What To Know
- According to the latest update of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Digital Competitiveness Ranking, Thailand dropped to 38th out of 69 economies this year—this Thailand AI News report shows that it marks a slip of one place in the global listing.
- The primary drag on Thailand’s position comes from a steep decline in the technology component, indicating urgent reform is needed if the country is to thrive in the fast-emerging AI era.
Thailand AI News: Thailand’s standing in the global digital race has taken a noticeable step backwards, with new rankings revealing troubling gaps as the country moves into an era defined by artificial intelligence. According to the latest update of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Digital Competitiveness Ranking, Thailand dropped to 38th out of 69 economies this year—this Thailand AI News report shows that it marks a slip of one place in the global listing. The primary drag on Thailand’s position comes from a steep decline in the technology component, indicating urgent reform is needed if the country is to thrive in the fast-emerging AI era.
Thailand’s digital competitiveness ranking falls behind as the global AI era speeds ahead.
Image Credit: AI-Generated
Falling Behind in the Technology Race
The 2025 edition of the ranking places Thailand at 38th overall, with a dramatic six-place fall in its technology score—from 23rd last year to 29th this year—making it the chief reason for the overall decline. The technology metric reflects sub-factors such as regulatory framework, capital investment and the broader technological infrastructure, all of which registered drops. By contrast, Thailand’s knowledge factor improved slightly (moving to 37th from 40th) thanks to better talent and training, while its future readiness ranking slipped to 45th from 41st, highlighting weakness in cyber-security, intellectual property protections and user-adoption frameworks.
What’s Driving the Slide?
Several key factors are underpinning Thailand’s drop in digital competitiveness:
• Lagging behind faster-moving peer countries: The decline does not necessarily mean Thailand’s technology base is shrinking—it means other economies are advancing faster and overtaking.
• Weak private investment in next-generation technologies: R&D spending, unicorn startup creation and industry adoption of automation and AI remain sluggish.
• Persistent STEM skills gap: Thailand continues to struggle in producing the quantity and quality of science, technology, engineering and mathematics workers required by a digital economy.
• Structural and regulatory bottlenecks: Although basic IT infrastructure is in place, the ecosystem for innovation, regulatory agility and policy implementation remains constrained by bureaucracy, low capital flows and limited technological diffusion.
Transition from Digital Adoption to Innovation-Driven Economy
Thailand’s ranking drop serves as a red flag that the country must shift from simply using digital technologies to producing and integrating them into high-value-added growth models. IMD identifies three fundamental drivers that underpin industry performance in the digital age—robust infrastructure, deep talent banks, and agile regulatory frameworks—and Thailand must strengthen all three.
Key recommended actions include:
• Significantly increasing investment in research and development, especially in AI and automation fields.
• Reforming education and workforce programs to close the skills gap, focusing on lifelong learning, digital certifications and high-impact STEM curricula.
• Streamlining regulations, encouraging private sector innovation, and building a regulatory environment that fosters start-ups, foreign investment and fast-adopting industries.
Regional and Global Competitive Picture
Globally, Switzerland, the United States and Singapore top the digital competitiveness charts. Singapore remains ASEAN’s strongest digital hub, maintaining a top-10 position globally thanks to its exceptional regulatory framework and innovation ecosystem. As global trade tensions, data governance and AI sovereignty reshape the landscape, smaller and mid-sized economies must navigate the shifting terrain to stay competitive. Thailand risks falling further behind unless it accelerates reform and closes the gap.
Thailand’s digital competitiveness ranking thus highlights a pivotal moment: either it embraces structural transformation with urgency or it watches as the digital frontier passes it by. Immediate, strategic action is required to protect the nation’s economic resilience and future growth prospects.
In wrapping up, Thailand’s drop in the 2025 digital competitiveness rankings should be seen as a clear signal—not a reason for complacency but a call to action. New frameworks, bold investment and agile governance are essential if Thailand wants to reclaim momentum in the race to the AI horizon.
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