Presentation for the Second Regional Land Forum

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% are from
one rural area to another
Lao PDR:
7% of the
population
internal migrants
Of whom 60% are 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
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5. 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