Nida Poll finds rising alarm over oil crisis, weak confidence in government
A Nida Poll found most Thais are worried about the oil crisis, with more than half reporting daily disruption and many doubting the government’s ability to manage supplies.
A majority of people in Thailand are showing concern over the domestic oil crisis, with more than half saying they have already faced problems in daily life and a large share expressing limited confidence in the government’s ability to manage fuel supplies, according to the latest Nida Poll.
On Sunday (March 22), Nida Poll, run by the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), released the findings of a survey titled “Oil shortages: even talking to your partner means turning off the lights”. The poll was conducted on March 17-18, 2026 among 1,310 respondents aged 18 and above across all regions of the country, covering a range of education levels, occupations and income groups.
The survey used probability sampling from Nida Poll’s master sample database through multi-stage sampling. Data were collected through telephone interviews, with a margin of error of no more than 0.05 at a 97.0% confidence level.
Public concern over oil crisis grows
When asked about their level of alarm over the domestic oil crisis, respondents said:
- 31.76% were fairly alarmed
- 17.71% were very alarmed
- 26.64% were not very alarmed
- 23.89% were not alarmed at all
The findings suggest that public concern is tilting towards anxiety, with nearly half of respondents saying they felt either fairly or very alarmed.
More than half report daily disruption
Asked about the impact of oil shortages on daily life, respondents said:
- 33.66% had faced some problems
- 23.59% had faced major problems
- 33.90% had not faced any problems at all
- 8.85% did not use oil in daily life anyway
This means more than half of those surveyed said the shortage had already caused difficulties in their day-to-day lives.
Confidence in government remains weak
The poll also measured confidence in the government regarding claims that Thailand’s oil reserves would last 98 days, based on information as of March 13, 2026, as well as confidence in the government’s ability to secure additional oil supplies.
Respondents said:
- 44.28% were not confident that reserves would last 98 days and not confident the government could secure more oil
- 28.93% were confident that reserves would last 98 days and confident the government could secure more oil
- 16.72% were not confident that reserves would last 98 days, but were confident the government could secure more oil
- 9.54% were confident that reserves would last 98 days, but not confident the government could secure more oil
- 0.53% had no comment
The largest group therefore expressed doubt on both the adequacy of reserves and the government’s ability to obtain more supplies.
Songkran travel plans may be affected
When asked about travel plans for the upcoming Songkran festival if the oil crisis had still not ended, respondents said:
- 57.56% had no travel plans anyway
- 14.80% would cancel all travel plans
- 12.06% would continue travelling as normal
- 9.62% would still travel, but change their mode of transport
- 2.98% would still travel, but change both their mode of transport and destination
- 2.75% would still travel, but change their destination
- 0.23% had no comment
The results indicate that while most people had no travel plans to begin with, the ongoing oil crisis could still disrupt Songkran journeys for a notable share of the population.
