SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

5 - Peoples of the MekongThe search for employment is a principalcause of migration. Seasonal and semipermanentmigration to urban areas providesimportant income for households in ruralareas. In Northeast Thailand, the populationis declining as people move to urban areasin search of work. 31 Based on evidence fromThailand and Viet Nam, economic migrantstend to be the young and better-educatedpeople. 32 Also, increasing numbers of womenare moving to cities to work in low-skillmanufacturing and service jobs.Seasonal migration to urban areas provides importantSeveral different types of migration appearincome for rural householdsto be taking place at the same time, assuggested by national level data from Cambodia and Thailand. The largest movements are betweenrural areas. People relocate from densely populated rural areas to more remote ones to seek neweconomic opportunities. This may be voluntary, as in northeast Cambodia, or it may be part of agovernment scheme such as Viet Nam’s resettlement of lowland farmers to the Central Highlands inorder to increase production of coffee and other commercial crops.As economies develop in the LMB, urban centres will attract more people because jobs are morenumerous, they often pay better and urban areas have better services. In the LMB, thesemovements – seasonal and long-term – occur within countries and across borders. Many peoplewho migrate from rural to urban areas relocate to secondary urban centres and to the areasimmediately surrounding urban centres, rather than to major cities themselves.Migration patterns in the LMB include strong two-way rural-urban linkages. People who move tourban centres maintain strong social and economic links with their rural communities. They returnperiodically and, more importantly, they regularly send money home. These remittances are animportant source of income formany rural households and forrural economies as a whole.Moreover, in times of economicdifficulty, such as the recentfinancial crisis in Southeast Asia,many people working in urbanareas return to their rural homes,where extended family networkscan support them.1.5 Population dynamics and growthTable 3. Migration patterns (%), Thailand and CambodiaUrban-UrbanRural-UrbanRural-RuralUrban-RuralThe rapid population growth that characterises the LMB is likely to continue for the next 20-30years, particularly in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam. Declining fertility rates will tend to slowpopulation growth in Viet Nam and Thailand and, to a lesser extent, in the other countries. However,each country has a large pool of young people who will start their own families. This and increasedlongevity mean that overall population growth will remain high. The projected annual growth rates of2-2.5 percent for Cambodia and Lao PDR will result in a 50-55 percent increase in the populationover the next 20 years. The populations of Thailand and Viet Nam will grow more slowly, but theywill still increase by 20-30 percent.7.615.240.534.8Sources: Huguet et al. 2000; NSO 1998Thailand (1997) CambodiaFemale Male (1998)6.912.038.639.114.519.258.28.147