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Situation of older people
The number of older people is growing: Thailand is currently ranked the third most rapidly ageing population in the world[i]. The number of people aged 60 and over in Thailand now stands at about eight million, accounting for 13 percent of the population. Population ageing is a relatively new occurrence for Thailand; it was just in 2001 that Thailand became an ageing population with more than 7% of the population over 65[ii]. By 2040, Thailand’s aging population is expected to increase to 17 million, accounting for 25 percent of the population. This means that out of every four Thais, one will be a senior citizen[iii].Care support for Older People: In practical terms, this demographic transition translates to challenges with care and support of older people. Data collected for The Situation of Older People in Thailand report in 2007 and again in 2011 show that the well-being of Thai older people has continued to improve[iv]. Overall only 15% of persons 60 and older indicated that they need some assistance with their daily living activities. This increases relatively slowly with age until 75, and quickly after that. As a generalization, as older people reach 75 and beyond, many require some care and support. Traditionally in Thailand, this was done at home. However, there is a shift to low fertility and an increase in migration of adult children to find employment. This lowers the ratio of working age adults who are able to support older people in their family. About 50% of older people do not have a child living in the same village/municipality and 16% have no living children. All of these changes mean that adult children cannot always meet the care and support needs of older people.The future role of older persons in providing care to young dependent grandchildren is also subject to change as a result of demographic trends and perhaps normative change in the view of parenthood as well, although the latter is very difficult to predict.Older people and poverty: While 75% of older Thais report that they are satisfied with their financial status[v], older people face a higher risk of poverty than average because of being unable to work and earning a lower income. In 2010, 10.9% of older people in Thailand were poor compared with 7.7% of the general population[vi]. An additional 7.1 % of older people are near poor; vulnerable to become poor in the event of even a small economic shock like a medical bill. The National Statistical Office report on Survey for working in Old Age (2011) show that about 33% of older people still work daily and 90.3% of them are working in informal sectors[vii]. Other key sources of income come from government pension or old age allowance, intergenerational exchanges or other family support.