern regions. As Thailand continues to industrialize, its urban population – 45.7% (in 2010, according to NESDB) of the total population, principally in the Bangkok area – is growing. Accurate statistics are difficult to arrive at, as millions of Thai migrate from rural areas to Bangkok, then return to their place of origin to help with seasonal field work. Officially they have rural residency, but spend most of the year in urban areas.

Thailand's highly successful government-sponsored family planning program has resulted in a dramatic decline in population growth from 3.1% in 1960 to around 0.4% today. The World Bank forecasts a contraction of the population in ten years time. In 1970, an average of 5.7 people lived in a Thai household. At the time of the 2010 census, the figure was down to 3.2. Even though Thailand has one of the best social insurance systems in Asia, the increasing group of elderly people is a challenge for the country.[2]

Life expectancy has risen, a positive reflection of Thailand's efforts in executing effective public health policies. The Thai AIDS epidemic had a major impact on the Thai population. Today, over 700,000 Thai are HIV or AIDS positive, approximately 2% of adult men and 1.5% of adult women. Every year, 30,000–50,000 Thai die from HIV or AIDS-related causes. Ninety percent of them are ages 20–24, the youngest range of the workforce. The situation could have been worse; an aggressive public education campaign in the early 1990s reduced the number of new HIV infections from 150,000 to 25,000 annually.

Entirely preventable is the leading cause of death among the age cohort under 15 years of age: drowning. A study by the Child Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Centre of Ramathibodi Hospital revealed that more than 1,400 youths under 15 years old died from drowning each year, or an average four deaths a day, becoming the top cause of deaths of children, even exceeding that of motorbike deaths. Thailand'd Disease Control Department estimates that only 23% of Thai children under 15 can swim.[3]

Ethnic groups

Further information: Ethnic groups in Thailand
An ethnological map of Thailand (1974).

Thailand's ethnic origins have encountered significant changes and continues to evolve. The nation's ethnic makeup is heavily obscured due to the hefty pressure of Thaification, Thai nationalism, and social pressure, which is intertwined with a caste-like mentality putting some races at higher social standing over others. Chinese origins as evidenced by surname were erased in the 1920s due to royal decree, the CIA factbook lists 14% of Thai as Chinese origin.[4]

Significant intermixing has taken place such that there are few pure ethnic Chinese, and those of partially mixed Chinese ancestry account for as much as a third to a half of the Thai population. Those claiming Thai ethnicity made up the vast majority of the population in 2010 (95.9%); 2% were Burmese, 1.3% others, and 0.9 unspecified.[4] Thus, the actual ethnosocial and genetic makeup situation is very different from what is officially reported or self-claimed.

The vast majority of the Isaan people (1⁄3 of Thailand's population) are ethnic Lao intermixed with Khmer blood, and they speak the Isaan language. Additionally there have been more recent waves of immigration from Vietnam and Cambodia across porous borders due to wars and subsequent poverty over the last few decades, whose immigrants have tried to keep a low profile and blend in.

In more recent years the Isaan people began intermixing with the rest of the nation as urbanization (and mobility) trends increase. Similarly, Myanmar has had numerous ferocious ethnic wars between the army and tribes who speak more than 40 languages and control large fiefs or states, lasting many decades. This has led to waves of immigrants seeking refuge or work in Thailand. The makeup of Myanmar nationals is extremely complex – they include people of Nepali ethnicity who escaped Nepal into Myanmar, and then immigrated to Thailand.

Following the 2014 coup, Thailand's Department of Employment released figures that 408,507 legal workers from 3 neighboring states, and 1,630,279 Myanmar nationals of any ethnicity, 40,546 Laotian, and 153,683 Cambodians without legal work authorization working and residing in Thailand.[5] Some 180,000 Cambodians were said to have left Thailand post coup due to rumors, indicating government figures were an undercount.[6] These statistics are merely a single snapshot and hardly authoritative as there is constant movement and plenty of hiding from authorities.

The language of the central Thai population is the educational and administrative language. Other dialects of Thai exist, most notably the Southern Thai language. Several other small Tai (not Thai) groups include the Shan, Lue, and Phu Thai.

Malay and Yawi-speaking Muslim's language of the south comprise another significant minority group (2.3%), yet there are a substantial number of ethnic Malays who speak only Thai. Other groups include the Khmer; the Mon, who are substantially assimilated with the Thai; and the Vietnamese.

Smaller mountain-dwelling tribes, such as the Hmong and Mien, as well as the Karen, number about 788,024. Some 300,000 Hmong are to receive citizenship in 2010.(link rot) This citizenship process has been ongoing and continues even in 2014.

