Years of New Formations Needed to Match Thailand's Dormant Firms 2026
In short
Thailand's 993,336 dormant companies equal 7.7 years of new company formation, as of 17 July 2026. The 2025 cohort added 128,617 firms. At that pace, the dormant overhang takes 7.72 years to rebuild from scratch. Even the record formation year of 2021 would need 6.57 years. Counting back, every company founded from 2018 to 2025 plus a quarter of the 2017 class would be needed to match the dormant count.
How many years of new formation would it take?
About 7.7 years. Thailand's registry holds 993,336 dormant companies, and the 2025 class added 128,617 new ones (DBD, 2026). Divide the first by the second and you get 7.72. That is the time it would take the country to register a fresh set of companies as large as the entire dormant pile. The answer moves with the pace you pick. Against the five-year average for 2021 to 2025 of 126,773 new firms a year, the overhang equals 7.84 years. Against the 2021 peak, 6.57 years. Against the 2023 trough, 8.83 years.
New companies registered per year, 2013 to 2025
- 201360,270
- 201463,417
- 201568,500
- 201673,163
- 201789,719
- 2018104,273
- 2019111,284
- 2020122,427
- 2021151,205
- 2022119,923
- 2023112,461
- 2024121,657
- 2025128,617
Figures in new companies.
2021 stands out as the peak. 2026 is left out because the year is incomplete in the registry.
The overhang measured at each year's pace
| Founding year | New companies | Years to equal 993,336 dormant |
|---|---|---|
| 2,025 | 128,617 | 8 |
| 2,024 | 121,657 | 8 |
| 2,023 | 112,461 | 9 |
| 2,022 | 119,923 | 8 |
| 2,021 | 151,205 | 7 |
| 2,020 | 122,427 | 8 |
| 2,019 | 111,284 | 9 |
| 2,018 | 104,273 | 10 |
| 2,017 | 89,719 | 11 |
| 2,016 | 73,163 | 14 |
| 2,015 | 68,500 | 15 |
| 2,014 | 63,417 | 16 |
| 2,013 | 60,270 | 16 |
Dormant companies of 993,336 divided by each year's new registrations, as of 17 Jul 2026.
Counting backwards instead
There is a second way to read the gap. Add up the cohorts from 2025 backwards and see where the total crosses 993,336. Companies founded from 2018 to 2025 sum to 971,847. That is 97.8 percent of the dormant count. The remaining 21,489 would come from 2017, which registered 89,719 firms, so about 24 percent of that year. In round terms, the dormant register is as large as eight full years of company births and a slice of a ninth. Dormancy is not a claim that those eight years of firms are the dormant ones. The comparison only sizes the pile.
Where the dormant companies sit
| Industry section | Dormant companies | Share of all dormant | Dormancy rate in section |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale and retail trade | 389,996 | 39.3% | 54.5% |
| Construction | 163,076 | 16.4% | 57.5% |
| Manufacturing | 121,333 | 12.2% | 52.7% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 57,667 | 5.8% | 41.5% |
| Real estate | 56,228 | 5.7% | 37.6% |
| Administrative and support | 43,677 | 4.4% | 43.4% |
Dormant companies by industry section for the six largest, with each section's share of the national dormant count and its own dormancy rate, as of 17 Jul 2026.
Why this matters
A register that is half dormant is a register that overstates the economy. Thailand has 1,989,709 registered companies. Of those, 993,336 are dormant, or 49.9 percent. Anyone sizing a market from raw company counts is counting a pile that equals nearly eight years of births. Wholesale and retail alone holds 389,996 dormant firms, 39.3 percent of the national dormant count. That single section is more than three years of national formation. The practical rule is simple. Before you quote a company count, ask how many of those companies are still trading. Then compare the cleanup job with the inflow. Formation grew 5.7 percent from 2024 to 2025, yet matching the dormant count would still take about 7.7 more years of births.
Definitions
- Dormant company
- A registered company whose registry status is inactive, meaning it is still on the register but no longer operating.
- Dormancy rate
- Dormant companies in a group divided by all registered companies in that group.
- Formation
- The registration of a new company, counted by the year of founding.
- Overhang
- The stock of dormant companies compared with the yearly flow of new ones.
Assumptions
- Dormant means inactive status in the registry, which can lag the real end of trading.
- The comparison assumes no new firm goes dormant, which is a simplification used only for sizing.
- The 2026 formation count is partial and excluded from comparisons.
- Dormant companies span many founding years, so the year count is a size comparison, not an age claim.
Methodology
Dormant companies are those with an inactive status in the Department of Business Development registry, summed across all TSIC industry sections, as of 17 July 2026. New companies are counted by founding year from the same registry. The years-to-equal figure is the dormant count divided by one year's new registrations, a sizing comparison and not a forecast. The year 2026 is excluded because it is incomplete. Counts for sections exclude a handful of companies with no classified section.
How we verified this
- Dormant count recomputed by summing inactive companies across all 21 TSIC sections: 993,336.
- Active companies recomputed the same way: 993,373. Active plus dormant is 1,986,709, matching the size band total.
- 993,336 divided by 128,617 equals 7.72 years.
- Five year total for 2021 to 2025 is 633,863, average 126,773, and 993,336 divided by 126,773 equals 7.84.
- 993,336 divided by 151,205 equals 6.57 and divided by 112,461 equals 8.83.
- Cohorts 2018 to 2025 sum to 971,847. 993,336 minus 971,847 equals 21,489, which is 24.0 percent of 89,719 for 2017.
- 971,847 divided by 993,336 equals 97.8 percent. 993,336 divided by 1,989,709 equals 49.9 percent.
- Wholesale and retail dormant 389,996 divided by 993,336 equals 39.3 percent, and divided by 716,066 equals 54.5 percent. 389,996 divided by 128,617 equals 3.03 years.
- 2025 versus 2024 formation: 128,617 divided by 121,657 minus one equals 5.7 percent.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and registry aggregates. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
Frequently asked questions
How many years of new company formation equal Thailand's dormant companies?
About 7.7 years at the 2025 pace. That is 993,336 dormant companies divided by 128,617 new registrations.
Does this mean eight years of companies are dormant?
No. It sizes the pile against formation. Dormant firms come from many founding years, so the comparison shows scale only.
Why is 2026 left out?
The registry holds only part of 2026, with 110,866 new firms so far, so a full year comparison would understate the pace.
Which sector holds the most dormant companies?
Wholesale and retail trade, with 389,996 dormant companies, or 39.3 percent of the national dormant count.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Years of New Formations Needed to Match Thailand's Dormant Firms 2026. Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/how-many-years-of-new-formations-equal-thailands-dormant-register-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.