MigrantoMigration trends in Thailand
Asia
Thailand takes in more people than it loses: 2.9M immigrants against 1.2M emigrants. Net balance +1.7M — 2% of the country's population
71.7M
Population
2.9M
Immigrants
1.2M
Emigrants
+1.7M
Inflow
1 in 25 residents of Thailand was born abroad — and 1 in 62 people born in Thailand lives abroad
#23 in the world by net migration gain
Top corridors
The largest migration flows in Thailand
Key moments
How migration has changed since 1990
1990
275.1K immigrants · 298.1K emigrants
1995
- An accelerating exodus — the diaspora grew by 61%
- The outflow deepened — net losses doubled to 222.6K
2000
- The diaspora passed 500K people
2005
- A surge of arrivals — the foreign-born population jumped 236%
- Myanmar overtook China as the largest source of new arrivals
- The country became a destination — more people arriving than leaving
- Surge of immigrants from Myanmar — 559.6K new arrivals
2010
- Entered the world's 20 biggest immigrant destinations
- Net migration doubled — the surplus reached 1.5M
2020
- Surge of departures to South Korea — 97.2K people left
- The diaspora passed 1M people
Today
- Since 1990: 2.6M more foreign-born residents and 880.7K more emigrants
Data source: International Migrant Stock 2024 (UN DESA, Population Division)
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