Population Ageing and the Well-Being of Older Persons in Thailand ...

Section 1: Introduction
resulted in the Macao Plan of Action and the
Shanghai Implementation Strategy (Mujahid 2006).
The present report provides a situation analysis of
population ageing and the welfare of older persons in
Thailand. Section 2 examines the demography of
ageing. Section 3 provides a profile of the older
population in terms of social and economic
characteristics. Section 4 provides information on
health status. Section 5 examines family support and
intergenerational exchanges. Section 6 describes policy
and programme responses to population ageing by the
government and other organizations. Section 7 draws
some conclusions regarding the current well-being of
Thai elderly, summarizes the future challenges posed
for Thailand by population ageing and provides some
recommendations based on the findings of the report.
1.2 Defining old age
Generally in this report the terms older population or
elderly refer to persons age 60 and above. This is in
accordance with the practice followed in most research
and as incorporated in most official policies and
programmes in Thailand. It corresponds to the officially
mandatory retirement age for civil servants, the age at
which persons can qualify for old age allowances, and
is embodied in the 2003 Elderly Persons Act
(Kanchanachitra et al. 2007). Moreover, 60 marks
the end of the fifth cycle and the beginning of the
sixth in terms of the 12 year traditional animal
calendar which also probably reinforces the popular
view that old age starts at 60 (Cowgill, 1986). Age 60
is also often the age often used by the United Nations
and other key international organizations when
tabulating statistics on older persons and has been
adopted by both the first and second World
Assemblies on Ageing as the start of the older age span
(Mujahid 2006).
When examining the situation of the older
population in Thailand or elsewhere, it is important
to recognize that regardless of what age is used to
define the start of old age, the elderly age-span,
includes persons who are at different stages of their
lives. Important life course transitions including
marital dissolution, disengagement from economic
activities, and the onset of chronic health problems
and functional impairments often occur during this
period of life but the ages at which they occur
typically differ considerable among individuals. Thus
while chronological age is a convenient way to define
ageing, there is considerable variation in the situation
and needs of persons at any given age.
1.3 Availability of data and research
Although interest in issues related ageing is relatively
recent in Thailand as elsewhere in Asia, government
agencies and academics in both social and health
sciences have been quick to recognize the need for
adequate information to develop appropriate policies
and programmes to insure the wellbeing of Thailand’s
elderly population. Thus our ability to examine
population ageing in Thailand is greatly facilitated by
the extensive amount of relevant data and research
that has been generated during the last two decades.
This includes extensive analyses of issues related to
gender and ageing, living arrangements and family
support. 1 The present report draws on a variety of
sources but primarily on nationally representative
surveys which provide extensive quantitative
information on the situation of older age population.
There are also numerous other surveys that provide
quantitative data from non-representative samples as
well as qualitative research related to elderly Thais
which provide useful information to which we
occasionally refer.
The first nationally representative survey of older
persons, entitled Socio-economic Consequences of the
Ageing Population in Thailand or SECAPT, was
conducted in 1986 (Chayovan, Wongsith &
Saengtienchai 1988). The National Statistical Office
conducted three national surveys of older persons (age
50 and older) with the first taking place in 1994, the
second in 2002, and the most recent in 2007 (NSO
no date, 2002 and 2008). An unusually detailed
national survey of older persons, known as the Survey
of Welfare of Elderly in Thailand or SWET, took place
in 1995 (Chayovan & Knodel 1997). In this report
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