Thailand population pyramid 2026
71,559,614 people in 2026 (projected). Thailand’s pyramid is a broad, flat column from ages 25 to 64 resting on a narrowing base, the legacy of one of Asia’s fastest fertility declines.
- 2026 population
- 71.6Mrank 21 of 237
- Median age
- 41.0 yearsoldest rank 55
- Fertility rate
- 1.19births per woman · below replacement
- Structure
- Older16.7% age 65+
Thailand population pyramid
2026 · Share of total by five-year age group and sex
Hover over or tap a bar to see exact values.
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The UN series provides historical estimates through 2023. Figures from 2024 onward—including 2026—are medium-scenario projections, not counts or predictions guaranteed to occur.
Thailand age distribution in 2026
Children under 15 account for 14.1% of the population, while 16.7% are aged 65 or older. The remaining 69.2% are in the conventional working-age range of 15–64. On these shares, the site classifies Thailand’s age structure as older; the guide to constrictive population pyramids explains what that shape implies.
The total age dependency ratio is 44.4: about 44 people under 15 or 65+ for every 100 people aged 15–64 (20.3 children and 24.1 older people). This is an age-balance indicator, not a literal count of economic dependants per worker.
What shapes Thailand’s population pyramid
Large cohorts from the high-fertility years
In the 1950s and 1960s Thai women had on average more than six children. The government adopted its first national population policy in 1970, and a voluntary family planning program, together with rising education and urbanization, brought fertility close to replacement level by about 1990. Few countries outside East Asia completed that shift so quickly.
Because the number of women of childbearing age kept growing, annual births stayed high for years after fertility began to fall. That is why the 2026 pyramid has no single bulge but a broad plateau: every band from 25–29 to 60–64 holds between 6.8% and 7.4% of the population. The oldest part of the plateau, ages 55–64, contains people born in 1962–71, the last cohorts of the high-fertility era. As they cross 65 over the next decade the older population will grow quickly, the process described in population ageing explained.
A narrowing base and an older female top
Below age 25 each band is narrower than the one above it, and the 0–4 band is little more than half as wide as the 30–34 band. Fertility has continued to fall well below replacement, to about 1.2 children per woman, which places Thailand among the lowest fertility rates in the world.
The top of the pyramid leans toward women. From age 40 onward women outnumber men in every band, and the gap widens with age, reflecting markedly higher adult mortality among men. Overall there are only about 95 men for every 100 women. The Vietnam vs Thailand comparison shows a neighbor whose fertility decline came later and stopped closer to replacement.
Under the UN medium scenario Thailand’s population falls to about 66 million by 2050 and its median age rises to nearly 49, as the plateau cohorts move into the 2050 pyramid’s upper half.
What to notice across the years
Distinctive cohorts and turning points
No five-year band under age 80 is more than 10% larger or smaller than both of its neighbours, so Thailand’s 2026 pyramid has a comparatively smooth profile without sharp bulges or notches.
Deaths have exceeded births every year since 2022. People aged 65 and older came to outnumber children under 15 between 2023 and 2025.
Births, deaths, and migration
A pyramid changes in only three ways: births add to the base, deaths remove people at every age, and migration adds or removes people mainly in young adulthood. In 2026, Thailand is projected to record 566,113 births (about one birth every 56 seconds) and 661,907 deaths, a natural decrease of 95,794. Net migration adds +29,200 people, ranking #82 in the net migration rate ranking.
Between 2000 and 2023 the UN estimates 18,871,211 births, 11,531,684 deaths, and cumulative net migration of +1,674,638. Over that period the balance of births and deaths moved the total more than migration did. See how migration shapes a pyramid and birth rate versus fertility rate. The medium scenario assumes net migration of +1,358,114 between 2026 and 2050.
Annual values 1950–2100; dashed lines after 2023 are the UN medium projection. The trend table below lists the values by decade.
