Thai Sectors Where Active Share Beats Register Share (2026)
In short
Real estate holds just 7.53 percent of Thailand's registered companies but 9.40 percent of its active ones, a gain of 1.87 percentage points, as of 17 July 2026. Professional, scientific and technical services gains 1.19 points the same way. Wholesale and retail trade runs the other direction, its 36.04 percent register share slipping to 32.82 percent once only active firms count, the largest drop of any section. Overall, 13 of Thailand's 21 industry sections hold more of the active company base than their register share alone would predict.
Which sectors gain ground once only active companies count?
Thirteen of Thailand's 21 lettered industry sections hold a bigger slice of the active company base than their register share alone would predict, based on DBD data as of 17 July 2026 (DBD, 2026). Real estate leads every gainer, rising from a 7.53 percent register share to a 9.40 percent share among active companies, a gap of 1.87 percentage points. Professional, scientific and technical services follows, climbing from 7.00 percent to 8.19 percent. Wholesale and retail trade moves the opposite way. It is Thailand's single largest section by headcount, yet its 36.04 percent register share falls to 32.82 percent once dormant and inactive firms drop out, a loss of 3.22 percentage points, the steepest of any section. Construction loses the second most ground, sliding from 14.27 percent to 12.13 percent.
Percentage point gap between active share and register share, by section
- Real estate2
- Professional, scientific and technical1
- Accommodation and food service1
- Administrative and support1
- Human health and social work0
- Financial and insurance0
- Information and communication0
- Other service activities0
- Transportation and storage0
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing0
- Education0
- Electricity and gas0
- Water supply and waste0
- Arts, entertainment and recreation-0
- Mining and quarrying-0
- Manufacturing-1
- Construction-2
- Wholesale and retail trade-3
Figures in percentage points.
A positive bar means a section holds more of the active company base than of the full register. A negative bar means the opposite.
Register share versus active share by industry section
| Industry section | Registered companies | Register share | Active companies | Active share | Point gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real estate | 149,618 | 7.53% | 93,390 | 9.40% | +1.87 |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 138,982 | 7.00% | 81,315 | 8.19% | +1.19 |
| Accommodation and food service | 83,608 | 4.21% | 48,564 | 4.89% | +0.68 |
| Administrative and support | 100,711 | 5.07% | 57,034 | 5.74% | +0.67 |
| Human health and social work | 17,294 | 0.87% | 12,778 | 1.29% | +0.42 |
| Financial and insurance | 35,577 | 1.79% | 20,710 | 2.08% | +0.29 |
| Information and communication | 52,537 | 2.64% | 29,027 | 2.92% | +0.28 |
| Other service activities | 20,455 | 1.03% | 12,642 | 1.27% | +0.24 |
| Transportation and storage | 85,303 | 4.29% | 44,190 | 4.45% | +0.15 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 19,259 | 0.97% | 10,729 | 1.08% | +0.11 |
| Education | 13,897 | 0.70% | 8,018 | 0.81% | +0.11 |
| Electricity and gas | 7,833 | 0.39% | 4,721 | 0.48% | +0.08 |
| Water supply and waste | 4,818 | 0.24% | 3,007 | 0.30% | +0.06 |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 18,486 | 0.93% | 9,072 | 0.91% | -0.02 |
| Mining and quarrying | 8,231 | 0.41% | 2,540 | 0.26% | -0.16 |
| Manufacturing | 230,396 | 11.60% | 109,063 | 10.98% | -0.62 |
| Construction | 283,564 | 14.27% | 120,488 | 12.13% | -2.14 |
| Wholesale and retail trade | 716,066 | 36.04% | 326,070 | 32.82% | -3.22 |
Companies with a classified TSIC industry section, register share compared with active-only share, as of 17 Jul 2026. Public administration, households as employers and extraterritorial organizations are excluded, their combined register count of 74 companies too small to read a stable share.
Why does the split happen at all?
The mechanism is simple once you see it. A section gains share among active companies whenever more than 50.0 percent of its registered firms are still active, since that is the national active rate for the whole register. Real estate clears that bar by a wide margin, with 62.42 percent of its registered companies currently active. Professional, scientific and technical services sits at 58.51 percent active, also well above the line. Wholesale and retail trade falls short, with only 45.54 percent of its registered companies active, and construction falls further still at 42.49 percent. Every section above the 50.0 percent line gains register share once you count active firms only, and every section below it loses share, with no exceptions in this dataset.
