AI to drive Thailand's digital economy to 3 trillion baht by 2027

 

Thailand's digital economy is forecast to reach 3 trillion baht by 2027, driven by emerging technologies—particularly artificial intelligence—which are expected to fuel higher demand across all digital sectors, according to a new industry assessment.

 

The Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa), working alongside the IMC Institute, released findings from its 2024 digital industry survey on Monday, revealing that the sector expanded by 23.35% last year to reach 2.496 trillion baht.

 

The three-year outlook (2025-2027) projects digital services to lead growth at 10-14% annually, followed by hardware and smart devices at 6-7%, software at 4-6%, and digital content at 1-5%. AI's momentum is identified as the key driver behind this projected acceleration.

 

"The findings will serve as a key reference for the private sector's business planning and decision-making," said Kasama Kongsmak, acting executive vice president of depa, speaking at the report's launch in Bangkok.

 

 

 

Hardware sector powers 2024 growth

Hardware and smart devices dominated last year's expansion, growing 26.62% to 1.85 trillion baht—the highest growth rate among the four main digital industries surveyed.

 

The surge was attributed to global economic recovery and increasing demand for smart devices.

 

Within this sector, imports climbed 34.40% to 624.1 billion baht, whilst exports rose 23% to 1.22 trillion baht, according to Associate Professor Dr Thanachart Numnonda, director of the IMC Institute and project manager, and researcher Supachai Satchapaiboonkit.

 

 

Digital services recorded the second-highest growth at 19.54%, reaching 367.7 billion baht. E-retail led this category with 117.1 billion baht (46.29% growth), followed by e-logistics at 108.7 billion baht (17.60% growth).

 

The software industry, whilst growing more modestly at 8.46%, reached a total value of 233.4 billion baht. This comprised software products valued at 88.1 billion baht (8.26% growth) and software services at 145.3 billion baht (8.57% growth).

 

Domestic software production was valued at 172.8 billion baht (8.38% growth), with exports reaching 2.63 billion baht (8.80% growth) and imports at 57.9 billion baht (8.68% growth).

 

Digital content showed the slowest expansion at 14.41%, totalling 50.6 billion baht.

 

 

 

Workforce growth varies by sector

The digital workforce expanded overall, though with significant variation between industries.

 

The software sector recorded the highest personnel increase, rising 23.77% to 175,254 people. Digital services employment grew 6.23% to 86,177 workers.

 

However, the hardware and smart devices industry saw employment decline 5.05% to 305,875 people, attributed to shifts in production models and greater automation.

 

 

 

Geopolitical implications

The report also examined the impact of US import tariff increases on Thailand's digital industry, highlighting potential positive and negative effects on Thai digital goods trade, particularly affecting the export-reliant hardware and smart devices sector.

 

Pathom Indarodom, board member of the Digital Council for Economy and Society of Thailand, delivered a special lecture titled "Reading the Game: The Choice Between Two Powers and the Opportunity for Digital Thailand".

 

He emphasised Thailand's prospects for developing its digital industry amid technological competition between the United States and China.

 

Kasama expressed hope that the survey results and three-year forecast would support government policy-making and guide digital industry development within the National Economic and Social Development Plan.