Trend Analysis of Migration Data in Thailand 2019-2023

TREND ANALYSIS OF MIGRATION DATA IN THAILAND 2019-2023 7 SECTION 3: RECENT INTERNAL MIGRATION FLOWS The number of recent internal migrants in Thailand was 627,265 in 2019. A spike occurred in 2020 (+62.6% compared to 2019) during the COVID-19 pandemic, with over one million people migrating internally. This spike could be explained by economic pressures, due to job losses and reduced income, and movement restrictions prompting returns to rural areas or to relocate closer to family. In 2021, the number of recent internal migrants returned to pre-COVID levels. Since 2021, the figure has been gradually rising, reaching over 900,000 recent internal migrants in 2023. The proportion of males and females migrating internally showed slight variations over the years. The proportion of male recent internal migrants declined from 51.8 per cent in 2019 to 50.2 per cent in 2020, and again from 51.9 per cent in 2021 to 48.2 per cent in 2022. In contrast, the proportion of female recent internal migrants followed an opposite trend, increasing from 48.2 per cent in 2019 to 49.8 per cent in 2020, and from 48.1 per cent in 2021 to 51.8 per cent in 2022. Recent internal migrants made up less than 1 per cent of the overall Thai population in 2019 as shown in Table 2 .2 The proportion increased to 1.3 per cent in 2023 indicating that the increase in the number of recent internal migrants exceeds the increase in the total population. Recent internal migrants made up the large majority (an average of 96.4% between 2019 and 2023) of the total migrant flow in Thailand demonstrated in Table 3 .3 Moreover, every year, recent internal migrants accounted for more than 94.0 per cent of the total migrant flow in Thailand. Notably, recent internal migrants made up nearly all (99.0%) of the recent migratory movements in 2021. TABLE 1: NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO RECENTLY MIGRATED INTERNALLY IN THAILAND PER YEAR AND PROPORTION BY SEX TABLE 2: RECENT INTERNAL MIGRANTS OUT OF THE THAI POPULATION PER YEAR 0.9% 1.5% 1.0% 1.1% 1.3% 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 FIGURE 1: EVOLUTION OF THE NUMBER OF RECENT INTERNAL MIGRANTS IN THAILAND (2019-2023) TABLE 3: RECENT INTERNAL MIGRANTS OUT OF THE TOTAL MIGRANT FLOW PER YEAR 95.1% 98.6% 99.0% 95.1% 94.1% 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2 According to the LFS Migration Module figures, the total Thai population (in millions) was 68.02 in 2019, 68.15 in 2020, 68.26 in 2021, 69.91 in 2022, and 70.09 in 2023. 3 In this report, the total migrant flow represents the sum of recent internal and recent international migrants captured in the LFS Migration Module. 2019 627,265 51.8% 48.2% 2020 1,019,815 50.2% 49.8% 2021 655,701 51.9% 48.1% 2022 761,427 48.2% 51.8% 2023 906,458 51.6% 48.4% Total number Male Female 0 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 1,000,000 1,200,000 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Number of recent internal migrants