Public Administration: Thailand's Smallest Sector, 38 Firms, 2026
In short
38 companies make up Thailand's entire public administration industry section, the smallest true industry in the registry. Combined they report 267.8 million baht in revenue. Net profit reaches 14.6 million baht. That works out to a 5.45 percent net margin. One dental services firm, Dental Corporation Company Limited, contributes 216.1 million baht of that revenue. That single company accounts for 80.7 percent of the section total. Only 11 of the 38 companies remain active, a 28.9 percent survival rate. The national survival rate is far higher, at 50.0 percent.
How many companies register under public administration in Thailand?
Just 38 companies carry Thailand's public administration industry code as of 7 July 2026, according to the Department of Business Development registry (DBD, 2026). That count makes section O the smallest of any conventional industry in the Thai economy. Two even smaller codes exist, but neither is a real industry. Extraterritorial organizations hold 4 firms. Households as employers hold 32, and both are catch all classifications rather than lines of business. The next true industry up is water supply and waste management, with 4,818 companies. That is 126.8 times the size of public administration. Combined, section O's companies report 267.8 million baht in revenue. Net profit for the section reaches 14.6 million baht. One dental services firm, Dental Corporation Company Limited, supplies 216.1 million baht of that revenue on its own. That is 80.7 percent of the entire section.
Where section O sits among Thailand's smallest sections
- Extraterritorial organizations4
- Households as employers32
- Public administration38
- Water supply and waste management4,818
- Electricity and gas7,833
Figures in registered companies.
The jump from 38 to 4,818 companies shows why public administration stands apart. Every genuine industry in the registry clears a thousand companies. Only two non industry catch all codes sit below it.
Thailand's five smallest registered sections
| Section | Companies | Combined revenue | Net margin | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extraterritorial organizations | 4 | 18.5 million baht | -10.00% | Catch all code |
| Households as employers | 32 | 3.1 million baht | 13.67% | Catch all code |
| Public administration | 38 | 267.8 million baht | 5.45% | Smallest true industry |
| Water supply and waste management | 4,818 | 146.8 billion baht | 7.31% | Next smallest true industry |
| Electricity and gas | 7,833 | 815.6 billion baht | 11.86% | True industry |
Entity counts, combined revenue and net margin by section, as of 7 Jul 2026.
Section O by the numbers
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Registered companies | 38 |
| Active companies | 11 |
| Inactive companies | 27 |
| Active share | 28.9% |
| National active share | 50.0% |
| Combined revenue | 267.8 million baht |
| Combined net profit | 14.6 million baht |
| Net margin | 5.45% |
| Return on equity | 13.66% |
| Return on assets | 5.49% |
| Top reporter | Dental Corporation Company Limited |
| Top reporter revenue | 216.1 million baht |
| Top reporter share of section revenue | 80.7% |
| Micro companies | 33 |
| Micro share | 86.8% |
| Small companies | 4 |
| Small share | 10.5% |
| Medium companies | 1 |
| Medium share | 2.6% |
| Large companies | 0 |
| Large share | 0.0% |
Financial and structural detail for Thailand's public administration companies, as of 7 Jul 2026.
Why a nearly empty industry section matters
International classification standards define public administration as governmental activity: law enactment, national defense, taxation, and public order, functions the state normally runs itself, not private companies (UNSD, 2008). The 38 firms carrying this code in Thailand most likely provide administrative or facility support tied to government adjacent work, dentistry aside, rather than fitting that textbook definition. Their numbers still tell a real story. Section O's net margin runs at 5.45 percent. That beats the national average of 4.10 percent. Return on equity reaches 13.66 percent. That runs more than double the national figure of 6.12 percent. Yet only 11 of the 38 companies remain active, a 28.9 percent survival rate. That sits well below the 50.0 percent seen across the whole registry. The lesson for anyone reading small sample sector data is direct: when one dental company supplies four fifths of a section's revenue, the ratio describes that company, not an industry.
