HGW372E

GEOGRAPHY OF
ASEAN & ASIA PACIFIC
TUTORIAL 3
GROUP 5
FAKHRIAH NADHIRAH BINTI PESO (118419)
NURUL LAILA QAMARINA BINTI
KAMARUZZAMAN (118748)
LECTURER
DR. SURIATI GHAZALI

Discuss

demographic issues

in ASEAN & Asia Pacific countries.

Comment its

impact on the development

of the country &

efforts to overcome the problems

via cooperation with other ASEAN & Asia

Pacific countries.

What is demographic?
Study on population by investigating 3 main d
emographic process.
1. Birth
2. Migration
3. Aging (include death)
This 3 process contribute to changes in
population how people inhabit earth, form of
nations & societies and develop culture

Thailand
Demographic

THAILAND POPULATION

68 091 535
Until 15 MARCH 2016
based on the latest United Nations estimates
(making it the 20th most populous country on earth)

Thailand Population (2010)

Population by Region Percentage (%)

Rural; 52%

Ethnic Group in Thailand Percentage (%)

2% 1% 1%

Urban; 48%

96%

Languages in Thailand percetange (%)

1% 8%
91%

Thai
Burmese
Other

Thai
Burmese
Other
Unspecified

Religions in Thailand Percentage (%)

5% 1% 0% 0%
94%

Buddhist
Muslim
Christian
Other
None

DEMOGRAPHIC
ISSUES
THAILAND
IN THE MIDST OF

DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION !

Demographic
Transition

transition FROM HIGH birth and death

rates TO LOW birth and death rates
as a country develops from a preindustrial to an industrialized
economic system.

Rapid
changes in

Mortality
Fertility

Causes
changes in

Size & rate of

growth
Age structure
of population

Low
Fertility Rate

DEMOGRAPHI
C ISSUES
International
Migration

1. LOW FERTILITY RATE

Fertility rate is a rough measure of how many babies each
woman has during her lifetime

ASEAN
COUNTRIES

http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/ReadersSubmissions2012/reader7741.htm

Fertility has decline rapidly!

By 1980, women were on average bearing fewer than 4 children, and

are bearing closer to 2 and less by today

REASON 1 : FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMME

Thailand has been praised for its remarkable success in

bringing down population growth within a very short time
span: it was
dubbed the fertility revolution.
The Ministry Public and Health had begun family planning
activities on a wide scale in 1968.
Since the declaration of the anti-natalist policy in March
1970, a
campaign for voluntary family planning has been vigorously
an
continually pursued, resulting in the reduction of population
growth rate.
In 1972, referring to the national population policy of the
government, Thailands Third Five-Year Economic and Social

 One of the objectives of this policy was to reduce the rate of

population growth from over 3% to about 2.5% by October
1976.
Family planning programs provide a win-win solution: The
welfare of individual women and children is improved, and the
national
economy and environment benefit.
To attain this goal, a realistic set of targets for new acceptors
of
family planning was adopted and at the end of the 1976, it
appear that goal of 2.5% growth rate have been achieved.
And the reduction continued to 2.1% by 1981.
Thailand has worked to reduce its fertility rates for nearly 3
years,
but it now faces an issue with a fertility rate that is too low.

REASON 2 : URBANISATION / MODERN LIFE

The 2010 census showed that 44 % of the people live in urban areas
and that figure is rising.
Rise cost in living, medical & education forcing many couples to have
fewer children.
Smaller family more compatible with working life and is easier to
accommodate in cramped living conditions.
Education is now considered very important, so many parents decide
against having a second child in order to afford private schooling and a
university education for their single one.
Another reason for the low birth rate is late marriage: as people get older,
they become less fertile.

Even the population of Thailand increase,

but in the term of growth rate, it is decrease drastically.

2. INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION

REASON 1 : MIGRATION OF LABOR

Taiwan Province of China is by far

the major destination of Thais
migrating for employment, with
more than half of such workers
going to that area
The age range of Thais going overseas to work is relatively broad,
although about 56 per cent of them are between the ages of 26
and 35
About 88 per cent of the migrants to Taiwan Province of China are
males
Singapore is the second most important destination and also
attracts mostly male workers. While the third destination is Israel.
The fourth and fifth most important destinations for Thai workers
are Brunei Darussalam and Hong Kong, China.

