Thailand vs EU Industry Mix of Companies by Sector (2026)
In short
Wholesale and retail makes up 37.07 percent of Thai registered companies in the comparable business economy, against 17.6 percent in the EU. Manufacturing is 11.93 percent in Thailand and 6.5 percent in the EU. Professional, scientific and technical services are just 7.19 percent in Thailand but 15.6 percent in the EU. Health and social work is 0.9 percent in Thailand and 7.3 percent in the EU.
Is Thailand's company mix really that different from the EU's?
Yes, and the gap is large. Trade alone is 37.07 percent of Thai companies in the comparable business economy (DBD, 2026), more than double the EU's 17.6 percent for distributive trades (Eurostat, 2025). Manufacturing is also heavier in Thailand, at 11.93 percent against 6.5 percent. The EU tilts the other way. Professional, scientific and technical activities are 15.6 percent of EU enterprises but only 7.19 percent of Thai companies. Human health and social work is the starkest contrast, at 7.3 percent in the EU and 0.9 percent in Thailand. Thailand's register is a register of shops, builders and factories. Europe's is a register of consultants, clinics and specialists.
Thai registered companies by industry section, share of comparable base
- Wholesale and retail trade37
- Construction15
- Manufacturing12
- Real estate8
- Professional, scientific and technical7
- Administrative and support5
- Transportation and storage4
- Accommodation and food service4
- Information and communication3
- Human health and social work1
Figures in percent of companies.
Base is 1,931,589 Thai companies in sections comparable to the EU business economy, as of 17 Jul 2026.
Thailand and the EU side by side
| Industry section | Thai companies | Thai share | EU share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale and retail trade | 715,976 | 37.07% | 17.6% |
| Construction | 283,534 | 14.68% | Not compared |
| Manufacturing | 230,396 | 11.93% | 6.5% |
| Real estate | 149,608 | 7.75% | Not compared |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 138,962 | 7.19% | 15.6% |
| Administrative and support | 100,691 | 5.21% | Not compared |
| Transportation and storage | 85,273 | 4.41% | Not compared |
| Accommodation and food service | 83,598 | 4.33% | Not compared |
| Information and communication | 52,537 | 2.72% | Not compared |
| Human health and social work | 17,294 | 0.9% | 7.3% |
Share of companies in the comparable business economy. Thai data as of 17 Jul 2026, EU data for 2023.
Why the mix matters
A register full of traders and builders is a register of small, low-margin, capital-light firms. In the DBD data, wholesale and retail earns an aggregate net margin of 1.27 percent. Professional services earn 13.64 percent. Thailand's company count is therefore weighted toward the thin end of the profit spectrum. The thin health and professional shares point to where a formal company structure has yet to spread, since many clinics, tutors and advisers operate as sole proprietors or under other legal forms. For anyone selling into Thailand, the count of buyers is deep in trade and construction. For anyone hoping to sell expertise, the pool of registered specialist firms is roughly half as dense as in Europe. Read the gap as a structural fact about who incorporates, not a verdict on who is missing from the economy.
Definitions
- Business economy
- The Eurostat grouping of NACE sections B to N and P to R, plus repair and personal service divisions. It excludes agriculture, finance, insurance and public administration in the headline totals used here.
- Distributive trades
- Motor trade, wholesale trade and retail trade, matching TSIC section G.
- TSIC
- Thailand Standard Industrial Classification, the national version of the international ISIC system. Its lettered sections align with NACE.
- Aggregate net margin
- Total net profit divided by total revenue for all filing companies in a section.
- Dormant
- A registered company with no active operating status. Dormant firms remain in the counts.
Assumptions
- Thai shares use registered juristic persons and EU shares use enterprises, so the units differ.
- Thai section S may include activities wider than the EU divisions S95 and S96, so it stays in the Thai base but gets no EU comparison row.
- Thai counts include dormant registrations, which are about half of all registered companies.
- EU figures are for 2023 and Thai figures for 2026, the latest each source offers.
- The Thai register misses sole proprietors and other unincorporated businesses.
- Rows queried carry a computed_at date of 17 July 2026, newer than the 7 July anchors in the data guide. Section counts and the 1,986,489 total are unchanged.
Methodology
Thai figures come from the Department of Business Development registry, section level company counts as of 17 July 2026. To match the Eurostat business economy, which covers NACE sections B to N and P to R plus repair and personal services, the Thai base excludes agriculture, financial and insurance, public administration, households and extraterritorial bodies. That leaves 1,931,589 of 1,986,489 companies with a classified section. EU shares are Eurostat structural business statistics for 2023, quoted as published. Counts include dormant registrations, and the two sources differ in unit, since Eurostat counts enterprises and the DBD counts registered juristic persons.
How we verified this
- Section counts sum to 1,986,489 classified companies, matching the national constant.
- Comparable base is 1,986,489 minus A 19,259, K 35,567, O 38, T 32 and U 4, which equals 1,931,589.
- Wholesale and retail: 715,976 divided by 1,931,589 equals 37.07 percent. Against the EU 17.6 percent, that is 2.1 times and 19.47 points higher.
- Manufacturing: 230,396 divided by 1,931,589 equals 11.93 percent, against 6.5 percent, 5.43 points higher.
- Professional, scientific and technical: 138,962 divided by 1,931,589 equals 7.19 percent, against 15.6 percent, 8.41 points lower.
- Human health and social work: 17,294 divided by 1,931,589 equals 0.90 percent, against 7.3 percent, 6.40 points lower.
- Margins quoted: wholesale and retail 493.83 billion baht profit on 38.74 trillion revenue is 1.27 percent. Professional 147.73 billion on 1.083 trillion is 13.64 percent.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and financial statement aggregates. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
- Eurostat. (2025). Structural business statistics overview. Statistics Explained. European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Structural_business_statistics_overview
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest industry among Thai registered companies?
Wholesale and retail trade, with 715,976 companies, or 37.07 percent of the comparable business economy as of 17 July 2026.
How large is trade in the EU by comparison?
Eurostat reports that 17.6 percent of the 33.1 million enterprises in the EU business economy were in distributive trades in 2023.
Why are Thai professional and health shares so low?
Part of the reason is legal form. Many practitioners work as individuals rather than registered companies, so they do not appear in a company register. The registry cannot show how large that group is.
Are the two datasets directly comparable?
Only roughly. Eurostat counts enterprises and the DBD counts registered juristic persons, and the sector boundaries were aligned as closely as the published sections allow.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Thailand vs EU Industry Mix of Companies by Sector (2026). Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/thailand-vs-eu-industry-mix-of-registered-companies-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.