Micro Companies per Large Company by Thai Industry (2026)
In short
Thailand has about 108 micro companies for every large one, but the ratio swings from 31.6 in electricity and gas to 1,029.6 in other services as of 17 July 2026. Manufacturing sits at 33.6. Wholesale and retail sits at 94.8. The national average hides a 33 fold gap between sectors.
How many micro companies does each large company have?
Nationally, Thailand has 1,492,979 micro companies and 13,876 large ones, a ratio of about 108 to 1 (DBD, 2026). Sector by sector, that number falls apart. Electricity and gas has just 31.6 micro companies per large company. Manufacturing has 33.6. Financial and insurance has 51.5. At the other end, education has 630.2 and other services has 1,029.6. A micro company in utilities or factories sits beside a large peer. A micro company in personal services or schooling almost never does.
Micro companies per large company by industry section
- Electricity and gas32
- Manufacturing34
- Financial and insurance52
- Human health and social work59
- Water and waste67
- Wholesale and retail trade95
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing124
- Mining and quarrying128
- Transportation and storage131
- Information and communication212
- Accommodation and food service233
- Administrative and support312
- Real estate324
- Construction394
- Professional, scientific and technical428
- Arts and entertainment486
- Education630
- Other services1,030
Figures in micro companies per large company.
Sorted from the shortest size ladder to the longest. Public administration, households and extraterritorial bodies are left out because they hold too few companies.
Micro and large counts behind each ratio
| Industry section | Micro companies | Large companies | Micro per large |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity and gas | 6,032 | 191 | 31.6 |
| Manufacturing | 158,376 | 4,718 | 33.6 |
| Financial and insurance | 28,643 | 556 | 51.5 |
| Human health and social work | 10,499 | 178 | 59.0 |
| Water and waste | 3,270 | 49 | 66.7 |
| Wholesale and retail trade | 529,921 | 5,590 | 94.8 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 15,861 | 128 | 123.9 |
| Mining and quarrying | 7,018 | 55 | 127.6 |
| Transportation and storage | 58,717 | 448 | 131.1 |
| Information and communication | 41,611 | 196 | 212.3 |
| Accommodation and food service | 60,575 | 260 | 233.0 |
| Administrative and support | 74,827 | 240 | 311.8 |
| Real estate | 125,090 | 386 | 324.1 |
| Construction | 221,364 | 562 | 393.9 |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 108,145 | 253 | 427.5 |
| Arts and entertainment | 15,051 | 31 | 485.5 |
| Education | 11,344 | 18 | 630.2 |
| Other services | 16,473 | 16 | 1,029.6 |
Company counts by size band and section, as of 17 Jul 2026.
Why this matters
A short ladder means the path from micro to large is visible. Manufacturing has 4,718 large companies, so a small factory can see what scale looks like in its own supply chain. Education has 18 large companies and 11,344 micro ones. A micro school has almost no local example of what growing up looks like. Wholesale and retail is the interesting middle case. It has 5,590 large companies, the most of any section, yet 529,921 micro companies still crowd beneath them. Volume of large firms does not shorten the ladder when the base is that wide. Policymakers who want more companies to graduate should look at the long ladders first, because that is where the base is thickest relative to the top. The ratio is a snapshot, not a promotion rate. It shows how crowded the bottom is, not how many firms actually climb.
Definitions
- Micro company
- A company in the smallest DBD size band, which holds 75.1 percent of all registered companies.
- Large company
- A company in the largest DBD size band, which holds 0.7 percent of registered companies.
- Size ladder
- The number of micro companies for each large company in a section. A higher number means a longer ladder.
- TSIC section
- One of the lettered top level industry groups of the Thailand Standard Industrial Classification.
Assumptions
- Size band assignment follows the DBD registry and is taken as given.
- Registered companies include dormant ones, so the micro count includes firms with little activity.
- Sections with very few large companies produce volatile ratios, so other services with 16 large firms moves sharply on a small change.
- The ratio describes structure, not the rate at which firms grow.
Methodology
Counts come from the Department of Business Development registry as of 17 July 2026. Each company carries a size band of micro, small, medium or large, and counts were summed from 5-digit TSIC codes into the lettered industry sections. The ratio divides micro companies by large companies within a section. Sections with fewer than 100 companies overall are excluded. Section sums are slightly below the national size totals because a few hundred companies have no classified section. The national ratio of 107.6 uses the national totals of 1,492,979 and 13,876.
How we verified this
- National ratio recomputed: 1,492,979 divided by 13,876 equals 107.6.
- Electricity and gas: 6,032 divided by 191 equals 31.6.
- Manufacturing: 158,376 divided by 4,718 equals 33.6.
- Wholesale and retail: 529,921 divided by 5,590 equals 94.8.
- Other services: 16,473 divided by 16 equals 1,029.6.
- Education: 11,344 divided by 18 equals 630.2.
- Spread recomputed: 1,029.6 divided by 31.6 equals 32.6, described as 33 fold.
- Section counts summed across the 18 shown sections give 1,492,817 micro and 13,875 large, within 0.02 percent of the national totals.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and size band aggregates. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
Frequently asked questions
How many micro companies are there per large company in Thailand?
About 108, from 1,492,979 micro and 13,876 large companies in the DBD registry as of 17 July 2026.
Which Thai industry has the shortest size ladder?
Electricity and gas, with 31.6 micro companies for each of its 191 large companies.
Which industry has the longest ladder?
Other services, with 1,029.6 micro companies for each of its 16 large companies.
Does a low ratio mean micro companies grow more often?
No. The ratio is a snapshot of counts, not a measure of firms moving between size bands.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Micro Companies per Large Company by Thai Industry (2026). Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/how-many-micro-companies-per-large-company-in-each-thai-industry-section-2026
Data & corrections
Download the data (CSV)Spot something off, or want to ask about the data? Email insights@maxsolutions.co.th. We publish corrections.
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.