Deaths Outpacing Births in Northern Thailand Largely Due to AIDS
Deaths are outpacing births in northern Thailand, largely due to HIV/AIDS, Thai officials announced on Monday, the Thailand Nation reports (Thailand Nation, 9/30). The province of Phaoyao -- which along with Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai is one of the country's hardest-hit areas -- recorded a population growth rate of -0.146% in 2000, Deputy Health Minister Surapong Suebwonglee said, attributing the decline, which began in 1998, largely to HIV/AIDS (Agence France-Presse, 9/30). He noted that the disease usually strikes men and women in their reproductive years, making population replacement difficult (Thailand Nation, 9/30). Thailand's overall population is expected to grow by slightly less than 1% this year (Agence France-Presse, 9/30).
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