Urbanization in Thailand 2022
This statistic shows the degree of urbanization in Thailand from 2012 to 2022. Urbanization means the share of urban population in the total population of a country. In 2022, 52.89 percent of Thailand's total population lived in urban areas and cities.
The migration of the Thai population to metropolises and urban areas
Thailand is in the midst of transforming itself from a predominantly rural country to an increasingly urban one. In as little as ten years, the country has shifted from 36 percent urban to almost 50 percent urban, which means that half of the population now lives in cities and urban areas. While Thailand's urbanization rates are still low compared to other developed nations - which can reach levels of 80-90 percent -, this transformation in Thailand is still significant, especially as most of this growth occurs and is expected to occur in the Krung Thep area, better known as Bangkok, capital and largest city in Thailand. Krung Thep is now home to more than 5.7 million people. The number of tourists and overnight visitors to the city is also on the rise: In 2015 alone, the city had more than 18 million visitors. This development will place increasing demands on urban infrastructure, as the city grows and grows. The second largest city in Thailand is Nonthaburi, but it only has around one quarter of a million inhabitants, a significant difference.
Despite the country’s rural but shifting population, Thailand's fertility rate is low and below the natural replacement rate, and population growth in general is thus only minimal. Interestingly, despite this migration, agriculture has retained a stable share in GDP generation, actually increasing slightly over time, while the contributions of industry and services to GDP have also remained relatively the same.