THAILAND: In 30 Years, 25 per cent of Population Will Be Over 60

BANGKOK, Thailand (The Nation), July 13, 2006: Government must start now to plan social-welfare programmes for the elderly, who will number 16 million - or 25 per cent of the population - within the next three decades, according to Mahidol University's Population and Social Research Institute. The government must take action now, otherwise proper plans might not be in place in time to cope with an ageing population, the institute said. For the purposes of its study, "elderly" refers to those aged 60 and over. According to an article by the institute's senior experts, the country's birth rate will eventually decline to the point where it is the same as the death rate. At this point the population will stop increasing, with the age balance shifting so that there will be fewer children and more elderly people. The article predicted the country's population would peak at 65 million in 2022. "Given the increase in life expectancy, the country's elderly population will see rapid growth," it said. The institute urged the government to devise policies that reflect the expected "greying" of the population and called for it to expand social-welfare programmes for the elderly. © 2006 www.nationmultimedia.com