Thailand An Ageing Society 'in 13 Years'

[george]

An ageing society 'in 13 years'

BANGKOK: -- In only 13 years Thailand will break into the ranks of ageing societies with more old people than newborn babies, a leading population-planner warned yesterday.

"This will change the face of Thai society, because working people will have to work harder to look after the young and the elderly," said Pramote Prasatkul of Mahidol University.

Some 11 million people are over 60, he told a seminar on the future of teenagers and the elderly.

They are likely to live 20-23 years longer on average, thanks to improved living standards and better healthcare, he says.

But only 800,000 babies are born a year, he notes, as the government's population control policy takes hold, coupled with the growing disinclination of young adults to get married and have children.

"Greying" will drastically change the structure of society, Pramote warns, and there is little planning to cope with such a future.

-- The Nation 2008-07-26

[otherstuff1957]

Currently, mandatory retirement age for most jobs is 60 and it's very difficult for people over 45 or so to get a decent job in Thailand. Hopefully, Thais will realize that people are not worn out and useless by the time they are 60 and will start making use of their older people.

Quite frankly, this sort of article reflects very short-sighted thinking. Nations with large young populations will be in real trouble in 20 years or so. Nations with smaller, or even shrinking populations will be able to get by much more easily on the reduced resources available in the near future.

[cloudhopper]

Currently, mandatory retirement age for most jobs is 60 and it's very difficult for people over 45 or so to get a decent job in Thailand. Hopefully, Thais will realize that people are not worn out and useless by the time they are 60 and will start making use of their older people.

Is this really the case for "most jobs" here?

Quite frankly, this sort of article reflects very short-sighted thinking. Nations with large young populations will be in real trouble in 20 years or so. Nations with smaller, or even shrinking populations will be able to get by much more easily on the reduced resources available in the near future.

To the contrary it seems to me that this article reflects an attempt at the long view. China for example due to it's birth control policies is facing a time bomb as fewer young workers will have to take care of a huge aging population. I agree however that the world is already far too populated for it's available resources to maintain the standard of living of developed countries.

Edited July 26, 2008 by cloudhopper

[Gumballl]

In tradition with everything else, Thailand should crackdown on ageing people... that is deny them employment, health care, etc. Then they will pass away sooner.

Perhaps make a Thai-version of "Logan's Run"?

Seriously, Thailand should ban the practice of age-discrimination in the work place. Maybe then certain people who want a second chance to better their lives can get a decent job.

[Martin]

We, in the 'developed nations', have had 200 years of big, easily-won quantities of resources coming from within Earth.

But that is over. Subterranean resources are now harder to find and extract.

So we are facing futures of less resources, but with the huge populations resulting from the earlier good times.

It is going to be tough.

[Scott]

The problem is only exacerbated by the immigration policies that keep people out of the country--especially the neighboring countries, where there are a lot of young people anxious and willing to work. Nationalism and xenophobia will do nothing positive for the country.

[PeaceBlondie]

A few of us farang have been pointing out this geriatric Thai population bomb, rather pointedly, without expecting the Thai govt. to listen to us. Fine; now a Thai expert points it out (although it has been coming like a freight train since 1980). The answer is that Thai culture has to make a very big change. Can they do that, even in a 50 year span of time?

Waiting for my appointment today, in a special clinic where it costs 250 baht or more to see a doctor, I noticed lots of grey hair, taking grandchildren to see the doctor. Also, middle-aged people taking their parents to see the doctor. So far, they are good at multi-generational family caretaking. Until now, the culture handled it and the numbers worked. Will the numbers work in 2015 and 2045?

[geriatrickid]

We, in the 'developed nations', have had 200 years of big, easily-won quantities of resources coming from within Earth.

But that is over. Subterranean resources are now harder to find and extract.

So we are facing futures of less resources, but with the huge populations resulting from the earlier good times.

It is going to be tough.

It is going to be very tough for some and much easier for others. For resource rich nations, like Canada, which has an aging population of it's own to contend with, it might very well end up the wealthiest nation in the world. Things were much different a decade ago when key reource sectors collapsed. Today Potash and oil have made the backwater province of Saskatchewan a quasi boomer of a place to be. It's a country with the 2nd largest oil reserves in the world, even if the Alberta oil sands are discounted. Now that there is better technology to extract oil from the sand, the oil is flowing.

