Thai life expectancy on the rise over the last three decades

The latest census in 2018 showed that on average Thai men live to 72.2 years, compared to 65.6 in the 1980s, while Thai women on average live to 78.9 years, compared to 70.9 in the 1980s, the NESDC said.

However, the average period of good health is much lesser – 68 years for Thai men and 74 years for Thai women.

The main reasons for the loss of good health among Thais include road accidents, HIV and diabetes in younger people, and stroke, dementia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in older people, the NESDC said.

Between 2016 and 2019, deaths resulting from road accidents ranged from 23.8 to 30.2 per 100,000 population.

Non-communicable diseases caused about 320,000 deaths per year, or more than 75% of the population. Five diseases – cancer, stroke, heart attack, diabetes, and high blood pressure – caused about 75,000 deaths per 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 main cause of premature deaths of Thai children aged below 15, according to Public Health Ministry records. As many as 692 children aged under 15 were reported to have drowned between January 1 and September 2020.