Definitions
- Net margin
- Net profit as a share of revenue for all companies in a group that filed a financial statement. A five percent margin means five satang of profit for every baht of revenue.
- Return on equity
- Net profit divided by shareholder equity, a measure of how much profit a company generates from the capital its owners have invested.
- Return on assets
- Net profit divided by total assets, a measure of how much profit a company generates from everything it owns.
- Active company
- A company whose most recent filing status in the registry is active rather than dormant or struck off.
- Survival rate
- The share of companies in a group that remain active out of all companies ever registered in that group.
- Industry section
- The broadest tier of the Thai Standard Industrial Classification, one of 21 lettered categories such as manufacturing or public administration.
- Size band
- A company's classification as micro, small, medium or large, based on its reported revenue and assets.
Assumptions
- Section O's tiny sample size means its net margin, return on equity and return on assets can shift sharply if even one company changes its filing.
- The top reporter, a dental services firm, may sit under the public administration code due to a registration choice rather than a true governmental function, though the registry lists it under section O.
- Active versus inactive reflects filing status only, not whether a company has formally dissolved.
- Extraterritorial organizations and households as employers are excluded from the smallest true industry comparison because they are catch all administrative codes rather than lines of business.
Methodology
Figures come from the Department of Business Development company registry, aggregated into industry sections using the Thai Standard Industrial Classification, as reflected in market_section_insight and market_tsic_insight as of 7 July 2026. Section O covers all five digit codes under division 84, public administration and defense. A company counts as active if its most recent filing status is active, otherwise it counts as inactive. Revenue, net profit and margin are section wide aggregates from filed financial statements, not averages of individual company ratios. With only 38 companies in the section, each aggregate is sensitive to any single large filer, most visibly the top reporter, so the ratios here describe this specific small group rather than a stable industry norm.
How we verified this
- Re-summed the 13 five digit TSIC codes under division 84 in market_tsic_insight and confirmed they total 38 companies, matching the market_section_insight row for section O exactly.
- Recomputed the top reporter's share of section revenue as 216,110,390.78 divided by 267,846,219.88, equal to 80.7 percent.
- Recomputed section O's share of the 1,989,709 total registered companies as 38 divided by 1,989,709, equal to 0.0019 percent.
- Recomputed the active share as 11 divided by 38, equal to 28.9 percent, against the national active share of 993,373 divided by 1,986,709, equal to 50.0 percent, from market_national_insight and the data guide constants.
- Confirmed section O's entity_count of 38 ranks third smallest of the 21 rows in market_section_insight, behind only extraterritorial organizations at 4 and households as employers at 32, and confirmed the next true industry, water supply and waste management, counts 4,818 companies, 126.8 times section O's count via 4,818 divided by 38.
- Re-summed the size band columns in market_tsic_insight for division 84 and confirmed 33 micro, 4 small, 1 medium and 0 large companies total 38, with shares of 86.8 percent, 10.5 percent, 2.6 percent and 0.0 percent respectively.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and financial statement aggregates. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
- United Nations Statistics Division. (2008). International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC), Revision 4, Section O. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://unstats.un.org/unsd/classifications/Econ/Detail/EN/27/O
Frequently asked questions
How many companies are registered under public administration in Thailand?
38 companies, the smallest of any conventional industry section in the Department of Business Development registry, as of 7 July 2026.
What is the largest company in Thailand's public administration section?
Dental Corporation Company Limited, reporting 216.1 million baht in revenue. That equals 80.7 percent of the section's combined revenue.
Why would a private company register under public administration?
The classification is meant for governmental activity such as law enactment and defense, so most of the 38 firms likely supply administrative or facility support tied to government adjacent work rather than performing those functions themselves.
Is public administration the smallest section in the whole registry?
It is the smallest genuine industry. Two catch all codes rank below it. Extraterritorial organizations hold 4 firms. Households as employers hold 32. Neither is a conventional industry.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Public Administration: Thailand's Smallest Sector, 38 Firms, 2026. Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/public-administration-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.