Thailand vs Norway, Switzerland and Greece: Companies per 1,000 (2026)
In short
Thailand has about 30.1 registered companies per 1,000 residents, from 1,989,709 DBD entries as of 17 July 2026. Norway has about 77.4 limited companies per 1,000 residents on its live register. Greece has roughly 79.1 active enterprises per 1,000, and Switzerland about 46.2. Thailand's registered density is 38 percent of Greece's. The foreign figures also count sole traders, so the gap is partly a definition gap.
How does Thailand compare with Norway, Switzerland and Greece?
Thailand sits below all three. The DBD registry holds 1,989,709 companies (DBD, 2026), which is 30.1 per 1,000 residents. Switzerland comes next at 46.2. Norway follows at 55.6 on Eurostat's enterprise count. Its register of limited companies alone reaches 77.4. Greece leads at 79.1, a density 2.6 times Thailand's. The surprise is Greece. It is a smaller economy than Norway or Switzerland, yet it packs more active businesses into each thousand people, because small shops, family practices and one-person trades are counted as enterprises. Thailand's registry counts juristic persons, so a Thai market stall owner never appears in it.
Businesses per 1,000 residents
- Greece, active enterprises79
- Norway, limited companies77
- Norway, active enterprises56
- Switzerland, active enterprises46
- Thailand, registered30
- Thailand, filers only19
- Thailand, active15
Figures in per 1,000 residents.
Thailand counts DBD registry entries. Norway AS counts limited companies on the Brreg register. The other foreign bars are Eurostat active enterprises for 2020 and include sole traders. Population figures are rounded estimates.
Counts, population and density by country
| Country and measure | Businesses counted | Population in millions, rounded | Per 1,000 residents | Multiple of Thailand registered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greece, active enterprises 2020 | 848,025 | 11 | 79 | 2.62x |
| Norway, limited companies AS | 433,591 | 6 | 77 | 2.57x |
| Norway, active enterprises 2020 | 298,707 | 5 | 56 | 1.85x |
| Switzerland, active enterprises 2020 | 400,489 | 9 | 46 | 1.53x |
| Thailand, registered | 1,989,709 | 66 | 30 | 1.00x |
| Thailand, filers only | 1,264,734 | 66 | 19 | 0.64x |
| Thailand, active | 993,373 | 66 | 15 | 0.50x |
Business counts, rounded population and businesses per 1,000 residents. Thailand as of 17 Jul 2026. Foreign counts as cited in the references.
Why this matters
A density per head is a rough gauge of how easily a society turns work into a formal, taxable, visible business. Norway shows the cleanest like for like case. Its register of limited companies alone reaches 77.4 per 1,000, so even a strict company count lands at 2.6 times Thailand's. Greece shows the other extreme. Its high figure reflects a long tradition of self-employment in a small-business economy. Thailand's own story is about what sits behind the headline. Half of the 1,989,709 registered companies are dormant. Only 993,373 are active, which is 15.1 per 1,000. Read this as a measure of formalisation, not of national wealth. Many Thai enterprises trade as sole proprietorships or community businesses and sit outside a company register entirely. Switzerland, with the lowest foreign density here, is a reminder that rich countries differ widely too. The ranking shows direction, not precision.
Definitions
- Companies per 1,000 residents
- The number of registered businesses divided by population, multiplied by 1,000.
- Active enterprise
- In Eurostat's business demography, an enterprise that had turnover or employment during the reference period. It includes sole traders.
- AS
- Aksjeselskap, the Norwegian private limited company.
- Dormant
- A registered company that shows no filed financial activity.
- Reporting company
- A company that has filed at least one financial statement with the registry.
Assumptions
- Population figures are rounded estimates, not official census counts.
- Reference years differ: Thailand July 2026, Norway AS October 2026, Eurostat enterprises 2020.
- Eurostat enterprise counts include sole traders and exclude holding companies, so they are broader than the Thai juristic person count in one way and narrower in another.
- No single official total of all registered legal entities was found for Switzerland or Greece, so Eurostat active enterprises stand in for both.
- The Norwegian AS count is a live register total and can include entities that are winding up.
Methodology
Thailand figures come from the Department of Business Development registry as aggregated in Max Data, with rows computed on 17 July 2026. Registered companies is the total entity count of 1,989,709. Filers are the 1,264,734 with a filed financial statement. Active companies are 993,373. Norway limited companies are the organisasjonsform AS total of 433,591 returned by the Brønnøysund Register Centre open API in October 2026. Norway, Switzerland and Greece enterprise counts are Eurostat's population of active enterprises for business economy sectors excluding holding companies, for 2020, the latest year published for Switzerland in that table. Eurostat counts sole traders, the Thai registry does not. Population figures are rounded estimates of 66.0 million for Thailand, 5.6 million for Norway in 2026, and 5.37, 8.67 and 10.72 million for Norway, Switzerland and Greece in 2020.
How we verified this
- Thailand: 1,989,709 divided by 66,000 thousand residents equals 30.15, shown as 30.1 per 1,000.
- Thailand filers: 1,264,734 divided by 66,000 equals 19.16, shown as 19.2 per 1,000.
- Thailand active: 993,373 divided by 66,000 equals 15.05, shown as 15.1 per 1,000.
- Greece: 848,025 divided by 10,720 equals 79.11, shown as 79.1 per 1,000, and 79.11 over 30.15 is 2.62.
- Norway AS: 433,591 divided by 5,600 equals 77.43, shown as 77.4 per 1,000, and 77.43 over 30.15 is 2.57.
- Norway enterprises: 298,707 divided by 5,370 equals 55.63, shown as 55.6 per 1,000, and 55.63 over 30.15 is 1.85.
- Switzerland: 400,489 divided by 8,670 equals 46.19, shown as 46.2 per 1,000, and 46.19 over 30.15 is 1.53.
- Thailand as a share of Greece: 30.15 divided by 79.11 equals 0.381, shown as 38 percent.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and financial statement aggregates. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
- Eurostat. (2024). Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, population of active enterprises (bd_9bd_sz_cl_r2). European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_9bd_sz_cl_r2/default/table
- Brønnøysund Register Centre. (2026). Enhetsregisteret open data API, units by organisation form AS. Brreg. https://data.brreg.no/enhetsregisteret/api/enheter?organisasjonsform=AS
Frequently asked questions
How many registered companies per 1,000 people does Thailand have?
About 30.1, from 1,989,709 registry entries and roughly 66 million residents, as of 17 July 2026.
Which of the three countries has the most businesses per head?
Greece, with about 79.1 active enterprises per 1,000 residents in 2020, just ahead of Norway's 77.4 limited companies.
Is the comparison like for like?
Not exactly. Thailand counts DBD registry entries, Eurostat counts active enterprises including sole traders, and Norway AS counts limited companies only. Reference years run from 2020 to 2026.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Thailand vs Norway, Switzerland and Greece: Companies per 1,000 (2026). Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/thailand-vs-norway-switzerland-and-greece-registered-companies-per-1000-residents-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.
Related insights
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.