 Given the low educational levels of Thai

workers overseas, it is not surprising
that they work in relatively low-skilled
occupations.
Less than half of the workers deployed
were considered skilled workers.
A large number of Thai laborers go to
work in foreign countries offering
higher wages
International labor migration from
Thailand is governed by the
Recruitment and Job Seekers Protection Act, B.E. 2528.
Its main purpose is to regulate recruitment so as to prevent the cheating or
exploitation of prospective migrants and to curtail illegal migration.
It also offers some protection to workers after deployment in terms of their
contracts and wages.

REASON 2 : HUMAN TRAFFICKING

 Thailand is a source, transit, and destination country for human

trafficking.
The majority of Thai trafficking victims are trafficked to the United
Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bahrain, and China for both sexual
and labor exploitation.
Thai victims have also been repatriated from Russia, South Africa,
Yemen, Vietnam, the United States, the United Kingdom, and
Singapore.
Thai nationals are also known to be trafficked to Australia, Canada,
Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
South Korea, Taiwan, and Timor-Leste.
Many argue that Thailand is a destination for human trafficking
because of its relative affluence in the Greater Sub-Mekong Region.

 Ethnic Thais are trafficked from the relatively poor areas of

Chiang Rai, Phayao and Nong Khai to urban and tourist areas;
or internationally.
Thai women, urban and rural, are sent to work in sex and
domestic industries in almost all regions of the world, particularly
Malaysia, Japan, Bahrain, Australia, USA, Canada, South Africa and
Germany.
This international trafficking is sometimes under the guise of a
seemingly legal labor contract that is not honoured.
Conclusion : Most of the human trafficking victims are among
women and children.
So this led to causes low fertility rate in Thailand and reduces the
number of children or young ages population in Thailand.

IMPACT ON THE
DEVELOPMENT
OF COUNTRY

1. LOW LABOR FORCE

Phumin Harinsut (Thai Chamber of Commerce), estimates that the
country already has a labor shortage of around one million people.
A large number of Thai laborers go to work in foreign countries offering
higher wages
Unskilled labor is needed mainly in construction and fisheries. While,
skilled labor in the automotive industry, tourism and the services sector.
The shortage of semi-skilled and skilled labor in Thailand is compensated by the
labor movements from other countries in region such as Malaysia,
Philippines, Singapore, China, Japan, India, United States of America.
Migrant workers make a significant contribution to economic growth in
Thailand in that there may be between 1.2 million and 2.3 million such
workers (including unregistered migrants and visa overstayers) employed in the
country.
Without migrant workers from poorer neighbouring countries estimated to
total around three million many businesses and even entire sectors
would collapse.

 While their wages are low, their impact on the economy is valuable
becausemany of the migrants help to produce or process items for export, such
as
agricultural products, seafood and garments.
The bulk of jobs carried out by migrant workers are low-end jobs that not
enough Thais are willing to accept at the going wage rates.
Today Thailands migration policies seek to limit the number of migrants
from neighbouring countries and keep the status of migrants temporary.
Phumin calls for the retirement age to be raised from 60 to 65 in order to
boost the workforce.
It is equally true, however, that the pension system is not fit to cope with the
daunting challenges of the ageing society
Conclusion : Labor in low sectors are filled by migrant workers.

2. TOWARDS BETTER HEALTHCARE

Argued that the adoption of such population policies through voluntary
family planning would benefit the health of mothers and children.
Women who bear fewer children are less likely to die to maternity
complications.
The chance of survival of children in the smaller family would be greater
than that of children in larger family.
With slower rate of population growth, the health of the Thai population in
GENERAL, would also be better as the Government could provide better
coverage for health services.
Decline in both maternity death and death rates of children under five.
Public health expenditure per capita and the ratio of public expenditure to GDP
increase. It is indicate the intention of Thai Government to improve
the health of the Thai people and the ability of the officials of Ministry of
Public Health to develop health projects and schemes that justify their
budget allocations

 The reduction of population growth rate did contribute to the better health
of mothers and children.
It reduces infant mortality, maternal deaths and deaths of children
under 5 years old.
However, a great deal of the improvement in the health of populace was
due to the rapid economic growth that took place in the past two decades.
So, with the rise in the per capita income, people privately spent more on
health, contributing to further improvements in public health.

