1. The majority of populations in Mekong countries like Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand are rural and rely on agriculture for their livelihood, but this sector is lagging behind other growing sectors. 2. While poverty rates have declined in Mekong countries, poverty has not declined as much in rural areas, where 90% of poor people in Cambodia live. 3. Land use is changing, with some countries like Myanmar and Cambodia experiencing expansion of agricultural land alongside loss of forests, while others like Vietnam have increased both agriculture and forests.

1. An incomplete agrarian transition:
Demography, migration and land
use change

2. Data sources: agricultural
censuses (multiple)
The Land and the
People: Rurality
and Poverty
Data sources: Population
and Housing censuses
(multiple)
Cambodia: 90% of
the poor are rural
Myanmar: 82%
Thailand: 80%

3. The Land and the People (cont.): An incomplete agrarian transition
Cambodia:
28.9% of the
population
internal migrants
Of whom 60% moved
from one rural area to
another
Lao PDR:
7% of the
population
internal migrants
Of whom 60% moved
from one rural area to
another
Lao PDR: 77% of the population is in agriculture
Myanmar: 52%
Vietnam: 54%
Thailand: 30%

4. The Land Resource Base: A land in transition
Text (normal)
Text (normal)

5. Forest area 1996
(million ha)
Forest area 2015
(million ha)
Percent Change
1996-2015
Percent of total
Mekong forest
Cambodia 12.11 9.46 -21.9 10.7
Lao PDR 16.97 18.76 10.5 21.2
Myanmar 36.61 29.04 -20.7 32.8
Thailand 15.81 16.40 3.7 18.5
Vietnam 10.78 14.77 37.0 16.7
Total 92.28 88.43 -4.2 100
Cumulative change in agricultural land 1995-2015

6. 1. The vast majority of the population of the Mekong is rural, and is in agriculture,
but this sector is lacking behind other sectors
2. Poverty rates have declined considerably in the Mekong countries, but have not
declined much in rural areas
3. There are as many poor in Thailand as in Cambodia and Lao PDR combined
4. There are more poor in Myanmar than all Mekong countries combined
5. Land use change varies greatly, and sometimes unexpected: Myanmar and
Cambodia (+agriculture –forest) but Vietnam (+agriculture + forest)
6. For all of these: there are large differences between the Mekong countries, but
sub-national differences are bigger