Thailand To Have 16 Million Eldery Citizens In Next Three Decades

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Thailand to have 16 million of eldery citizens in next three decades

BANGKOK: -- The Mahidol University's Population and Social Research Institute has urged the government to start planning social welfare for elderly citizens whose number will be up to 16 million - or 25 per cent of the whole population - within the next three decades.

It said the government needed to take actions now otherwise proper preparations might not be in place in time for the shift in population paradigm.

According to an article by the institute's senior experts, the country's birth rate is going to drop to a point that the number of births will be just as many as deaths. That means the country's population will not increase with fewer children but more elderly people.

The article suggested that the country's population would likely reach 65 million in 2022 and would not get higher than that.

-- The Nation 2007-07-12