Education vs Healthcare Companies in Thailand: Size and ROE 2026
In short
Healthcare companies in Thailand average 6.7 times the revenue of education companies, as of 7 July 2026. The human health and social work sector reports 517.42 billion baht in total revenue against 62.01 billion baht for education. Education still wins on return on equity, posting 12.1 percent against 10.9 percent for healthcare. Healthcare wins comfortably on return on assets, at 6.71 percent against just 0.71 percent for education. Bigger does not mean more profitable, and profitable does not mean efficient with assets.
How do education and healthcare companies compare in Thailand?
Healthcare dwarfs education in scale, but education edges it on the return shareholders actually earn. Human health and social work counts 17,294 registered companies in Thailand, according to DBD (2026). Education counts 13,897 companies in its section. The health sector reported 517.42 billion baht in combined revenue as of 7 July 2026, against 62.01 billion baht for education. Measured per company, the average health firm books about 29.92 million baht in revenue, 6.7 times the 4.46 million baht average for an education company. Yet education converts more of that smaller revenue into shareholder return, posting a return on equity of 12.1 percent against 10.9 percent for healthcare. Flip to return on assets and the picture reverses hard, with health at 6.71 percent against just 0.71 percent for education. A nine and a half times gap in asset efficiency, alongside education's edge in equity return, points to a thin equity base doing the work rather than superior operations.
Revenue and profit by sector, billion baht
- Education revenue62
- Healthcare revenue517
- Education net profit8
- Healthcare net profit57
Figures in billion baht.
Healthcare's revenue and profit both dwarf education's, even though education runs the higher margin on equity.
Education and healthcare side by side
| Metric | Education, section P | Healthcare, section Q |
|---|---|---|
| Companies | 13,897 | 17,294 |
| Total revenue | 62.01 billion baht | 517.42 billion baht |
| Total net profit | 8.14 billion baht | 57.27 billion baht |
| Average revenue per company | 4.46 million baht | 29.92 million baht |
| Net margin | 13.13% | 11.07% |
| Return on equity | 12.10% | 10.89% |
| Return on assets | 0.71% | 6.71% |
| Top company by revenue | Saeng Neern Patanakarn Co Ltd | Bangkok Dusit Medical Services PCL |
Section P, education, versus section Q, human health and social work, as of 7 Jul 2026.
Why the gap between ROE and ROA matters
The two ratios tell different stories about where the return comes from. Return on assets shows how hard a sector's assets work, and healthcare's 6.71 percent beats education's 0.71 percent by a wide margin. That gap is consistent with hospital groups running large revenue through buildings, equipment and beds. Return on equity shows what shareholders get once financing is layered on top, and education's 12.1 percent edges past healthcare's 10.9 percent. Dividing education's ROE by its ROA gives a multiplier of about 17, versus roughly 1.6 for healthcare. That gap says education companies are, on average, running on a much thinner equity base relative to their assets, so a modest profit gets scaled up into a larger percentage return for the owners on paper. A headline ROE ranking rewards capital structure as much as it rewards running a good school or training center. Combined, education and healthcare account for just 1.57 percent of the 1,986,489 companies with a classified industry section. Together the two sectors generate only 0.72 percent of national revenue, so neither one moves Thailand's aggregate numbers much on its own.
Definitions
- Return on equity
- Net profit as a share of shareholder equity. It measures the return earned on the capital owners have put into the business, and it rises when a company carries more debt relative to equity, even without any change in operating performance.
- Return on assets
- Net profit as a share of total assets. It measures how much profit a sector generates from everything it owns, regardless of how that ownership is financed.
- Net margin
- Net profit as a share of revenue. A margin of ten percent means ten satang of profit for every baht of revenue.
- TSIC section
- One of 21 lettered categories in the Thailand Standard Industrial Classification. Section P covers education and section Q covers human health and social work activities.
- Aggregate ratio
- A sector wide ratio calculated from total profit divided by total equity or total assets across all companies in the section, rather than averaging each company's own ratio.
