Back to home page1992-1993 - VOLUME 4, NUMBER 1-2
94.87.01 - Thai - Phayap PHYORMYONT
Population Policy of Thailand (p. 1-38)
For Thailand, earlier population policies tended to be policies aiming at increasing the size of population through pronatalist and public health measures. However, findings of various studies in the early 1960s indicated that the rate of population growth of Thailand since the end of World War II had been as 3% per annum. This had led the government to eventually issue the first national population policy statement "supporting family planning through a voluntary system..." in March 1970. The first five-yEar family planning program was included in the health plan of the Third National Economic and Social Development Plan (1972-1976). From the Fourth National Economic and Social Development Plan (1977-1981) onwards, population policies were made more comprehensive to cover all dimensions of population: population growth, quality of population and population distribution and human settlements. Since population policy is only an intexral component of overall economic and social policies, it is inevitable that conflicts between objectives of sectoral policies have to be minimized to the lowest extent possible. Finally, future options of the population policies were briefly discussed. (THAILAND, GOVERNMENT POLICY, FAMILY PLANNING POLICY, SOCIAL POLICY)
94.87.02 - English - Nicholas FORD, Institute of Population Studies, University of Exeter, Hoopern House, 101 Pennsylvania Road, Exeter EX4 6DT (U.K.)
The Effect of Population Programmes Upon Quality of Life and Sustainable Development (p. 39-50)
This short paper reviews the main lines of thinking upon the following topics: global and regional trends in population growth; the links between rapid population growth and development; the key factors influencing fertility decline; the concepts of quality of life and sustainable development and the ways in which population programmes may be considered to have an impact upon them. It is emphasized that in the 1990s family planning programmes are advocated on the basis of maternal and child health, human rights and women's status rationales as much as for demographic developmental reasons. How far specific family planning programmes meet the demands of such converging rationales very much depends upon the ways in which they are implemented within national settings. It is also argued that there has been much more progress made towards formulating population policies to enhance economic, rather than (ecologically-defined) sustainable, development. (ECONOMIC DEMOGRAPHY, POPULATION THEORY, FAMILY PLANNING POLICY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT)
94.87.03 - Thai - Tieng PARDTHAISONG
Critical Period in the Evolution of Population of Thailand (p. 51-78)
Due to the introduction of family planning program in Thailand since the 1960's, there has been rapid fertility decline: from over 6 to approximately 2-2.3 children per woman in the second half of the 1980s. This shows an enormous impact on the current age structure of the population. The paper, based on population projections for Thailand, further examines the growth and the structure of the Thai population between 1990 and 2115. The projections are prepared on the basis of the sex and age distribution of the 1990 population, using the population census results, with the following assumptions: (a) no immigration and emigration; (b) no further decline in mortality; expectation of life at birth being 66 years for men and 71 years for women; and (c) no change in fertility since 1990. Five sets of the population projections have been prepared: fertility being set at 2.3 for projection P1, 2.2 for P2, 2.1 for P3, 2.0 for P4, and 1.47 for P5. The study concludes that in order to maintain the economic and social prosperity, security and preventing the eradication of the Thai race, the government will have to raise fertility of the population at least up to the replacement level. (THAILAND, POPULATION PROJECTIONS, LONG-TERM PROJECTIONS, FERTILITY DECLINE)
94.87.04 - English - Philip GUEST and Aphichat CHAMRATRITHIRONG, Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Salaya, Phutthamonthon, Nakorn Pathom 73170 (Thailand)
Rural Thai Social Setting and Family Planning Activity: Effects on Female Sterilization (p. 79-102)
A fundamental question of fertility research is the role that family planning programme effort has on fertility decline. This paper examines how social setting and family planning program activity affect the acceptance of female sterilization among a sample of Thai women. Family planning activity and social setting variables are measured at the community level while sterilization is measured at the individual level. The results demonstrate that the acceptance of female sterilization was not significantly related to variation in indexes of family planning activities, although social setting variables and individual characteristics both contributed in explaining variations in levels of recent female sterilization. The analysis illustrates the difficulties of establishing a linkage between family planning programme activities and contraceptive use within a context where contraceptive use is high and the family planning programmes has been in existence for a number of years. In such a context motivation for using contraception can be assumed to be high and it is unlikely that variations in programme activities will have significant effects on use patterns. (THAILAND, FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMME, FEMALE STERILIZATION, CONTRACEPTIVE USAGE)
94.87.05 - English - Muyiwa OLADOSU, Population Program Officer, Ministry of Health and Human Services, Lagos (Nigeria)
Factors Influencing Adolescent Sexual Activity in Nigeria: Analysis of the 1990 Demographic and Health Survey (p. 103-120)
This study examines factors influencing adolescent sexual activity in Nigeria using data collected on 1,678 adolescents aged 15 to 19 interviewed for the Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey of 1990. Sexual activity was measured as whether an adolescent had sexual intercourse in the month prior to the time of survey and whether that activity was protected or not. Age, source of contraceptive information, knowledge and attitudes toward the use of contraceptives were significantly associated with sexual intercourse in the multivariate analysis. The same variables, except age, were significant when use of contraception was treated as the dependent variable. Policy recommendations include increasing IEC for parents, teachers and adolescents aimed at correcting and improving information acquired by adolescents, and the provision of Family Planning clinics to counsel and offer other services to adolescents. (NIGERIA, ADOLESCENTS, SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR, CONTRACEPTIVE USAGE)
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