The demographics of Thailand paint a statistical portrait of the national population. Demography includes such measures as population density and distribution, ethnicity, educational levels, public health metrics, fertility, economic status, religious affiliation, and other characteristics of the populace.
Population size and structure
Population The population of Thailand was 65.95 million on 8 January 2025 as per the Department of Provincial Administration. There were 64,953,661 Thai nationals and 997,549 non-Thai residents. Thailand's population is mainly rural: concentrated in the rice growing areas of the central, Isan, and northern regions. In 2010, the urban population—principally in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region —was 45.7 percent of the total population according to the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB). Accurate statistics are difficult to arrive at, as millions of Thai migrate from rural areas to cities, 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 successful government-sponsored family planning program has resulted in a decline in population growth from 3.1 percent in 1960 to around 0.4 percent in 2015. The World Bank forecasts a contraction of the working-age population of about 10 percent between 2010 and 2040. 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 better social security systems in Asia, the increasing population of elderly people is a challenge for the country.
Life expectancy has risen, a reflection of Thailand's efforts to implement effective public health policies. The Thai AIDS epidemic had a major impact on the Thai population. In 2022, over 500,000 Thai were HIV or AIDS positive, approximately 1.1% of adult men and 0.9% of adult women. Every year, 30,000–50,000 Thai die from HIV or AIDS-related illnesses. Ninety percent of them are ages 20–24, the youngest range of the workforce. An aggressive public education campaign begun in the early-1990s reduced the number of new HIV infections from 150,000 to under 10,000 annually. 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's Disease Control Department estimates that only 23 percent of Thai children under 15 can swim. The Public Health Ministry said that from 2006 to 2015, 10,923 children drowned. Of the 8.3 million children aged 5–14 nationwide, only two million can swim, according to the Public Health Ministry.
The United Nations classifies Thailand as an "aging society" (one-tenth of the population above 60), on track to become an "aged society" (one-fifth of the population above 60) by 2025. The Fiscal Policy Office projects that the number of Thais aged 60-plus will increase from 14 percent in 2016 to 17.5 percent in 2020, 21.2 percent in 2025, and 25.2 percent in 2030. it is estimated that there are 94,000 employees aged 60 years or more in the workforce.
Age structure
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 33 328 645 34 583 075 67 911 720 100 0–4 2 041 071 1 938 793 3 979 864 5.86 5–9 2 353 198 2 270 890 4 624 088 6.81 10–14 2 438 774 2 327 414 4 766 188 7.02 15–19 2 593 629 2 473 402 5 067 031 7.46 20–24 2 673 846 2 563 359 5 237 205 7.71 25–29 2 673 201 2 588 947 5 262 148 7.75 30–34 2 683 015 2 637 945 5 320 960 7.84 35–39 2 673 404 2 759 416 5 432 820 8.00 40–44 2 672 891 2 870 531 5 543 422 8.16 45–49 2 574 423 2 769 676 5 344 099 7.87 50–54 2 315 177 2 503 566 4 818 743 7.10 55–59 1 854 719 2 052 030 3 906 749 5.75 60–64 1 347 251 1 534 691 2 881 942 4.24 65–69 963 728 1 154 984 2 118 712 3.12 70–74 695 434 908 033 1 603 467 2.36 75–79 451 737 659 684 1 111 421 1.64 80+ 323 147 569 714 892 861 1.31Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 6 833 043 6 537 097 13 370 140 19.69 15–64 24 061 556 24 753 563 48 815 119 71.88 65+ 2 434 046 3 292 415 5 726 461 8.43
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 32 128 245 34 406 439 66 534 684 100 0–4 1 820 722 1 738 061 3 558 783 5.35 5–9 1 928 856 1 842 729 3 771 584 5.67 10–14 1 994 908 1 899 797 3 894 705 5.85 15–19 2 173 180 2 087 943 4 261 123 6.40 20–24 2 318 425 2 248 622 4 567 047 6.86 25–29 2 328 514 2 291 449 4 619 964 6.94 30–34 2 195 078 2 192 481 4 387 559 6.59 35–39 2 285 522 2 332 154 4 617 676 6.94 40–44 2 519 395 2 633 740 5 153 134 7.75 45–49 2 556 501 2 723 677 5 280 178 7.94 50–54 2 605 281 2 844 482 5 449 763 8.19 55–59 2 320 628 2 612 319 4 932 947 7.41 60–64 1 879 079 2 222 128 4 101 207 6.16 65–69 1 397 242 1 777 088 3 174 330 4.77 70–74 855 143 1 207 640 2 062 783 3.10 75–79 508 729 825 715 1 334 444 2.01 80–84 269 850 508 932 778 781 1.17 85–89 126 009 284 038 410 047 0.62 90–94 37 824 103 801 141 625 0.21 95–99 6 640 25 425 32 066 0.05 100+ 719 4 219 4 938 0.01Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 5 744 486 5 480 587 11 225 073 16.87 15–64 23 181 603 24 188 994 47 370 597 71.20 65+ 3 202 156 4 736 858 7 939 014 11.93
Vital statistics Registered births and deaths Although the UN classifies the birth and death registration of the National Statistics Office as incomplete the figures below clearly show the decreasing fertility in Thailand since the end of the 1950s. As of 2024 natural growth in Thailand is negative, which means that the number of deaths exceeds the number of births.
