The results of the Thailand Digital Outlook 2024 survey show that Thai digital is improving in every dimension. Thailand’s internet access is continuously increasing. There is an increase in specialized digital labor. It is believed that Thai digital is ready to compete on a global level.
Mr. Wetangk Phuangsap, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, Acting Secretary-General of the National Digital Economy and Society Commission, said that the implementation of the Thailand Digital Outlook 2024 study project is to study indicators for driving Thailand’s digital policies based on data from the OECD Going Digital toolkit and the OECD’s Measuring the Digital Transformation framework, which surveys a total of 8 dimensions: 1) Access, 2) Usage, 3) Innovation, 4) Careers, 5) Society, 6) Trust, 7) Market Liberalization, and 8) Growth and Living Conditions. In 2024, a total of 102 indicators were presented, which were collected and compiled through a questionnaire survey, surveying
3 sample groups: the public sector, the business sector, and primary care units, totaling 51,187 samples, as well as collecting data from 35 agencies.
Mr. Wetangk added that the survey found that most of the country’s digital indicators have improved in all dimensions, such as household internet access in Thailand at 90.3 percent (21.7 million households), up from 89.5 percent (21.0 million households) the previous year, the population aged 16-74 years has internet usage at 90.7 percent (50.1 million people), up from 89.5 percent (49.2 million people the previous year), digital workers with specialized skills have increased from 263,000 to 278,000, with more workers in the professions of programmers and ICT technicians, vulnerable groups of people (General public with household income in the lowest 25 percent) had internet usage at 74.60 percent (12.12 million people), an increase from 69.90 percent (11.23 million people) the previous year. The proportion of new graduates in higher education in science, tech
nology, engineering and mathematics was 33.26 percent (101,411 people out of 304,925 people), an increase from 23.69 percent the previous year.
‘In addition, the average internet usage is 9 hours and 20 minutes per day, up from the previous year’s average of 7 hours and 25 minutes per day. It was found that most people use the internet for communication, financial transactions, and relaxation/entertainment. As for the online purchasing behavior of the public, it has increased. It was found that most people who buy products online will buy at least once a week and the spending value has increased from 375 baht/time to 428 baht/time. The top three most popular products are clothes, electronic products, and books, respectively. The most popular online shopping channels are E-Marketplaces such as Shopee and Lazada, which online shoppers like to use as much as 95.98 percent (16,501 out of 17,193 respondents). This is followed by Social Commerce such as Tiktok, Line, and Facebook at 47.18 percent (8,111 out of 17,
193 respondents),’ said Mr. Wetangk.
At the same time, the event organized a forum under the topic of ‘Driving Digital Thailand’ by invited speakers from relevant agencies, such as the National Digital Economy and Society Commission (NDEC), Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA), National Statistical Office (NSO), Thai E-Commerce Association, and TRIS Corporation Co., Ltd., who jointly discussed the use of data to drive important operations, support innovation development, and move towards becoming a ‘Digital Thailand’ in the future.
Source: Thai News Agency
