THAILAND HILL TRIBES

In Thailand, the term "hill tribes" designates ethnic minorities, most of whom live in the remote highland areas of the country. There are in total 3,527 hill tribe villages in 20 provinces of Thailand, comprising 133,070 households and 751,886 persons. The largest tribal group is Karen (46.18 percent), followed by Hmong (16.32 percent) and Lahu (11.21 percent). Of all the provinces, Chiang Mai has the largest hill tribe population: 1,072 villages with 33,573 households and 190,795 persons.

Hill tribes are among the most disadvantaged groups of the country, largely due to a lack of infrastructure, limited access to Thai citizenship and delayed land settlement. They face a higher degree of poverty than other groups in Thailand. The majority are engaged in agriculture as their main economic activity, and household-based handicraft production and wage employment as secondary sources of income. Production inputs are limited, as they lack access to basic social services (including education and healthcare), and they also lack opportunities for systematic skill development, income and employment.

Lack of adequate education is a particularly large problem within these communities.  There are several factors leading to this low level of education including lack of teachers, lack of appropriate curriculum, lack of school supplies, and most importantly lack of funds available to assist with these and other issues.