Thailand's collapsing birth rate is fast becoming an economic and political test, as Generation Z weighs the cost of children against rent, debt, insecure jobs and the small matter of staying sane.
The country recorded about 416,500 births last year, while deaths rose to more than 559,000, leaving Thailand's population shrinking and policymakers short of easy answers. For a country that once worried about crowded classrooms, the new concern is what happens when there are not enough young people to fill them.
This shift helps explain a strange Bangkok contrast. Shopping malls remain packed, cafes are busy and delivery riders are everywhere, yet schools, hospitals and employers are already looking at a thinner selection of future workers. The baby pram has become less a family accessory and more an economic signal on wheels.
