Laos LIDC Migration Case Study

General Information

• landlocked LIDC

• 6.8mil population

• in Southeast Asia

• poor country - in 2014 $1500 per capita

• 73% employed in agriculture

• communist state but member of ASEAN

• high net migration loss - 1 per 1000, in 2014

• remittances benefit economy

• human trafficking large issue

Patterns of emigration + immigration

• in 2013, 1.29mil Loas-born emigrants lived abroad, mainly Thailand

• 20,000 immigrants lived in Loas in 2013

reasons for emigration to Thailand:

• many farmers, no financial gain or personal independence

• lack of alternative occupations in rural areas

• droughts + lack of farmland, food insecurity

• Thailand min wage 300 baht, Loas 80 baht

• many families in Loas rely on remittances

• low education levels mean only access to low-skilled jobs

migration to Thailand made easier by:

• familiarity with Thai culture + lang

• improved access along Mekong river

migration policies

• human trafficking - in 2013, 36% population under 15. Issues with forced labour + sexual exploitation

• Loas Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare work in co-operation with agencies like UNICEF, NGOs like Save the Children

National Plan of Action for Human Trafficking led by Laos gov:

• prevention - awareness campaigns, education, child protection, alleviation of poverty reducing need to migrate

• prosecution - investigation of trafficking networks

• member of ASEAN, allows professionals in medicine, dentistry + tourism after 5yrs work in country of origin to have freedom moving between ASEAN countries

Interdependence with countries linked to Loas by migration

• Laos-Thailand migrant corridor dominated by outward flow unskilled Laotians to Thailand

• contribute to agriculture, construction + factory work

• Laos-Thailand Cooperation Committee has strengthened communication + trade

• Thailand funded health in Laos

• work together to manage flooding of Mekong River

Opportunities

• migration corridor largest in ASEAN

• stimulated political + economic trade, security

• bilateral relations with Vietnam, involved 400 investment projects in Laos

• 22% families in Laos live below poverty line

• political stability improving

Challenges

• most economic migrants from Laos low skilled + vulnerable to trafficking, forced labour + exploitation

• loss of skilled labour, eg carpenters, to Thailand, increase wages + freer movement in ASEAN Economic Community

• Laos gov industry depends on low skilled females who move to Thailand for higher wages