1296. From JIRCAS Southeast Asia Liaison Office: Population of Southeast Asia

July 11th is World Population Day. The 2025 edition of the United Nations World Population Estimates has not yet been released, so we have used the 2024 edition to look at the population of Southeast Asia.

The world population was expected to reach approximately 8.2 billion by mid-2024, and is projected to continue to grow for about 60 years until the second half of this century. It is expected to peak at 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s and settle at 10.2 billion by the end of this century.

The report highlights regional differences, with some regions experiencing rapid population growth and others facing population decline. The only country in Southeast Asia whose population is already declining as of 2024 is Thailand, which has been declining since 2023 (other sources say since 2020) (Japan's decline began in 2011). A total of 63 countries and regions, including Thailand, have already reached their population peak, and this group as a whole is expected to experience a 14% population decline over the next 30 years.

Additionally, countries where the population is predicted to peak between 2025 and 2054 include Singapore (2041), Myanmar (2050), and Vietnam (2051). This group comprises 48 countries and regions, among them Brazil, Iran, and Turkey.

Many countries in Southeast Asia will see their populations begin to decline after that, including Brunei (2056), the Philippines (2058), Indonesia (2060), Laos (2069), Malaysia (2074), East Timor (2076), and Cambodia (2079).

Table: Years when populations begin to decline and peak populations

Reference

World Population Prospects 2024

https://population.un.org/wpp/

Contributor: KANAMORI Norihito, Southeast Asia Liaison Office