Assumptions
- Figures cover companies that filed a financial statement with DBD. Companies without a filing are excluded from revenue, profit and ratio calculations.
- Average revenue and profit per company are simple totals divided by company count, so a small number of very large firms, especially large hospital groups, can pull the healthcare average upward.
- Return on equity and return on assets are section wide aggregates and can diverge from what a typical individual company in the section reports.
Methodology
Figures are aggregate revenue, net profit, return on equity and return on assets for TSIC section P, education, and section Q, human health and social work, drawn from the DBD registry as of 7 July 2026. Return on equity and return on assets are section wide aggregates, total profit divided by total equity or total assets across companies that filed a financial statement, not an average of individual company ratios. Company counts reflect entities with reported financials in each section. Averages per company are total revenue or profit divided by that company count.
How we verified this
- Average revenue per company: education 62,009,546,601.03 baht divided by 13,897 companies equals 4,462,081 baht. Healthcare 517,423,952,941.85 baht divided by 17,294 companies equals 29,919,276 baht. The ratio 29,919,276 divided by 4,462,081 equals 6.71, matching the stated 6.7 times multiple.
- Total revenue ratio: 517,423,952,941.85 divided by 62,009,546,601.03 equals 8.34, kept distinct in the text from the 6.7 times average-per-company figure since the two sectors have different company counts.
- ROE and ROA figures were read directly from market_section_insight for section_code P and Q, computed_at 2026-07-07: education roe 12.10013 rounds to 12.1, healthcare roe 10.89244 rounds to 10.9, healthcare roa 6.71422 rounds to 6.71, education roa 0.71059 rounds to 0.71.
- ROE to ROA multiplier: education 12.10013 divided by 0.71059 equals 17.03. Healthcare 10.89244 divided by 6.71422 equals 1.62. The 9.4 times ROA gap was computed as 6.71422 minus 0.71059 equals 6.00 percentage points, expressed as a ratio of 6.71422 over 0.71059 equals 9.45.
- Combined share of the economy: education plus healthcare companies, 13,897 plus 17,294 equals 31,191, divided by 1,986,489 classified companies equals 1.57 percent. Combined revenue, 62,009,546,601.03 plus 517,423,952,941.85 equals 579,433,499,542.88 baht, divided by national total revenue of 80,148,033,688,000.39 baht equals 0.72 percent.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and financial statement aggregates. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
- World Bank. (2024). Current health expenditure (% of GDP) and government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP), Thailand. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS?locations=TH
Frequently asked questions
Which sector is bigger, education or healthcare, in Thailand?
Healthcare, by a wide margin. Human health and social work reports 517.42 billion baht in total revenue against 62.01 billion baht for education. The average health company also earns 6.7 times the revenue of the average education company.
Which sector is more profitable, education or healthcare?
It depends on the ratio. Education has the higher return on equity, 12.1 percent against 10.9 percent for healthcare. Healthcare has the far higher return on assets, 6.71 percent against 0.71 percent for education.
Why does education have a higher ROE but a much lower ROA?
Education companies appear to run on a thinner equity base relative to their assets than healthcare companies do. That amplifies a modest profit into a larger percentage return on equity, while the same profit looks small against total assets.
How much of Thailand's company base do these two sectors represent?
Together education and healthcare account for 31,191 companies, or 1.57 percent of the 1,986,489 companies with a classified industry section. Their combined revenue is about 0.72 percent of the national total.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Education vs Healthcare Companies in Thailand: Size and ROE 2026. Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/education-vs-healthcare-companies-in-thailand-2026
Data & corrections
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Written by
Chatpong L.Founder, Max Data, Max Solutions Co., Ltd.
Chatpong L. leads Max Data, a company-intelligence platform built on Thailand's official business registry. He writes about the structure of the Thai economy using primary registry data. His work covers company formation, industry concentration, and regional business activity.
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This page reports company-level and aggregate statistics only. It names no individuals and makes no claims about any person. Figures are provided for information and may be revised as source data updates.