Burmese in Thailand (, ) constitute Thailand's largest migrant population. According to the
2014 Myanmar Census, 1,418,472 former Burmese residents, including 812,798 men and 605,674 women, were living in Thailand, constituting about 70% of Burma's overseas population.
Burmese in Thailand tend to fall into three categories: professional migrants working in the business or professional sectors, laborers working in low-skilled professions, and refugees fleeing conflict.
Migrant worker
A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have an intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work.
Migrant workers ...
s tend to hold low-skilled jobs in the fishing and seafood processing, construction, garment, and domestic service industries.
Macquarie University
Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...
estimates that the average annual remittances from Thailand to Burma exceed .
The movement of Burmese nationals into Thailand began in the 1970s, following the
1962 Burmese coup d'état
The 1962 Burmese coup d'état marked the beginning of one-party rule in Burma (Myanmar) and the political dominance of the military in Burmese politics. In the 2 March 1962 coup, the military replaced the civilian AFPFL-government headed ...
and resulting economic decline from implementation of the
Burmese Way to Socialism
The Burmese Way to Socialism (), also known as the Burmese Road to Socialism, was the state ideology of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma, the socialist state governed by the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) from 1962 to 1988. ...
, and ongoing civil conflicts.
Burmese migrants contribute tremendously to the
Thai economy, contributing between 5 and 6.2% of Thailand's
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performance o ...
.
Samut Sakhon province
Samut Sakhon (, ) is one of the central provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand, located along the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. In 2024, it had a population of 590,867, and an area of 866 km², making it the 43rd most populated province whilst b ...
is home to Thailand's largest Burmese migrant community, representing about 200,000 Burmese migrants. Other large Burmese communities reside in
Mae Sot
Mae Sot (; , ; , ; , ) is a city in western Thailand that shares a border with Myanmar to the west. It is notable as a trade hub and for its substantial population of Burmese migrants and refugees. The city is part of Tak Province, 87 km fr ...
,
Ranong
Ranong () is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of the Ranong Province and the Mueang Ranong District. The town covers completely the area of the ''tambon'' Khao Niwet (เขานิเวศน์). As of 2024, it had ...
,
In 2003, the Thai and Burmese governments signed a memorandum of understanding to formally recognize this labor migration flow and legalize migration through a government program to recruit workers directly from Burma, and to use a nationality verification process whereby migrant workers receive a temporary passport, an identity certificate, a visa to remain in Thailand for two years, and a change of work status to legal.
There are also roughly 150,000 Burmese refugees living at 9 official camps on the Thai–Burmese border.
The largest such camp is
Mae La refugee camp
Mae La, alternatively spelled Maela (), or Beh Klaw (), is a refugee camp in Thailand. It was established in 1984 in Tha Song Yang District, Tak Province in the Dawna Range area and houses 50,000 Karen refugees; the number continues to rise ...
. In 2014, the Thai government announced plans to repatriate Burmese refugees who have been living in border camps for the past 2 decades.
See also
*
Myanmar–Thailand relations
References
External links
Myanmar Migrants to Thailand: Economic Analysis and Implications for the Development of Myanmar
{{Ethnic groups in Thailand
Ethnic groups in Thailand
Myanmar–Thailand relations