Life expectancy and mortality
- Life expectancy, women
- 81.4 years46.1 in 1950
- Life expectancy, men
- 72.9 years44.3 in 1950
- Further years at 65
- 19.8 yearsboth sexes
- Infant mortality
- 7.6per 1,000 births · 124 in 1950
- Under-five mortality
- 9.6per 1,000 births
- Mother’s mean age at birth
- 28.6 yearssex ratio at birth 106.4
Women in Thailand are projected to live 8.5 years longer than men, which is why the female side of the pyramid widens relative to the other at older ages (see the life expectancy gap ranking). Infant mortality has fallen from 124 to 7.6 deaths per 1,000 live births since 1950, ranking #145 of 237 in the infant mortality ranking (highest first). A mean age at childbearing of 28.6 years sets the spacing between generations, and so how far apart echo cohorts sit in the pyramid.
Median age, fertility rate, and global ranks for Thailand
The median age of 41.0 years splits the population into two equal halves. A total fertility rate of 1.19 births per woman is below the replacement level of roughly 2.1, and life expectancy at birth is 77.1 years.
These ranks compare all 237 countries and areas in this dataset using the same 2026 UN medium projection. Ranks use the stored source precision, so displayed rounding can make adjacent values look identical; small differences should not be overinterpreted.
| Indicator | 2026 value | Global rank | Ranking direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 71,559,614 | #21 | Largest first |
| Median age | 41.0 years | #55 | Oldest first |
| Fertility rate | 1.19 | #221 | Highest first |
| Annual growth | -0.1% | #180 | Fastest first |
| Life expectancy | 77.1 years | #103 | Highest first |
| Population aged 65+ | 16.7% | #71 | Highest share first |
Largest age groups in Thailand
The five largest cohorts identify where the 2026 population is concentrated. They can reflect past birth patterns, survival, and migration; the chart alone does not establish which cause dominates.
| Rank | Age group | Population | Share of total | Male / female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 55–59 | 5,305,674 | 7.4% | 2.5M / 2.8M |
| 2 | 45–49 | 5,257,200 | 7.3% | 2.6M / 2.7M |
| 3 | 50–54 | 5,256,879 | 7.3% | 2.5M / 2.7M |
| 4 | 40–44 | 5,121,781 | 7.2% | 2.5M / 2.6M |
| 5 | 30–34 | 5,049,563 | 7.1% | 2.5M / 2.5M |
Sex ratio and the balance by age
In the 2026 projection, Thailand has 34,773,069 males and 36,786,546 females. That is 94.5 males per 100 females, ranking #185 when the dataset is ordered from the highest male-to-female ratio to the lowest.
Males account for 48.6% of the population and females for 51.4%. There are 2,013,477 more females than males overall. Among people aged 65 and older, the ratio is 76.4 males per 100 females.
The overall balance can conceal large differences by age; how sex ratios change with age explains the usual pattern. The ratio reflects the male/female categories in the UN source and is not a measure of gender identity. Compare all profiles in the sex-ratio ranking.
At birth, 106.4 boys are projected to be born for every 100 girls in 2026, close to the biological norm of about 105 (compare the sex ratio at birth ranking). The ratio at birth sets the balance at the base of the pyramid; how it changes with age then depends on survival and migration.
How Thailand has changed since 1950
The population has increased from 20,428,402 in 1950 to 71,559,614 in 2026, a change of 250%. Over the same span, median age moved from 17.5 to 41.0 years.
The under-15 share changed from 42.1% to 14.1%, while the share aged 65 and older changed from 3.2% to 16.7%. These shifts show why total population growth and age-structure change need to be read separately. See the Thailand population pyramid in 1950 for the full starting shape.
How the population could change by 2050
Under the UN medium scenario, Thailand’s population is projected to decline by about 7%, reaching 66,382,735 in 2050. The median age changes from 41.0 to 48.6 years.
The 65+ share is projected to rise by 12.9 percentage points to 29.6%. At the same time, the under-15 share is projected at 11.5%. The Thailand population pyramid for 2050 shows the projected shape in detail. How UN projections work explains the assumptions behind these figures.
The annual UN series reaches its highest estimated population of 71,735,329 in 2022. Historical population totals are estimates rather than exact head counts. Compare timing across countries in the population peak ranking.