Why this matters
Register totals are the number most often quoted to describe how big an industry is in Thailand, and that habit quietly overstates sectors with a lot of dormant paperwork still on file. Wholesale and retail trade looks like more than a third of the entire corporate economy on a raw register count, yet its true footprint among operating businesses today falls under a third. Real estate and professional services look smaller in register counts than they actually are among firms doing business right now. Anyone using DBD totals to size a market, rank competitors, or judge how crowded a sector is should ask whether the number they are quoting counts every filing ever made or only the companies still standing.
Definitions
- Registered company
- Any juristic entity on file with the DBD registry that carries a classified TSIC industry section, regardless of whether it currently operates.
- Active company
- A registered company whose current DBD status is active, as opposed to dormant, dissolved or otherwise inactive.
- Register share
- A section's registered company count divided by the total registered company count across all sections.
- Active share
- A section's active company count divided by the total active company count across all sections.
- Percentage point gap
- The difference between a section's active share and its register share, stated in percentage points rather than as a percent change.
- Industry section
- One of the 21 lettered TSIC classification groups DBD assigns to a company, from A for agriculture through U for extraterritorial organizations.
- Active rate
- A section's own active company count divided by its own registered company count, used here to explain why the point gap moves the way it does.
Assumptions
- The analysis counts companies only, not revenue, profit or employment, so it says nothing about which sections are economically larger.
- Public administration, households as employers and extraterritorial organizations are excluded from the main narrative because their combined register count of 74 companies is too small to read a stable share.
- Active status reflects DBD's current status flag as of 17 July 2026 and can shift as companies file, lapse or are struck off.
- A separate DBD table used for cross section revenue counts a slightly different base of 1,986,489 companies, a known 220 company gap against the 1,986,709 used here, which does not change any share by more than a rounding point.
Methodology
Register and active company counts for each TSIC industry section were summed from market_tsic_insight, which reports entity_count and active_count per five digit TSIC code as of 17 July 2026 (DBD, 2026). Five digit codes were aggregated to their parent lettered section. The register total across all 21 sections is 1,986,709 companies and the active total is 993,373, matching the whole economy anchors published for this data run. Register share is a section's entity count divided by the 1,986,709 total. Active share is a section's active count divided by the 993,373 total. The point gap is active share minus register share, in percentage points, not a percent change. Public administration, households as employers and extraterritorial organizations are left out of the chart and table because their tiny combined base, 74 companies, means their shares round to near zero and are not part of the main narrative.
How we verified this
- Summed entity_count across all 21 section_code groups in market_tsic_insight to 1,986,709, matching the verified count of companies with a size band.
- Summed active_count across all 21 section_code groups to 993,373, matching the verified national active company total.
- Recomputed real estate register share as 149,618 divided by 1,986,709 equals 7.53 percent, and active share as 93,390 divided by 993,373 equals 9.40 percent, a gap of positive 1.87 points.
- Recomputed wholesale and retail trade register share as 716,066 divided by 1,986,709 equals 36.04 percent, and active share as 326,070 divided by 993,373 equals 32.82 percent, a gap of negative 3.22 points.
- Counted 13 sections with a positive point gap, 5 with a negative gap, and 3 negligible sections rounding to zero, summing to all 21 sections.
- Recomputed each section's own active rate, active count divided by entity count, and confirmed every section above the 50.0 percent national rate carries a positive point gap and every section below it carries a negative one.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and current status by industry section. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
- Mordor Intelligence. (2026). Thailand real estate market size and share analysis. https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/analysis-of-real-estate-market-in-thailand
Frequently asked questions
Which Thai industry section gains the most share once only active companies are counted?
Real estate, rising from a 7.53 percent register share to a 9.40 percent share among active companies, a gain of 1.87 percentage points.
Which section loses the most share among active companies?
Wholesale and retail trade, falling from 36.04 percent of the register to 32.82 percent of active companies, a drop of 3.22 percentage points.
Why does a section's share change between the full register and the active count?
A section gains share among active companies when more of its registered firms remain active than the 50.0 percent national average, and loses share when fewer do.
How many of Thailand's industry sections gain share among active companies?
13 of the 21 lettered industry sections gain share, 5 lose share, and 3 very small sections change by less than one hundredth of a point.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Thai Sectors Where Active Share Beats Register Share (2026). Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/thai-sectors-where-active-share-beats-their-register-share-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.