Thailand is encouraging people to have more children to prevent a decline in the birth rate by providing childcare and birthing centers for parents.
According to Reuters, the campaign to encourage people to have children was launched in Thailand as the country's birth rate has dropped by nearly a third since 2013. Last year, only 544,000 babies were born, the lowest. over the past six decades, and lower than the total of 563,000 deaths in the same period, a fraction of the increased deaths from Covid-19.
Thailand's demographic development trends are similar to those of other Asian economies such as Japan or Singapore. As an emerging market that relies on cheap labor and a growing middle class, the effects of the population crisis on Southeast Asia's second-largest economy are far more profound.
"The data reflect a population crisis where thinking about having children has changed," said Teera Sindecharak, a demographic expert at Thammasat University.
Senior health official Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai told Reuters that the government recognized the need for intervention in the matter.
"We're trying to slow the decline in birth rates and reverse the trend by getting families ready to have children faster." He also said that the authorities' plan is to put in place policies so that infants receive full support from the state.
Officials say the plans include opening assisted reproductive centers, currently limited to Bangkok and other major cities, using social media influencers to get the message across.
However, the above policy may come too late for some. Chinthathip Nantavong, 44, who has decided not to have children with her partner for 14 years, said: "Raising a child costs a lot. A semester of kindergarten is already 50,000 to 60,000 baht ($1,520 to $1,850). USD) and then to millions of baht later.
"Super Age Society"
Thailand is not the only country in the region facing a low birth rate, but its economy lags behind some of the more developed countries that have been forced to depend on migrant workers to survive. support their economy.
The situation is hard to reverse, experts say, as social conditions have changed and attitudes towards having children are now overshadowed by concerns about rising debt and elderly welfare.
Scholar Teera said Thailand is moving towards becoming a "super-aged society", where people over 60 will make up more than a fifth of the population. About 18% of Thailand's population is over the age of 60.
The head of the state planning agency, Danucha Pichayanan, said at a recent business forum: "Manufacturing sectors will face a decline in productivity, so we must develop labor. skilled and apply the use of automated technologies".
Mr. Danucha also noted that demographic trends could also increase government financial stress, with social subsidies rising.
Thailand has also been rocked by political instability for most of the past two decades, with two military coups and waves of anti-government protests.
But for many who have chosen not to have children, cost remains a major issue. They choose between taking care of a cat instead of a baby.
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