Not only is South Korea chasing, but Thailand is also facing a “sexual recession”. The number of births continues to decline due to the aging of the population.
Thailand’s demographic trends today are very different from 1960-1970, when most families had an average of seven children and the fertility rate was 6.1. The decline has occurred over the past five years.
In 2020, that is, at 1.24, lower than the population replacement rate of about 1.6. The report is like a double blow for Thailand.
The local government is encouraging more couples to have children. Faced with the threat of a population crisis, family planning experts have also called on the government to pay more attention to population aging so they can remain productive.
“We need to rethink our perception of senior demographics. Because if we don’t turn this challenge into an opportunity, there is bound to be a crisis,” said assistant professor Piyachart Phiromswad, who specializes in population economics in Thailand, as quoted by The Guardian.
Persuade lifestyle changes
According to him, it is not effective to persuade couples to have more children by changing their attitude towards family, career and lifestyle.
“Evidence has shown that it is impossible to completely reverse the decline in fertility rates. We need to shift our focus to existing people and look at population aging as a source of productivity,” she said, noting that technology, assistance healthcare and a change in mindset could allow older people to contribute again and be productive.
“If people are healthy and can still work, maybe people 60 and older can still be productive.”
At the annual International Family Planning Conference in Pattaya in early November, population experts and Thai lawmakers spoke about the country’s family planning policies since the 1960s and current challenges.
“The challenge today is to overcome low fertility rates that could negatively impact the economy and workforce in the future,” said Director-General of the Department of Disease Control Suwannachai Wattanaying-charoenchai.
“While rich countries like Japan and Singapore are also facing rapid population ageing, Thailand, which is a middle-income economy, differs in terms of its development, wealth and social infrastructure,” said Prof. piyachart.
Similar to other countries, the Thai government is trying to promote more pregnancies with child incentives, birth processes, childcare, in all regions. In fact, an idea has emerged to get influencers to promote more kids.
“But the plan didn’t work,” said Bunyarit Sukrat, director of the Bureau of Reproductive Health.
“Not everyone can understand the kind of life these influencers have.”
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