Population trend: 1950–2100
Mid-year population for every year. Estimates through 2023; dashed line shows the UN medium projection.
| Year | Population | Median age | Fertility | Life exp. | Births | Deaths | Net migration | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 20,428,402 | 17.5 | 6.36 | 45.2 | 902,318 | 390,988 | +10,833 | +2.6% |
| 1960 | 26,851,747 | 16.9 | 6.33 | 50.6 | 1,176,198 | 402,000 | +6,886 | +2.9% |
| 1970 | 35,954,408 | 16.3 | 5.45 | 56.5 | 1,320,585 | 383,458 | +49,221 | +2.7% |
| 1980 | 45,650,022 | 18.9 | 3.29 | 62.2 | 1,199,653 | 354,066 | +88,478 | +2.0% |
| 1990 | 54,738,329 | 23.2 | 2.06 | 68.9 | 1,074,077 | 313,290 | +152,916 | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 63,007,815 | 29.0 | 1.73 | 71.2 | 946,821 | 402,911 | +121,640 | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 68,579,447 | 33.5 | 1.56 | 75.0 | 823,589 | 453,109 | +52,791 | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 71,641,484 | 38.2 | 1.26 | 77.3 | 629,882 | 545,792 | +32,277 | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 71,702,435 | 39.7 | 1.21 | 76.4 | 591,200 | 637,306 | +19,648 | -0.0% |
| 2024* | 71,668,011 | 40.1 | 1.20 | 76.6 | 581,635 | 647,349 | +23,321 | -0.1% |
| 2026* | 71,559,614 | 41.0 | 1.19 | 77.1 | 566,113 | 661,907 | +29,200 | -0.1% |
| 2030* | 71,215,022 | 42.6 | 1.20 | 77.9 | 552,349 | 702,800 | +43,712 | -0.1% |
| 2040* | 69,535,002 | 46.0 | 1.25 | 79.9 | 519,399 | 815,919 | +60,414 | -0.3% |
| 2050* | 66,382,735 | 48.6 | 1.29 | 81.7 | 461,374 | 917,328 | +65,509 | -0.6% |
| 2060* | 61,977,019 | 50.5 | 1.33 | 83.3 | 415,898 | 945,019 | +61,602 | -0.8% |
| 2070* | 57,416,222 | 52.0 | 1.37 | 84.7 | 399,337 | 901,787 | +58,073 | -0.8% |
| 2080* | 53,163,038 | 52.0 | 1.40 | 86.0 | 373,108 | 838,058 | +55,399 | -0.8% |
| 2090* | 49,194,782 | 51.9 | 1.42 | 87.2 | 344,796 | 778,315 | +49,822 | -0.8% |
| 2100* | 45,555,065 | 51.9 | 1.44 | 88.4 | 327,898 | 712,108 | +43,071 | -0.8% |
* 2024 onward is the UN medium projection. Fertility is births per woman; life expectancy is years at birth; births, deaths, and net migration are counts for that calendar year.
Download every year, 1950–2100 (CSV)
2026 population by age and sex
The table provides the counts behind the chart. Age groups are five-year bands, with everyone aged 100 or older combined.
