Thailand fears ‘population crisis’ as birth rate crashes to lowest level in decades

Officials hope to encourage more births by opening fertility centres and getting social media influencers to showcase the joys of family life

But changed social conditions and attitudes towards parenthood coloured by concerns over rising debt and elderly care could make the slump hard to reverse

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Newborn babies are seen at a hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2017. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:50am, 7 Mar 2022

Thailand is scrambling to encourage its people to have more babies to arrest a slumping birth rate, offering parents childcare and fertility centres, while also tapping social media influencers to showcase the joys of family life.

The campaign comes as the number of births has dropped by nearly one-third since 2013, when they started declining. Last year saw 544,000 births, the lowest in at least six decades and below the 563,000 deaths, which were also swollen by coronavirus-related fatalities.

While Thailand’s demographic path is similar to other Asian economies like Japan or Singapore, as an emerging market relying on cheap labour and a growing middle class the implications for Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy are far more profound.

A woman carries her baby at a bus station in Bangkok. Photo: Reuters

“The data reflects a population crisis … where the mindset towards having children has changed,” said Teera Sindecharak, a demography specialist at Thammasat University.

Senior health official Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai said the government recognised a need to intervene.

“We are trying to slow down the decline in births and reverse the trend by getting families that are ready to have children faster,” he said, describing plans to introduce policies so that newborns get the full support of the state.

The plans include opening fertility centres, currently limited to Bangkok and other major cities, in 76 provinces and also using social media influencers to back up the message, officials said.