Thai longevity has increased over the past 3 decades, with men living 6.5 years longer and women 8 years longer than in the 1980s.
According to the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), the latest census in 2018 showed that on average Thai men live to be 72.2 years old, up from 65.6 in the 1980s.
Thai women live to be 78.9 on average, up from 70.9 in the 1980s.
The average period of good health is 68 years for Thai men and 74 years for Thai women.
The main reasons for the loss of good health among Thai people are road accidents, HIV and diabetes in younger people, and stroke, dementia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in older people, said the NESDC.
Between 2016 and 2019, deaths resulting from road accidents ranged from 23.8 to 30.2 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Non-communicable diseases cause approximately 320,000 deaths per year, or more than 75% of the population.
Five diseases, cancer, stroke, heart attack, diabetes and high blood pressure, cause regarding 75,000 deaths a year.
Deaths from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, also increased from 12,863 in 2016 to 14,731 in 2017, or 22.5 per 100,000 population.
Meanwhile, drowning was the leading cause of premature death for Thai children under the age of 15, according to records from the Ministry of Public Health.
See as well :
Panic following a surprising drop in the birth rate in Thailand
Why Thailand needs to prepare now for an increasingly graying society
Source : Royal Coast Review
