A woman wearing a mask carries a baby at a bus station in Bangkok, Thailand, March 22, 2020. Photo by Reuters
Thailand’s population has declined by 100,000 in 2024 to 65.95 million, marking a historic demographic shift as annual births fell below 500,000 for the first time since 1949.
The drops were despite the government’s efforts to promote childbearing through the Having Children for the Nation campaign.
According to data released recently by the Department of Provincial Administration, Thailand’s total population stands at 65,951,210. Bangkok remains the most populous area with 5,455,020 residents.
The country recorded 462,240 births against 571,646 deaths in 2024, continuing a four-year trend where deaths outnumber births. The marriage registry showed 263,087 new couples, while 147,621 couples divorced during the same period.
Associate Professor Dr. Chalermpol Chamchan, Director of Mahidol University’s Institute for Population and Social Research, said Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country categorized by the United Nations among nations with declining birth rates, a group typically comprising developed, high-income countries.
Thailand’s total fertility rate (TFR) has dropped to 1.0, lower than Japan’s 1.2, placing it among ultra-low fertility countries like the Republic of Korea and Singapore. Demographic projections suggest the population could shrink to 40 million within 50 years, effectively losing 25 million people – approximately one million every two years.
The workforce impact could be severe, with the current 37.2 million workers potentially declining to 22.8 million over the next five decades.
Targeted policies could potentially increase the percentage of those definitely planning to have children to over 60%, Dr. Chamchan noted.