The point being that things can change quickly. Thailand can become the farmer to the world if it straightens out its act. More efficiency in production and distribution can easily compensate for the labour shortage. The food can bring in much needed FX to pay for oil. The reason everything is so inefficient by todays standards was that labour was plentiful and therefore cheap. There was no need to be efficient. Once Thailand does what others have done in the agricultural sector, things can change. Thailand can bring in Burmese farm labour if need be, just as canada and the USA rely on Mexicans. The key though is if Thailand can understand that need for change.

[Scott]

Excellent post GeriatricKid. The change in the past 20 or so years I've been here are enormous--demographically. I used to go up to a friends village, which was just wall-to-wall with kids. Kids everywhere, couldn't even keep track of whose were whose. Now the same village has almost no children--a fair number of middle-aged people and a lot of grey hair. Even during holidays, when families return, there is a noticable lack of children. Just the one or two grandkids per family.

Don't you just hate it when the average age and the average IQ are the same?!

[PeaceBlondie]

Ask your Thai partner how many children her grandmothers had. Now how many grandchildren do they have? Will the last Thai child please turn out the lights?

[JetsetBkk]

Ask your Thai partner how many children her grandmothers had. Now how many grandchildren do they have? Will the last Thai child please turn out the lights?

Should I do what my g/f asks and give her a baby so she can give it to her mum?

(Her mum has only 3 children at the moment and wants more.)

[NHJ]

<br />

Ask your Thai partner how many children her grandmothers had. Now how many grandchildren do they have? Will the last Thai child please turn out the lights?

<br />Should I do what my g/f asks and give her a baby so she can give it to her mum? <img src="style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="ph34r.gif" /> <br /><br />(Her mum has only 3 children at the moment and wants more.)<br />

Maybe she should learn that kids need their parents and are not toys?

[haybilly]

Ask your Thai partner how many children her grandmothers had. Now how many grandchildren do they have? Will the last Thai child please turn out the lights?

Should I do what my g/f asks and give her a baby so she can give it to her mum?

(Her mum has only 3 children at the moment and wants more.)

PM me--I'll give her mine!

[PeaceBlondie]

What amazes me is that after many years (maybe decades or more) of stuffing 49 Thai children into one classroom, they are still doing it. Also, they are not hiring enough new Thai teachers. This might be an ideal time to reduce class size. Where are these students coming from - Burma?

[wasabi]

We, in the 'developed nations', have had 200 years of big, easily-won quantities of resources coming from within Earth.

But that is over. Subterranean resources are now harder to find and extract.

So we are facing futures of less resources, but with the huge populations resulting from the earlier good times.

It is going to be tough.

Last time I checked it was 2551 in Thailand but 2008 in many other western nations. It seems Thailand has had centuries longer to develop. They are in perpetual development. I don't know why Thailand fell behind but just as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer I expect Thailand to fall further and further behind as the developed nations keep on trucking. The rule of law somehow never came to Thailand they are more interested in sanook then things like emission controls. Makes for a fun holiday or retirement spot but as a player on the world stage I don't think so.

Edited July 27, 2008 by wasabi

[isaanbrit]

This is good, theres too many people in this world and as things get more and more advanced, tecnologically, less and less people will be needed to provide the same, or more, output.

I think they'll all be fine, all countries will get to this stage eventually and the only thing to remember is to manage the problem correctly.

[cloudhopper]

This is good, theres too many people in this world and as things get more and more advanced, tecnologically, less and less people will be needed to provide the same, or more, output.

I think they'll all be fine, all countries will get to this stage eventually and the only thing to remember is to manage the problem correctly.

Exactly Brit! There's a position waiting for you in the current government.

[tracer]

Currently, mandatory retirement age for most jobs is 60 and it's very difficult for people over 45 or so to get a decent job in Thailand. Hopefully, Thais will realize that people are not worn out and useless by the time they are 60 and will start making use of their older people.

Quite frankly, this sort of article reflects very short-sighted thinking. Nations with large young populations will be in real trouble in 20 years or so. Nations with smaller, or even shrinking populations will be able to get by much more easily on the reduced resources available in the near future.

I had my wife saying to me stop working, you donot need to anymore. I tolde her I would get BORED with no job...