Market Research Companies in Thailand

Key figures for researchers

Population

65.5 million (mid-2026 estimate, registered population)¹

Population by region

Central (excl. Bangkok) 20.1m, Northeast 17.4m, North 10.5m, South 9.2m, Bangkok 8.3m (mid-2026)¹

Urban / rural

42.1 million urban, 23.4 million rural (mid-2026)¹

Under 15 / 60 and over

9.1 million / 15.0 million (mid-2026)¹

Official language

Central Thai⁵

Internet users

90.9% of people aged 6+ (Q4 2024)²

Internet use by region

Bangkok 96.4% (highest), North 84.9% (lowest) (Q4 2024)²

Internet use, aged 60+

67.3% (Q4 2024)²

Mobile subscriptions

161 per 100 people (2024)³

GDP per capita

about US$8,060 (2025)⁴

Research guide

Research landscape

Bangkok is the commercial centre of the country and the base of most research agencies, from local independent firms to offices of international networks; many of them also coordinate fieldwork in neighbouring Southeast Asian markets. Full-service agencies work alongside specialist qualitative, B2B, healthcare, panel and field-only suppliers, often with interviewer teams in the main regional cities.

Many agencies follow the ICC/ESOMAR International Code, revised in 2025 (fifth edition) and endorsed by over 60 associations in more than 50 countries. It requires research to be legal, honest and transparent, and researchers to tell participants clearly how their personal data will be collected, used and protected.

Languages and fieldwork

Central Thai is the official language and the standard language for questionnaires. Regional languages are widely spoken at home, especially Thai Isan / Lao in the Northeast, Northern Thai (Kham Mueang) in the North and Southern Thai in the South, and some are not mutually intelligible with Central Thai. For face-to-face and qualitative work outside Bangkok, interviewers and moderators who speak the local language generally improve rapport.

In the southern border provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, Patani Malay is the everyday language of family and community life, while Thai is used in government schools and with non-Malay speakers: plan for local interviewers there. A national sample must reflect the regions: the Central region outside Bangkok (20.1 million people) and the Northeast (17.4 million) are larger than Bangkok (8.3 million), the North (10.5 million) or the South (9.2 million), and 23.4 million people live in rural areas.

Which methods work

Connectivity is high: 90.9% of people aged six and over used the internet at the end of 2024, 96.9% of mobile phone users have a smartphone, and there are about 161 mobile subscriptions per 100 people. Online surveys and mobile-friendly questionnaires work well for most urban consumer targets, and online communities and video interviews are used for qualitative work.

Coverage is not even: internet use reaches 96.4% in Bangkok but 84.9% in the North, 93.5% in municipal areas against 88.6% outside them, and only 67.3% among people aged 60 and over, a group of 15.0 million people. Face-to-face interviews (CAPI) and telephone (CATI) remain useful for older, rural and lower-income respondents and for regional quotas. In-person focus groups are mostly held in Bangkok, with regional groups in cities such as Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen or Hat Yai.

Timing

Songkran, the Thai New Year (13–15 April), is the main period to avoid: many people travel back to their home provinces and fieldwork slows around it.Buddhist holidays move each year with the lunar calendar: in 2027, Makha Bucha is observed on 22 February, Visakha Bucha on 20 May and Asarnha Bucha on 19 July. The year-end is also slow, with holidays on 5 December (observed 6 December in 2027), 10 December, 31 December and 1 January. In the southern border provinces, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are additional holidays.

The rainy season runs from mid-May to mid-October, and heavy rain continues in the South until December: allow extra time for face-to-face fieldwork in rural areas during this period.

Data protection

Personal data is governed by the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019) (PDPA), fully in force since 1 June 2022 after two postponements, and supervised by the Personal Data Protection Committee (PDPC) and its Office. Consent must be requested explicitly, in writing or by electronic means, clearly separated from other matters and freely given; respondents must be told the purpose and retention period before or at the time of collection. For children under 10, consent must come from the parent.

Sensitive data (such as ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, health, sexual behaviour or biometric data) requires explicit consent. Breaches must be notified to the Office without delay and, where feasible, within 72 hours; transfers abroad require an adequate level of protection in the destination country, unless an exception applies, and administrative fines can reach 5 million baht. Ask your agency how consent is collected and how data will be transferred to you.

Working with a local agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, regions (Bangkok, Central, North, Northeast, South), urban/rural split, method, languages and deadline.
• Agree on regional, urban/rural and age quotas before fieldwork starts, especially if older or rural respondents matter.
• Ask who does the fieldwork: own interviewers or subcontractors, in which provinces, and whether they speak the local languages.
• Ask about quality control: back-checks, GPS or audio checks for face-to-face interviews, supervision of CATI calls, panel data cleaning.
• Check PDPA compliance: consent wording, sensitive data, data security and cross-border transfer of data.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 companies from this page.