Demographics of Thailand
Encyclopedia
This article is about the demographic
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...

 features of the population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, including population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

, ethnicity
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...

, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

's population is relatively homogeneous, however, this is changing due to immigration. Ethnic Thais make up the majority of the population with 75 percent of the people being from a Thai ethnic group. Chinese make up 14 percent with the remaining 11 percent made up of various other groups.

The language of the central Thai population is the educational language and administrative language. Several other small Tai groups include the Shan, Lue
Lu people
The Tai Lü people are an ethnic group of Vietnam, China, and Thailand. In Vietnam, most Lu live in the Lai Chau Province, and their population was 4,964 in 1999. In China, they are officially recognized as part of the Dai ethnic group. They speak a Tai language.Lu is the indigenous people in Mường...

, and Phutai.

Malay and Yawi-speaking muslim's language of the south comprise another significant minority group (2.3%). Other groups include the Khmer
Khmer people
Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 14.8 million people in the country. They speak the Khmer language, which is part of the larger Mon–Khmer language family found throughout Southeast Asia...

; the Mon, who are substantially assimilated with the Thai; and the Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...

. Smaller mountain-dwelling tribes, such as the Hmong
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...

 and Mein, as well as the Karen
Karen people
The Karen or Kayin people , are a Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic group which resides primarily in southern and southeastern Burma . The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population of approximately 50 million people...

, number about 788,024.
Some 300,000 Hmong, who ironically have lived this area for more generations than the Thais themselves, are to receive citizenship by 2010.

Thailand is also home to a significant number of registered foreigners from Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, as well as an estimated several hundred thousand illegal immigrants, some of which are natives. Increasing numbers of migrants from Burma, Laos, and Cambodia as well as nations such as Nepal, India, along with those from the West and Japan have pushed the number of non-nationals residing in Thailand to close to 2 million in 2008, up from about 1.3 million in the year 2000. A rising awareness of minorities is slowly changing attitudes in a country where non-nationals, some having resided in what is now Thailand longer than the Thais themselves, are barred from numerous privileges ranging from healthcare, ownership of property, or schooling in their own language.

The population is mostly rural, concentrated in the rice-growing areas of the central, northeastern, and northern regions. However, as Thailand continues to industrialize, its urban population - 31.1% of the total population, principally in the Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

 area - is growing.

Thailand's highly successful government-sponsored family planning
Family planning
Family planning is the planning of when to have children, and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and...

 program has resulted in a dramatic decline in population growth from 3.1% in 1960 to around 0.4% today. Life expectancy
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...

 also has risen, a positive reflection of Thailand's efforts in executing public health policies. However, the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

 epidemic has had a major impact on the Thai population. Today, over 700,000 Thais are HIV or AIDS positive - approximately 2% of adult men and 1.5% of adult women. Every year, 30,000-50,000 Thais die from HIV or AIDS-related causes. Ninety percent of them aged 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.

The 1997 constitution mandated 12 years of free education, however, this is not provided universally. Education accounts for 19% of total government expenditures.

Theravada Buddhism is the official religion of Thailand and is officially the religion of about 97% of its people. However, the true figure lies closer to 85%, Muslims are some 10% and 5% other religions including Christianity, Hinduism, especially among immigrants. In addition to Malay and Yawi speaking Thais and other southerners who are Muslim, the Cham of Cambodia in recent years begun 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 South. Spirit worship and animism
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....

 are widely practiced.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

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

Population

According to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand has a population of about 70 million people

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.)

Birth rate

12.95 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

In 2006, the birth rate was 10.85/1000 pop. http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=117911 . NE had a TBR of 12.24, while Bangkok had 8.83.

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 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 (2008 est.)

at birth: 1.05 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.)

Infant mortality rate

18.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
total: 17.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.9 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 16.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

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

Total fertility rate

  • 1.64 children born/woman (2008 est.)
  • 1.66 children born/woman (2011 est.)

Ethnic groups

Tai
Tai peoples
The Tai ethnicity refers collectively to the ethnic groups of southern China and Southeast Asia, stretching from Hainan to eastern India and from southern Sichuan to Laos, Thailand, and parts of Vietnam, which speak languages in the Tai family and share similar traditions and festivals, including...

 (including Lao, who make up about ⅓ of the Thai population ) 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11%

Religions

Buddhism
Buddhism in Thailand
Buddhism in Thailand is largely of the Theravada school. Nearly 95% of Thailand's population is Buddhist of the Theravada school, though Buddhism in this country has become integrated with folk beliefs as well as Chinese religions from the large Thai-Chinese population.Buddhist temples in Thailand...

 94.6%, Islam
Islam in Thailand
Islam is a minority faith in Thailand with statistics suggesting a population of anywhere from 500,000 to 1.2 million Most Thai Muslims belong to the Sunni sect, although Thailand has a very diverse and developing population which includes immigrants from around the world.-Demographics &...

 4.6%, Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 0.7%, Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

 0.1%, other (including Judaism) 0.1% (2000)

Languages

Thai
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...

 (including Isan
Isan language
Isan language is the collective name for the dialects of the Lao language as they are spoken in Thailand. It is spoken by approximately 20 million people, which is nearly one-third of the entire population of Thailand, predominantly in the Isan region of northeastern Thailand. There are also large...

), English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 (secondary language), Vietnamese, Isan
Isan
Isan is the northeastern region of Thailand. It is located on the Khorat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River to the north and east, by Cambodia to the southeast and the Prachinburi mountains south of Nakhon Ratchasima...

as well as other ethnic and regional languages and dialects.

Literacy

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