Thai Industry Codes Where Micro Firms Are Under Half (2026)
In short
Micro companies are under half of all firms in 82 of 1,228 Thai industry codes as of 17 July 2026. That is 6.7 percent of codes, against a national micro share of 75.1 percent. Manufacturing holds 49 of the 82. Most of these codes are tiny niches, and only 36 have 100 or more companies.
In how many industry codes are micro firms a minority?
In 82 of Thailand's 1,228 five-digit industry codes, micro companies make up less than half of the firms (DBD, 2026). That is 6.68 percent of codes. Nationally the picture is the opposite, with micro firms at 75.14 percent of all companies that carry a size band. So the exceptions are rare, but they are not random. Manufacturing alone holds 49 of them, which is 59.76 percent of the group. Agriculture and transportation follow with five each, then finance and health with four each. Wholesale and retail, the biggest sector in the country, has just three.
Codes with a micro share under 50 percent, by section
- Manufacturing49
- Agriculture5
- Transportation and storage5
- Financial and insurance4
- Human health and social work4
- Wholesale and retail trade3
- Professional, scientific and technical3
- Electricity and gas2
- Education2
Figures in industry codes.
Manufacturing dominates the count. Sections with one such code, and public administration with two, are not shown.
Where the small-firm-heavy codes sit
| Section | Codes under 50% micro | All codes in section | Share of codes | Section micro share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 49 | 421 | 11.64% | 68.74% |
| Agriculture | 5 | 105 | 4.76% | 82.36% |
| Transportation and storage | 5 | 64 | 7.81% | 68.83% |
| Financial and insurance | 4 | 46 | 8.7% | 80.51% |
| Human health and social work | 4 | 23 | 17.39% | 60.71% |
| Wholesale and retail trade | 3 | 200 | 1.5% | 74% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 3 | 34 | 8.82% | 77.81% |
| Electricity and gas | 2 | 8 | 25% | 77.01% |
| Education | 2 | 27 | 7.41% | 81.63% |
Industry codes with micro share under 50 percent, by section, as of 17 Jul 2026. Share of codes is the group count divided by all sized codes in the section.
Who fills the gap that micro firms leave?
Across the 82 codes there are 41,221 companies. Micro firms are 40.66 percent of them. Small firms are 46.64 percent, so they are the largest group here. Medium firms add 9.54 percent and large firms 3.16 percent. Put together, small, medium and large firms make up 59.34 percent. For the whole economy that figure is only 24.86 percent. These codes hold just 2.07 percent of all sized companies, so they are a corner of the registry and not a trend.
Why most of the 82 are small niches
Size matters for reading the list. Twenty-eight of the 82 codes have fewer than 30 companies, and a few firms can tip the share either way. Only 36 have 100 or more companies, and just 10 reach 1,000. Among the 745 codes that do have 100 or more companies, 4.83 percent fall below the half mark. Manufacturing survives the filter, with 24 of those 36 larger codes. Factory scale and capital equipment push its firms out of the micro band.
Why this matters
A sales team that assumes every Thai industry is a sea of micro firms will misjudge 82 codes. In those codes the typical buyer or competitor is a small or medium firm with a real payroll and filed accounts. Lenders and suppliers should price them differently from the national pattern. Policy aimed at micro enterprises also misses these pockets by design. The practical advice is to check the size mix of the exact five-digit code before using the national 75 percent as a default.
Definitions
- Micro company
- A company in the registry's smallest size band. The registry assigns the band, and this page does not redefine it.
- Micro share
- Micro companies divided by all companies with a size band in the same group.
- TSIC code
- The five-digit Thai Standard Industrial Classification code. Codes roll up into 21 lettered sections.
- Section
- One of the 21 lettered top-level industry groups, such as manufacturing or education.
- Size band
- The registry's grouping of companies into micro, small, medium and large.
Assumptions
- Size bands come from the registry and may lag a company's real current size.
- Codes with very few companies swing sharply, so a result of under half there is weak evidence of a pattern.
- Companies without a size band or an industry code are left out.
- Five-digit descriptions are missing, so individual codes are not named.
Methodology
Source: Department of Business Development registry, aggregated by five-digit TSIC code, with data computed on 17 July 2026. Each company carries a size band of micro, small, medium or large. For every code with at least one sized company, micro share is micro count divided by the sum of the four bands. A code counts when that share is below 50 percent. Codes without a size band are excluded. Five-digit descriptions are not available, so only the lettered sections are named. Shares in tiny codes are unstable.
How we verified this
- Sized companies recomputed: 1,492,884 micro + 441,008 small + 38,942 medium + 13,875 large = 1,986,709, so the national micro share is 1,492,884 / 1,986,709 = 75.14 percent.
- Codes share recomputed: 82 / 1,228 = 6.68 percent. Large-code share: 36 / 745 = 4.83 percent.
- Section counts sum to the total: 49 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 82, with education, public administration and electricity-gas at two each and accommodation, administrative and extraterritorial at one each.
- Manufacturing share of the group: 49 / 82 = 59.76 percent. Manufacturing share of its own codes: 49 / 421 = 11.64 percent.
- Band mix inside the 82 codes: 16,762 + 19,224 + 3,931 + 1,304 = 41,221. Micro 16,762 / 41,221 = 40.66 percent, small 46.64, medium 9.54, large 3.16. Non-micro 24,459 / 41,221 = 59.34 percent. National non-micro is 100 - 75.14 = 24.86 percent.
- Group size relative to registry: 41,221 / 1,986,709 = 2.07 percent. Codes with fewer than 30 companies: 28 of 82.
- Anchor drift: the data guide quotes 1,492,979 micro companies from a 7 July refresh. Rows queried here were computed on 17 July and give 1,492,884, so the live values were used.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons by TSIC code and company size band, data as of 17 July 2026. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
Frequently asked questions
In how many Thai industry codes are micro companies under half of all firms?
82 of 1,228 five-digit codes, or 6.68 percent, as of 17 July 2026.
Which section has the most such codes?
Manufacturing, with 49 of the 82 codes, followed by agriculture and transportation and storage at five each.
Are these big industries?
Mostly not. Twenty-eight of the 82 codes have fewer than 30 companies and only 36 have 100 or more.
What is the national micro share?
75.14 percent of companies with a size band, which is 1,492,884 of 1,986,709.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Thai Industry Codes Where Micro Firms Are Under Half (2026). Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/how-many-thai-industry-codes-have-fewer-than-half-micro-companies-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.