SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

State of the Basin Report - 2003Efforts have been made to find data that are comparable across the four countries and that can becompared in future editions of the State of the Basin Report. Although in some cases it has beenpossible to get data that match the area of each country that lies within the basin, for many topics,only national level data are available. For Cambodia and Lao PDR, the use of national data is notlikely to be misleading because almost all of these countries lie within the basin; however for Thailandand Viet Nam, which have only 36 percent and 20 percent of their respective territory in the basin,national data is somewhat problematic. In future editions of the State of the Basin Report, MRCexpects to have more data specific to the basin as a result of the data sharing agreement MRCsigned in 2001.1. Demographics in the Lower Mekong BasinThe Lower Mekong Basin is a rapidly growing, diverse region encompassing the four riparian countriesand a multiplicity of ethnic and cultural traditions. Demographic trends will strongly influence theopportunities for sustainable development in the coming decades, including the spatial distribution,household characteristics, mobility and increase in the number of people living in the basin.1.1 Where people liveThe distribution of the 55 million people living in the LMB varies considerably. Cambodia and LaoPDR together comprise only about one-quarter of the basin’s population, although 80 percent ormore of each country’s population lives within the basin. Thailand and Viet Nam contribute 43 and 31percent respectively to the basin’s population. However, the proportion of each country’s populationin the basin is small when compared to total population. In Thailand, the basin population is about 40percent of the national population; in Viet Nam, 20 percent of the country’s population lives in theMekong Delta or the Central Highlands.Table 1. Population of the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB)CambodiaLao PDRThailandViet NamPopulation LMB (est.) % LMB Population % National Population9,800,0004,905,00023,130,00016,920,00054,755,000Note: The data for Cambodia are based on the 1998 Census. The data for other countries are for 2000, basedon preliminary census results (Thailand) or government estimates. However, the data for Thailandcount people based on registered residence. In the case of the Northeast, a large proportion of theregistered population may actually be living outside the region, e.g., in Bangkok.Sources: NIS 1998; NSC/UNDP 2002; NSO 2002a; UNDP-Viet Nam 200217.917.942.230.980.493.937.521.8Development in the basin is increasingly being planned based on the principal sub-national regions.In general, geographic conditions, population density and economic and cultural characteristics allvary among these sub-regions. The most populous regions are the Northeast Region of Thailand thatrepresents about 40 percent of the basin population, and the Mekong Delta that represents about 25percent. 1 The Tonle Sap and Plains Regions of Cambodia each represent 5-10 percent of the basinpopulation. 240