Year Population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Crude migration change (per 1000) Total Fertility Rate195724,148,000777,436218,124559,29432.29.023.2195824,873,000970,155208,866761,28939.08.430.6 –1.50195925,619,000801,380206,129595,25431.38.023.36.06196026,388,000915,538221,853693,68534.78.426.32.941961813,805210,709603,0961962973,634221,157752,47719631,020,051233,192786,85919641,119,715231,095888,62019651,117,698216,830900,86819661,085,594236,243849,35119671,116,424230,622855,80219681,200,131232,116968,01519691,133,526243,444890,082197039,100,0001,145,293223,899921,39429.35.723.6197139,760,0001,221,228227,990993,23830.75.725.0−8.52197240,420,0001,189,950248,676941,27429.46.223.3−7.07197341,080,0001,167,272293,151874,12128.47.121.3−5.30197441,740,0001,185,869246,459939,41028.45.922.5−6.80197542,400,0001,132,416234,550897,86626.75.521.2−5.70197643,213,7061,166,292237,062929,23027.05.521.5−2.74 4.15197744,272,6931,079,331236,854842,47724.35.319.05.01 3.90197845,221,6251,040,218241,146799,07223.05.317.73.38 3.66197946,113,7561,073,436214,111859,32523.24.618.60.73 3.51198046,961,3381,077,300247,970729,32022.95.317.6−2.57 3.36198147,875,0021,062,238239,423822,81522.25.017.21.94 3.18198248,846,9271,075,632247,402828,23022.05.017.03.00 3.00 1983 49,515,074 1,055,802 252,592 803,210 21.3 5.116.2−2.763.02 1984 50,583,105 956,680 225,282 731,398 19.0 4.5 14.56.802.70 1985 51,795,651 973,624 225,088 748,536 18.8 4.4 14.49.172.57 1986 52,969,204 945,827 218,025 727,802 18.0 4.1 13.98.61 2.45 1987 53,873,172 884,043 232,968 651,075 16.5 4.3 12.24.77 2.35 1988 54,960,917 873,842 231,227 642,615 16.0 4.2 11.88.26 2.26 1989 55,888,393 905,837 246,570 659,267 16.3 4.4 11.94.88 2.18 1990 56,303,273 956,237 252,512 703,725 17.0 4.5 12.5−5.17 2.11 1991 56,961,030 960,556 264,350 696,206 17.0 4.7 12.3−0.68 2.06 1992 57,788,965 964,557 275,313 689,244 16.8 4.812.02.43 1.98 1993 58,336,072 957,832 285,731 672,101 16.5 4.911.6−2.161.89 1994 59,095,419 960,248 305,526 654,722 16.3 5.211.11.791.84 1995 59,460,382 963,678 324,842 638,836 16.2 5.5 10.7−4.631.81 1996 60,116,182 983,395 315,467 667,928 16.3 5.2 11.1−0.201.85 1997 60,816,227 880,028 279,090 600,938 14.5 4.6 9.91.651.69 1998 61,466,178 862,260 344,210 518,050 14.0 5.6 8.42.171.69 1999 61,661,701 774,349 315,550 458,799 12.5 5.1 7.4−3.041.51 2000 61,878,746 773,009 365,741 407,268 12.5 5.9 6.6−3.081.53 2001 62,308,887 790,425 369,493 420,932 12.7 6.0 6.70.151.54 2002 62,799,872 782,911 380,364 402,547 12.5 6.1 6.41.421.53 2003 63,079,765 742,183 384,131 358,052 11.8 6.1 5.7−1.241.47 2004 61,973,621* 813,069 393,592 419,477 13.0 6.3 6.71.55 2005 