Thailand Population 2019

The last official national census was carried out in Thailand back in 2010 and the country’s official population was declared at 65,479,453. Current estimates show a 2019 population in Thailand of 69.31 million, an increase from 2014's estimate of 67.7 million, making it the 20th most populous country on earth (a downgrade from its position as number 19 in 2012).

Despite the official figures, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggests that with unregistered individuals added to the final total, the Thailand population in 2014 was actually closer to 70 million, an increase that could also affect future estimates as well. It's estimated there are 2.2 million illegal and legal migrants in Thailand, including expatriates from developed countries like the United States. Formal estimates put the expatriate population on the lower side of numbers that fall between 500,000 and one million, but those estimates do not take into account those who stay in the country illegally.

Thailand Population Growth

Until very recently, the population numbers were growing at a far greater rate, but it’s claimed that the government-funded family planning program has raised awareness and led to a dramatic fall in birth figures. In 1960, the population growth was at its height with figures of around 3.1% but this has fallen to around 0.34% today.

Thailand Life Expectancy

The life expectancy for an average Thai citizen is also growing but there are many threats to the population. It’s widely accepted that AIDS has reached epidemic proportions in this country and in the present day, at least 700,000 Thais are HIV positive or have AIDS. This represents 2% of the male population and 1.5% of the female population. By comparison, the global percentage of people living with AIDS is about 0.8% as of 2014.

Death rates in relation to AIDS seem to attract wildly different claims and the figures vary greatly between 30,000 and 50,000 AIDS related fatalities every year.

Overall, however, education in public health is believed to have led to a rise in life expectancy and 2013 WHO estimates suggest that this currently stands at 75.0 years for the total population which can be divided into 71.5 years for males and 78.8 years for females.

Quality of Life in Thailand

Thailand ranks 46th in the World Happiness Report of 2018 with a rating of 6.072. When we examine the health care expenditures versus the numbers of physicians and beds available, we see 6.5% of the GDP being spent on the healthcare sector, with only .47 professional physicians available per 1,000 residents and only 2.1 beds available per 1,000 individuals. Turning to the improved access to clean drinking water and improved sanitation facilities, we see 97.8% of the population with access to clean water, and 93% of the population with improved access to sanitation.

Thailand Demographics

There is a diverse range of ethnic groups within the country but for the purposes of the overall Thailand population, these have only really been separated into three main groups.

Estimates claim that of the total population, 75% were Ethnic Thai, 14% were Thai Chinese, and 3% were ethnically Malay. The remainder of the population falls into small minority groups including hill tribes, Khmers and Mons.

The official language of Thailand is Thai, with over 90% of the population using the language daily in their home and work lives.

Thailand Population Density

Thailand is the 51st largest country on earth in terms of total area, but 21st in terms of population. Thailand is 88th in terms of population density, with 132.1 people per square kilometer (342/square mile), based on the 2011 population figures.

Thailand's Largest Cities

While the country's population is spread fairly well, a substantial amount of people live in Bangkok and the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region. Bangkok, located in Central Thailand, has a population of more than 9 million, or close to 13% of the country's population. More than 14 million (or 22.2% of the total population) live in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region. This means Bangkok is much larger than any other urban areas in Thailand.

Components of Population Change