Trend Analysis of Migration Data in Thailand 2019-2023

TREND ANALYSIS OF MIGRATION DATA IN THAILAND 2019-2023 10 RECENT INTERNAL MIGRATION FLOWS FIGURE 7: TOP 3 REGIONS OF BIRTH AMONG RECENT INTERNAL MIGRANTS PER YEAR 2019 21.6% Southern 25.9% Northeastern 22.8% Central 2021 22.1% Southern 28.1% Northeastern 25.2% Central 2022 20.5% Northern 26.8% Northeastern 25.1% Central 2020 21.9% Southern 27.3% Northeastern 23.9% Central 2023 23.0% Southern 25.1% Northeastern 25.1% Central The northeastern region of Thailand was the most common region of birth among recent internal migrants, followed by the central region. The southern region of Thailand was the third most common region of birth every year besides in 2022, where the northern region of Thailand was slightly more common than the southern region. Drivers of recent internal migration were grouped into three main categories: employment, family, and other reasons. In 2019, family reasons were the leading factor for recent internal migration, followed by employment and other reasons, such as education and caregiving. With the onset of COVID-19, migration for family reasons increased slightly between 2019 and 2021, as many individuals travelled home to reunite with their families. This trend reversed after 2021 as travel restrictions limited non-essential movement. Recent internal migration for employment saw a decrease initially but began rising again post-2021. Meanwhile, migration for other reasons showed a steady increase from 2019 to 2022. FIGURE 6: REASONS FOR RECENT INTERNAL MIGRATION FLOWS PER YEAR FIGURE 8: REGIONS OF CURRENT RESIDENCE AMONG RECENT INTERNAL MIGRANTS PER YEAR The main regions of current residence among recent internal migrants were similar to the top regions of birth. The central region of Thailand hosted the largest proportion of recent internal migrants (an average of 39.7 per cent between 2019 and 2023). This proportion decreased from 2019 to 2021 but then increased again, reaching its highest proportion in 2023 at 46.7 per cent. Many recent internal migrants also resided in the northeastern, southern, and northern regions of Thailand. Bangkok hosted the smallest share of recent internal migrants. Thus, the similarity between many individuals' current regions of residence and their regions of birth suggests some occurrence of intraregional migration. However, northern Thailand emerged as an exception, serving more as destination region, attracting migrants from other regions in the country. Employment Changing work, job assignment, seeking work, more income Family Family business, follow family, return home Other Education, look after someone, need help, remedy oneself, residence, unknown reason 20 25 30 35 40 45 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Percent Employment Family reasons Other 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Percent Bangkok Central North Northeastern Southern