Population management plan suggested

The government is expected to shoulder 1.4 trillion baht worth of social welfare spending in 2028, up from 400 billion spent in 2013, says the government’s planning unit.

Porametee Vimolsiri, secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), said the government is likely to bear a heavy load in taking care of an ageing society, as the elderly are expected to skyrocket the next 19 years.

The agency said Thailand has 11.2 million elderly accounting for 17% of the 65.52 million Thais now. By 2036, that number will rise to 19.52 million or 30% of a total of 65.10 million.

Thailand is defined as an “ageing society” because the number of its people aged 60 and older makes up more than 10% of its total population.

Thanks to effective birth control efforts by previous governments, Thailand’s birth rate plummeted to 700,000 in 2015 from over 1 million during 1963-83.

Mr Porametee said a decrease in youth and the working age population may hamper the country’s economic growth and productivity in the long run.

“2018 will be the first year the elderly will outnumber the youth population,” he said. “Thailand desperately needs a prudent population management plan for next 20 years as the increasing elderly population will not only affect the country’s economic development but also raise the government’s fiscal burden.”

In 2016, working age folks represented 65% of the overall Thai population. That figure is expected to drop to 64% in 2021, 61% in 2026 and 56% in 2036.

The NESDB is drafting a population management plan aimed at upgrading Thais social and economic quality, improving quality of life, narrowing social disparities, boosting environmentally friendly economic growth and ensuring good governance.