Trend Analysis of Migration Data in Thailand 2019-2023

TREND ANALYSIS OF MIGRATION DATA IN THAILAND 2019-2023 18 SECTION 5: STOCK OF LIFETIME MIGRANTS The number of lifetime migrants in Thailand was 274,150 in 2019. An increase occurred in 2020 (an increase of 51.0% compared to 2019) before falling back down to 241,946 in 2021, the lowest proportion of lifetime migrants in Thailand over the 2019 to 2023 period. The decline in lifetime migrants during this year may be due to the large numbers of people returning to their hometowns during the pandemic as well as the loss of jobs and travel restriction measures put in place which prevented people from residing outside of their place of birth. Males and females made up similar proportions of lifetime migrants; however, in 2021, males comprised of 10 per cent more of this population. As Thailand began to loosen its COVID-19 restrictions and open up its economy, after 2021, the proportion of lifetime migrants started to rise again, reaching its highest level in 2023 with over 450,000 migrants. Lifetime migrants accounted for less than one per cent of Thailand's overall population. However, they represented a significant portion of the total migrant flow in the country, as illustrated in Table 9 (an average of 41.9% of the total migrant flow between 2019 and 2021). From 2019 to 2021, the proportion of lifetime migrants fell to 36.3 per cent. TABLE 8: LIFETIME MIGRANTS IN THAILAND PER YEAR AND PROPORTION BY SEX FIGURE 25: LIFETIME MIGRANTS IN THAILAND PER YEAR TABLE 9: LIFETIME MIGRANTS OUT OF THE TOTAL MIGRANT FLOW PER YEAR 41.3% 39.5% 36.3% 45.8% 46.6% 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 FIGURE 26: LIFETIME MIGRANTS BY AGE GROUP PER YEAR Lifetime migrants are predominantly within the working-age population, aged 35 to 59 and 25 to 34 years old. However, in 2022, the number of migrants in these age groups declined, with 15 to 24 becoming the most represented age group. Between 2019 and 2023, individuals aged 60 and above and those aged below 15 experienced slight fluctuations, without significant spikes or declines. 2019 274,150 51.0% 49.0% 2020 414,293 50.1% 49.9% 2021 241,946 55.2% 44.8% 2022 370,614 48.9% 51.1% 2023 456,878 52.7% 47.3% Total number Male Female 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000 400,000 450,000 500,000 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Number of lifetime migrants 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Percent 0 - 14 15 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 59 60+