62,418,054 809,485 395,374 414,111 13.0 6.4 6.60.491.55 2006 62,828,706 793,623 391,126 402,497 12.7 6.2 6.50.131.53 2007 63,038,247 797,588 393,255 404,333 12.7 6.3 6.4−3.10 1.54 2008 63,389,730 784,256 397,326 386,930 12.4 6.3 6.1−0.56 1.51 2009 63,525,062 765,047 393,916 371,131 12.1 6.2 5.9−3.72 1.47 2010 63,878,267 761,689 411,331 350,358 12.0 6.5 5.50.04 1.49 2011 64,076,033 782,198 414,670 367,528 12.2 6.5 5.7−2.661.55 2012 64,456,695 780,975 415,141 365,834 12.2 6.5 5.70.231.56 2013 64,785,909 748,081 426,065 322,016 11.6 6.6 5.00.11 1.46 2014 65,124,716 711,081 435,624 275,457 11.0 6.7 4.30.98 1.41 2015 65,729,098 679,502 445,964 233,538 10.4 6.9 3.55.69 1.45 2016 65,931,550 666,207 469,085 197,122 10.2 7.2 3.00.08 1.39 2017 66,188,503 656,570 458,010 198,560 10.1 7.0 3.10.89 1.38 2018 66,413,979 628,450 461,818 166,632 9.6 7.1 2.50.89 1.36 2019 66,558,935 596,736 494,339 102,397 9.1 7.5 1.60.64 1.25 2020 66,186,727 569,338 489,717 79,621 8.7 7.5 1.2−6.79 1.18 2021 66,171,439 544,570 563,650 −19,080 8.1 8.4 −0.30.06 1.16 2022 66,090,475 502,107 595,965 −93,858 7.6 9.0 −1.40.19 1.07 2023 66,052,615 517,934 565,992 −48,058 7.8 8.5 −0.70.15 1.11 2024 65,951,210 462,240 571,646 −109,406 7.0 8.7 −1.70.12 0.98(e) 2025 65,809,011 416,574 559,684 −143,110 6.3 8.5 −2.2−0.02 0.87
Current vital statistics Period Live births Deaths Natural increase January—September 2025 309,644 414,395 −104,751 January—September 2026 271,531 417,774 −146,243 Difference −38,113 (−12.31%) +3,379 (+0.82%) −41,492 Source:
UN estimates +Statistics for births and deaths: all figures are per yearPeriodLivebirthsDeathsNaturalchangeCBR1CDR1NC1TFR1IMR1 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 13.6 7.0 6.6 1.60 2005–2010 12.3 7.2 5.1 1.56 2010–2015 11.2 7.3 3.9 1.53 2015–2020 10.5 7.6 2.9 1.53 2020–2025 9.5 8.3 1.2 1.46 2025–2030 8.9 9.1 −0.2 1.42 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. Sources: Figures highlighted in yellow are projections.
Fertility rate
Ultra-low fertility Thailand's population declined by 100,000 to 65.95 million in 2024. The historic demographic shift of 2024 occurred when the annual births fell below 500,000 for the first time since 1949. In 2024, 462,240 births versus 571,646 deaths were recorded. Thailand's total fertility rate (TFR) declined to 1.0, which is lower than Japan's 1.2. This makes Thailand an ultra-low fertility country like South Korea and Singapore. The Department of Provincial Administration reported that in 2025 Thailand had only 416,514 births (lowest in 75 years), while deaths reached 559,684. 2.1 children per woman is required to maintain a stable population.
Causes