Small Companies per Medium Company by Thai Industry (2026)

Across the 18 industry sections with a meaningful number of firms, Thailand has 441,002 small companies and 38,941 medium ones (DBD, 2026). That works out to 11.3 small companies for every medium company. The national figure hides a wide spread. Agriculture and electricity and gas have just 5.1 small firms per medium firm. Other services has 40.7. A low ratio means the middle of the size ladder is well populated. A high ratio means many small firms and few that have grown past the small band.

The sections with low ratios are capital heavy or scale driven. Agriculture, mining, utilities, manufacturing and finance all sit below 8, so a small firm in them is never far from a medium one. Wholesale and retail follows at 8.6, because buying in volume rewards growth. At the other end, services such as other services, education and professional work sit above 26. Those firms can earn a good living with a handful of staff, so they have less reason to cross into the medium band. Construction is the surprise at 21.7. Project work tends to stay small, and only 2,712 firms have made it to medium.

Policy talk about helping small firms usually treats them as one block. This ratio says the barrier is not equal everywhere. A lender or a supplier program aimed at small firms will find a crowded middle in manufacturing and a thin one in construction and professional services. The thin sections are where a bridge product, such as working capital for project payment cycles, would meet the most unserved demand. The gap is also worth watching over time. If a ratio falls, more firms are crossing. If it rises, they are not. For context, the national SME agency OSMEP counted 18,298 medium enterprises against 3,028,495 small ones in 2017 using a broader definition that includes sole proprietors (OSMEP, 2018). The registry view here covers registered companies only.