Thailand is also home for more than 200,000 foreigners either as retirees, extended tourists, and workers, from for example, Europe (specifically United Kingdom) and North America.[7] Asians tend to be guest or technical workers in Thailand. A number of nationals from PRC are able to physically blend in after learning Thai claiming to be Thai themselves, but there is also the element of extended stay tourism and retirees as well as condo property is legal for purchase.

Significant numbers of Filipinos work in Thailand due to their English-language skills, as well as technical workers from Japan and Korea. Thousands of Japanese also have retired in Thailand. In recent years there has been a large influx of Russian-speaking retirees and extended-stay tourists in the Kingdom, as well as many expatriates from all continents.

Languages

Further information: Languages of Thailand

Thailand is dominated by languages of the Southwestern Tai family. Karen languages are spoken along the border with Burma, Khmer is spoken near Cambodia (and previously throughout central Thailand), and Malay in the south near Malaysia.

The Thai hill tribes speak numerous small languages, many Chinese retain varieties of Chinese, and there are half a dozen sign languages. The Ethnologue reports 73 living languages are used in Thailand.

Population of Thailand above the age of 5 by language (UN statistics 2000)[8]
Language Language family No. of speakers
Thai Tai-Kadai 52,325,037
Khmer Austroasiatic 1,291,024
Malay Austronesian 1,202,911
Karen Sino-Tibetan 317,968
Chinese Sino-Tibetan 231,350
Miao Hmong-Mien 112,686
Lahu Sino-Tibetan 70,058
Burmese Sino-Tibetan 67,061
Akha Sino-Tibetan 54,241
English Indo-European 48,202
Tai Tai-Kadai 44,004
Japanese Japonic 38,565
Lawa Austroasiatic 31,583
Lisu Sino-Tibetan 25,037
Vietnamese Austroasiatic 24,476
Yao Hmong-Mien 21,238
Khmu Austroasiatic 6,246
Indian Indo-European 5,598
Haw Yunnanese Sino-Tibetan 3,247
Htin Austroasiatic 2,317
Others 33,481
Unknown 325,134
Total 56,281,538

Religion

Further information: Religion in Thailand

Theravada Buddhism is the official religion of Thailand. 93.6% are estimated to be Buddhist, 4.9% Muslim, 1.2% Christian, 0.2% other and 0.1% have no religion.[4]

In addition to Malay and Yawi speaking Thai and other southerners who are Muslim, the Muslim Cham of Cambodia in recent years began a large scale influx into Thailand. The government permits religious diversity, and other major religions are represented, though there is much social tension, especially in the Muslim South. Spirit worship and animism are widely practiced.

Vital statistics[9]

Year Population[10] Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total Fertility Rate
1983 1 055 802 252 592 803 210 21.3 5.1 16.2
1984 956 680 225 282 731 398 19.0 4.5 14.5
1985 973 624 225 088 748 536 18.8 4.4 14.4
1986 945 827 218 025 727 802 18.0 4.1 13.9
1987 884 043 232 968 651 075 16.5 4.3 12.2
1988 873 842 231 227 642 615 16.0 4.2 11.8
1989 905 837 246 570 659 267 16.3 4.4 11.9
1990 956 237 252 512 703 725 17.0 4.5 12.5
1991 960 556 264 350 696 206 17.0 4.7 12.3
1992 57,788,965 964 557 275 313 689 244 16.8 4.8 12.0
1993 58,336,072 957 832 285 731 672 101 16.5 4.9 11.6
1994 59,095,419 960 248 305 526 654 722 16.3 5.2 11.1
1995 59,460,382 963 678 324 842 638 836 16.2 5.5 10.7
1996 60,116,182 994 118 342 645 651 473 15.8 5.7 10.1
1997 60,816,227 897 604 303 918 593 686 14.8 5.0 9.8
1998 61,466,178 897 201 310 534 586 667 14.7 5.1 9.6
1999 61,661,701 754 685 362 607 392 078 12.3 5.9 6.4
2000 61,878,746 773 009 365 741 407 268 12.5 5.9 6.6
2001 62,308,887 790 425 369 493 420 932 12.7 6.0 6.7
2002 62,799,872 782 911 380 364 402 547 12.5 6.1 6.4
2003 63,079,765 742 183 384 131 358 052 11.8 6.1 5.7
2004 61,973,621* 813 069 393 592 419 477 13.0 6.3 6.7
2005 62,418,054 809 485 395 374 414 111 13.0 6.4 6.6
2006 62,828,706 793 623 391 126 402 497 12.7 6.2 6.5
2007 63,038,247 797 588 393 255 404 333 12.7 6.3 6.4
2008 63,389,730 784 256 397 326 386 930 12.4 6.3 6.1
2009 63,525,062 765 047 393 916 371 131 12.1 6.2 5.9
2010 63,878,267 761 689 411 331 350 358 12.0 6.5 5.5
2011 64,076,033 782 198 414 670 367 528 12.2 6.5 5.7 1.66
2012 64,456,695 780 975 415 141 365 834 12.2 6.5 5.7
2013 64,785,909 748 081 426 065 322 016 11.6 6.6 5.0
2014 65,124,716

