Thailand's Goods-Producing vs Services-Producing Split 2026
In short
Services-producing industries hold 72.11 percent of Thailand's classified companies but only 63.33 percent of their combined revenue, as of 17 July 2026. Goods-producing industries, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, utilities and construction, run the other 27.89 percent of companies yet pull in 36.67 percent of revenue. Goods producers also post a higher aggregate net margin, 4.55 percent against 3.85 percent for services. Company count and revenue point in opposite directions across the two halves of the economy.
What share of Thailand's companies are goods-producing versus services-producing?
Split all 21 ISIC industry sections into two groups and the picture pulls in opposite directions. Services-producing industries, everything from wholesale trade to finance to professional services, hold 1,432,418 companies, 72.11 percent of the 1,986,489 companies that carry a classified section as of 17 July 2026 (DBD, 2026). Goods-producing industries, agriculture, mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity and gas, water supply and waste, and construction, hold the remaining 554,071 companies, just 27.89 percent. Revenue tells a different story. Goods producers generate 29.36 trillion baht of the 80.08 trillion baht reported by the two groups combined, 36.67 percent, well above their share of companies. Services producers report 50.72 trillion baht, 63.33 percent of revenue, below their 72.11 percent share of companies. Thailand's economy runs on a mass of small services firms sitting alongside a smaller, heavier core of goods producers.
Share of classified companies by production type
- Services-producing72.1%72
- Goods-producing27.9%28
Nearly three in four registered companies with a classified section sell a service rather than make or extract something physical.
Share of companies versus share of revenue, by group
- Goods-producing, share of companies28
- Goods-producing, share of revenue37
- Services-producing, share of companies72
- Services-producing, share of revenue63
Figures in percent.
Services leads on company count and trails on revenue. Goods trails on company count and leads on revenue. The two measures swap rank between the groups.
Companies, revenue and margin by production group
| Group | Sections | Companies | Share of companies | Revenue, trillion baht | Share of revenue | Net margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goods-producing | A, B, C, D, E, F | 554,071 | 27.89% | 29.36 | 36.67% | 4.55% |
| Services-producing | G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U | 1,432,418 | 72.11% | 50.72 | 63.33% | 3.85% |
Aggregated across ISIC sections A through F for goods-producing and G through U for services-producing, as of 17 Jul 2026.
Why does this split matter?
The mismatch explains a lot about how Thai business debates get framed. A jobs and formation story about small business is mostly a services story, since roughly seven in ten registered companies sell a service rather than make or extract something physical. A production and trade story leans back toward goods, since manufacturing alone accounts for 25.13 trillion baht of revenue, most of the goods-producing total. Net margin adds a third layer. Goods-producing companies convert 4.55 percent of revenue to profit, services-producing companies convert 3.85 percent, so the smaller goods group is also the more efficient one at turning revenue into profit. Malaysia's 2023 Economic Census found 87.2 percent of its business establishments sitting in services in the 2022 reference year (DOSM, 2023), a far higher concentration than Thailand's 72.11 percent. The comparison is not exact. Malaysia counts active establishments in a single census year and Thailand counts a cumulative company register. Still, the direction is instructive: services dominate enterprise counts across the region, and Thailand's goods-producing core, at more than a quarter of all companies, is unusually large by that yardstick.
Definitions
- Goods-producing industries
- Industry sections that extract, grow or manufacture a physical product, covering agriculture, mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity and gas, water supply and waste, and construction.
- Services-producing industries
- The other fifteen ISIC industry sections, covering trade, transport, accommodation, information, finance, real estate, professional services, public administration, education, health and other services.
- Net margin
- Net profit as a share of revenue, aggregated across every company in a group rather than averaged company by company.
- Classified section
- A company record that carries one of the 21 lettered ISIC industry sections in the DBD registry. Companies without a section on file are excluded from this split.
Assumptions
- The roughly 3,220 registered companies without a classified industry section are excluded from both groups.
- Utilities is treated as two sections combined, electricity and gas, and water supply and waste.
- Revenue, profit and margin figures include only companies that filed a financial statement, so they understate the true weight of both groups.
- The Malaysia comparison uses active establishments from the 2022 reference year of the 2023 Economic Census, a different measure and year than Thailand's cumulative registered company count, so it is directional context rather than a like for like ratio.
Methodology
Thailand's Department of Business Development classifies every registered company into one of 21 ISIC-based industry sections, lettered A through U, as of 17 July 2026. This page groups six sections as goods-producing, agriculture, mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity and gas, water supply and waste, and construction, against the other fifteen sections as services-producing. Company counts, revenue and net profit are summed within each group from the market_section_insight aggregate table and divided by the 1,986,489 companies that carry a classified section, so the roughly 3,220 registered companies without one are excluded from both groups. Revenue, profit and net margin cover only companies that have filed a financial statement.
How we verified this
- Summed entity_count across sections A through F gives 554,071 for goods and across G through U gives 1,432,418 for services, and the two totals add to 1,986,489 companies with a classified section.
- 554,071 divided by 1,986,489 equals 27.89 percent for goods and 1,432,418 divided by 1,986,489 equals 72.11 percent for services, and the two shares sum to 100 percent.
- Summed total_revenue across sections A through F gives 29,359,865,973,160.74 baht and across G through U gives 50,715,288,001,644.98 baht. Goods revenue divided by the combined 80,075,153,974,805.72 baht equals 36.67 percent and services equals 63.33 percent.
- Summed total_net_profit across each group and divided by that group's own revenue gives a goods net margin of 4.55 percent and a services net margin of 3.85 percent, confirming goods producers keep more of each baht despite earning less total revenue.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and financial statement aggregates. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
- Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2023). Economic census 2023: Services sector. Department of Statistics Malaysia. https://www.dosm.gov.my/portal-main/release-content/economic-census-2023-services-sector
Frequently asked questions
What counts as goods-producing versus services-producing in this split?
Goods-producing covers agriculture, mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity and gas, water supply and waste, and construction. Services-producing covers the other fifteen ISIC sections, including trade, transport, finance, real estate and professional services.
Does the services share of revenue match its share of companies?
No. Services-producing companies hold 72.11 percent of classified companies but only 63.33 percent of revenue, so the group's revenue share trails its company share by nearly nine percentage points.
Which group has the higher profit margin?
Goods-producing companies post a 4.55 percent aggregate net margin against 3.85 percent for services-producing companies, even though goods producers hold barely more than a quarter of all companies.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Thailand's Goods-Producing vs Services-Producing Split 2026. Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/thailands-goods-producing-vs-services-producing-split-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.