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | 1,504,583 | 1,415,349 | 2,919,932 | 4.1% |
| 5–9 | 1,692,401 | 1,593,491 | 3,285,892 | 4.6% |
| 10–14 | 1,990,770 | 1,877,455 | 3,868,225 | 5.4% |
| 15–19 | 2,158,200 | 2,047,556 | 4,205,756 | 5.9% |
| 20–24 | 2,378,257 | 2,281,339 | 4,659,596 | 6.5% |
| 25–29 | 2,481,216 | 2,369,293 | 4,850,509 | 6.8% |
| 30–34 | 2,545,240 | 2,504,323 | 5,049,563 | 7.1% |
| 35–39 | 2,487,488 | 2,484,628 | 4,972,116 | 6.9% |
| 40–44 | 2,532,128 | 2,589,653 | 5,121,781 | 7.2% |
| 45–49 | 2,563,749 | 2,693,451 | 5,257,200 | 7.3% |
| 50–54 | 2,508,285 | 2,748,594 | 5,256,879 | 7.3% |
| 55–59 | 2,494,932 | 2,810,742 | 5,305,674 | 7.4% |
| 60–64 | 2,264,510 | 2,604,113 | 4,868,623 | 6.8% |
| 65–69 | 1,897,321 | 2,243,009 | 4,140,330 | 5.8% |
| 70–74 | 1,386,514 | 1,741,791 | 3,128,305 | 4.4% |
| 75–79 | 920,153 | 1,237,271 | 2,157,424 | 3.0% |
| 80–84 | 516,417 | 762,651 | 1,279,068 | 1.8% |
| 85–89 | 288,628 | 473,793 | 762,421 | 1.1% |
| 90–94 | 122,781 | 228,101 | 350,882 | 0.5% |
| 95–99 | 33,910 | 67,778 | 101,688 | 0.1% |
| 100+ | 5,588 | 12,166 | 17,754 | 0.0% |
Countries with the most similar age structure
These profiles have the 2026 age distributions closest to Thailand’s, measured by the total difference in the share of the population in each five-year band. Similar shapes can arise from very different histories, so the match is a starting point for comparison, not an explanation.
- Luxembourg96% overlap · median age 39.7
- Jersey95% overlap · median age 43.9
- Mauritius95% overlap · median age 38.3
- North Macedonia95% overlap · median age 41.4
- Sint Maarten (Dutch part)95% overlap · median age 42.0
- Barbados95% overlap · median age 39.7
Compare Thailand with other countries
Side-by-side pages put two pyramids on the same percentage scale, with a full indicator table and the projected change to 2050.
To calculate school-age, working-age, or older groups with other boundaries, use the age-group calculator for Thailand.
Use this chart in your work
Charts and tables may be reused with attribution. Please link to this page and credit the United Nations as the data source.
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APA
World Population Pyramid. (2026, October 19). Thailand Population Pyramid 2026. https://worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/thailand/
MLA
“Thailand Population Pyramid 2026.” World Population Pyramid, 19 Oct. 2026, worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/thailand/.
Chicago
World Population Pyramid. “Thailand Population Pyramid 2026.” Last modified October 19, 2026. https://worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/thailand/.
Underlying data: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
Frequently asked questions
What is the population of Thailand in 2026?
Under the UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium scenario, Thailand's population in 2026 is projected at 71,559,614.
What is the median age in Thailand?
The projected median age in Thailand in 2026 is 41.0 years: half the population is younger and half is older.
What is the fertility rate in Thailand?
The projected total fertility rate in 2026 is 1.19 births per woman, below the replacement level of about 2.1 in low-mortality populations.
Is Thailand's population projected to grow?
Between 2026 and 2050, the UN medium scenario indicates the population will decline by about 7%, from 71.6M to 66.4M.
What share of Thailand is aged 65 or older?
In 2026, 16.7% of the projected population is aged 65 or older. By 2050, the medium scenario places the share at 29.6%.
How many babies are born in Thailand each year?
The UN medium scenario projects 566,113 births and 661,907 deaths in 2026, about one birth every 56 seconds. Deaths exceed births by 95,794.
What is life expectancy in Thailand for men and women?
Life expectancy at birth in 2026 is projected at 81.4 years for women and 72.9 years for men, a gap of 8.5 years in favour of women.
Does Thailand have more immigrants or emigrants?
Thailand is projected to gain about 29,200 more people through migration than it loses in 2026. Between 2000 and 2023 the UN estimates cumulative net migration of +1,674,638.
What is the sex ratio in Thailand?
The projected 2026 population sex ratio is 94.5 males per 100 females. This all-age ratio is different from the sex ratio at birth and can vary substantially by age.
Sources and notes
- United Nations, DESA, Population Division: World Population Prospects 2024, medium scenario.
- Population values are mid-year figures. Source values published in thousands are converted to people; displayed figures may imply more precision than is appropriate for planning.
- Historical values through 2023 are estimates. Values from 2024 onward are projections.
- Calculations follow the site methodology.