Impact Study of Thailand's National Family Planning Programme on Fertility Decline in the First Half of the Fifth National Socio-Economic Development Plan (1982-1986)

Abstract

The evaluation of the National Family Planning Programme (NFPP) in the First Half of the Fifth National Socio-economic Development Plan (1982-1986) was conducted by the joint Thai-US team in mid 1984. It was found that the continuing fertility decline, from a crude birth rate of 26.9 per 1, 000 in 1981 to 21 per 1, 000 in 1984, was attributable to increased contraceptive prevalence, which was largely a result of the NFPP. This has affected the population growth rate, which has declined from 1.8% to an estimated 1.6% over the 1981 to 1984 period. This study forecasted that there would be a 30% increase in the number of currently-married women, aged 15-44 by the end of the Sixth Development Plan (1991). This increase will put a great burden on the NFPP. However, the possibility of attaining the growth rate of 1.2% by the end of 1991 is conditional upon the persistence of current trends in contraceptive prevalence with the full support of all family planning and FP-related agencies.