EFFORTS TO OVERCOME
THE PROBLEMS VIA
COOPERATION WITH
OTHER ASEAN &
ASIA PACIFIC COUNTRIES

1. BANGKOK DECLARATION ON
IRREGULAR MIGRATION
The 1999 Bangkok Declaration on Irregular Migration was a major
step forward in regional migration.
A strong commitment by Governments to combat human trafficking in
the region is reflected in initiatives such as the adoption of the
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Convention
on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and
Children for Prostitution in 2002 and the ASEAN Joint Declaration
Against Trafficking in Persons Particularly Women and Children in
November 2004.
In the same year, the six countries of the Greater Mekong
Subregion, namely Cambodia, China, the Lao Peoples Democratic
Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam, signed a memorandum of
understanding on cooperation against trafficking in persons and
established the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative against
Trafficking (COMMIT) process.

The memorandum addresses six key areas of concern:

policy and cooperation;
legal frameworks,
law enforcement and justice;
protection, recovery and reintegration;
preventive measures;
and mechanisms for implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the
MOU.

2. THE GOVERNMENT OF
THAILAND SIGNED MOUS
The Government of Thailand signed MOUs with Cambodia, Lao
Peoples Democratic Republic, and Myanmar
in an attempt to regulate the entry of foreign workers and address the
problem of irregular migration by some estimates, the three
countries contribute as much as 90 percent of the total foreign
workers in the country.
The MOUs show the procedures for foreign worker admission,
including information exchange on job opportunities, qualification
requirements, wages and working conditions (from the side of
Thailand) and the list and qualifications of the prospective workers
(from the side of the sending country).
Under the MOUs, recruitment takes place through a mix of
regulated private recruiters (Cambodia) and state agencies (Lao
Peoples Democratic Republic, both private and state).

3. HEALTH COOPERATION
Thailand just not involvement with ASEAN, but Thailand has been
active in a number of other regional and subregional cooperation
initiatives through the APEC and the Ayeyawaddy-Chao PhrayaMekong Economic Cooperation (ACMEC).
Thailand is active in a number of health-specific initiatives such as
the Mekong Basin Disease Surveillance Initiatives (MBDS), the
Mekong Malaria Programme, the South-East Asia Tobacco Control
Alliance, and the Global Partnership on Road Safety.

4. INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP
FOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
Works in five areas:
Supporting new initiatives to enhance South South cooperation within
the Region and beyond, such as the Thailand Africa Partnership for
Development;
Strengthening the effectiveness and coordination of Thailands Official
Development Assistance, in line with global efforts to increase aid
effectiveness and Thailands commitment to the Paris Declaration;
Analysis, documentation and dissemination of Thailands development
experience, particularly in HIV/AIDS, sustainable agriculture and
microfinance;
Promoting Thai nationals serving abroad as volunteers; and
Promoting partnerships between the UN system and the Thai private
sector.

 Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken the ownership for coordination of

aid from Thailand, but many government agencies work bilaterally with other
countries.
The aid system of Thailand requires further development in terms of
policies, procedures, rules, and guidelines for planning, formulation and
implementation, as well as monitoring and evaluation.
Policies and procedures need to include core principles of aid
effectiveness as set down in the Paris Declaration.

REFERENCES
Arnold. F, Retherford R. D., & Wanglee A. (1977). The Demographic
Situation in Thailand. Papers of The East-West Population Institute; no. 45.
Campbell B. O., Mason A. & Pernia E. M. (1993). The Economic Impact of
Demographic Change in Thailand, 1980-2015. University of Hawaii Press:
East West Center.
Jerrold W. H & Sureeporn P. (2005). International Migration in Thailand.
Bangkok.

Studies on Consequences of Population Change in Asia: Thailand. (1992).

New York: United Nations.
The National Economic, and Social Development Board, The National
Stastical Office & The Institute of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn
University. The Population of Thailand. (1974). Bangkok.

 http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/thailand-population
/
http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/thailand-popul
ation
/
http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/thailand