Births and deaths[11]

Period Live births per year Deaths per year Natural change per year CBR1 CDR1 NC1 TFR1 IMR1
1950–1955 940 000 344 000 596 000 42.5 15.6 27.0 6.14 130.3
1955–1960 1 093 000 348 000 745 000 43.0 13.7 29.3 6.14 108.7
1960–1965 1 249 000 353 000 896 000 42.3 12.0 30.3 6.13 90.5
1965–1970 1 386 000 362 000 1 025 000 40.4 10.5 29.8 5.99 75.5
1970–1975 1 371 000 355 000 1 016 000 34.6 8.9 25.6 5.05 63.2
1975–1980 1 297 000 338 000 959 000 28.9 7.5 21.3 3.92 50.4
1980–1985 1 201 000 300 000 901 000 24.1 6.0 18.1 2.95 38.9
1985–1990 1 113 000 266 000 848 000 20.4 4.9 15.5 2.30 29.1
1990–1995 1 050 000 313 000 737 000 18.0 5.4 12.6 1.99 22.6
1995–2000 955 000 373 000 582 000 15.6 6.1 9.5 1.77 18.6
2000–2005 914 000 426 000 488 000 14.1 6.6 7.5 1.68 15.1
2005–2010 872 000 486 000 386 000 12.9 7.2 5.7 1.63 12.4
1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Data | The World Bank

Life expectancy at birth

total: 74 years (2011)
male: 71 years(2011)
female: 77 years (2011)

Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births)

11 deaths/1,000 live births (2011)

Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births)

12 deaths/1,000 live births (2011)

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

The population of Thailand is approximately 67.5 million people, with an annual growth rate of about 0.3 percent. In addition to Thai, it includes ethnic Chinese, Malay, Lao,Burma, Cambodia, and Indians, among others. According to 2010 decennial census, it revealed a population of 65,981,600 (up from 60,916,441 in 2000) and post-censal adjustments are being carried out to see if there was any reporting error.

Age structure

0–14 years: 21.2% (male 7,104,776/female 6,781,453)
15–64 years: 70.3% (male 22,763,274/female 23,304,793)
65 years and over: 8.5% (male 2,516,721/female 3,022,281) (2008 est.)
0–14 years: 19.9% (male 6,779,723/female 6,466,625)
15–64 years: 70.9% (male 23,410,091/female 23,913,499)
65 years and over: 9.2% (male 2,778,012/female 3,372,203) (2011 est.)

Population growth rate

Net migration rate

0 migrants/1,000 population (2011 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 males/female
under 15 years: 1.05 males/female
15–64 years: 0.98 males/female
65 years and over: 0.83 males/female
total population: 0.98 males/female (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 73.6 years
male: 71.24 years
female: 76.08 years (2011 est.)

Nationality

noun: Thai (singular and plural)
adjective: Thai

Ethnic groups

ethnic Thai 75%, Thai Chinese 14%, other 11%

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.6%
male: 94.9%
female: 90.5% (2002 est.)

References

  1. ↑ "Thailand Population 2014". World Population Review. Retrieved 2 Mar 2015.
  2. ↑ Dombrowski, Katja (2013-10-03). "Modernity has arrived". D+C Development and Cooperation. Retrieved 2015-01-05.
  3. ↑ "More parents send children to learn swimming as drowning topping cause of deaths among youths under 15". ThaiPBS. 2015-03-16. Retrieved 28 Mar 2015.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The World Factbook - Thailand, CIA
  5. ↑ http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Junta-No-crackdown-on-foreign-workers-30236412.html
  6. ↑ http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/415847/thailand-cambodia-to-quash-rumours-after-worker-exodus
  7. ↑ Bickerstaff, Bruce (Feb 2013). "An Attempt to Quantify the Number of Foreigners Living in Thailand". Burning Bison. Retrieved 1 Mar 2015.
  8. ↑ Population by language, sex and urban/rural residence, UNSD Demographic Statistics, United Nations Statistics Division, UNdata, last update 5 July 2013.
  9. ↑ Kijsanayotin, Boonchai; Ingun, Pianghatai; Sumputtanon, Kanet (Mar 2003). Review of National Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems: A case study of Thailand (PDF). Bangkok: Thai Health Information Standards Development Center (THIS). p. 12. ISBN 978-616-11-1913-3. Retrieved 15 Feb 2015.
  10. ↑ "Population from Registration Record by Sex, 1988-2012". Statistical Yearbook Thailand 2013. National Statistical Office Thailand. Retrieved 17 Feb 2015.
  11. ↑ Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision. Esa.un.org (2014-04-14). Retrieved on 2014-06-21.

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