Thailand has slipped one spot to 38th out of 69 economies in the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2025 by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), attributed to a slide in the country’s technology ranking from 23rd to 29th.
The decline reflects weak private investment in artificial intelligence (AI), according to the Thailand Management Association (TMA).
The index studied 69 economies – including Kenya, Namibia and Oman for the first time – by looking at three factors (knowledge, technology and future readiness) and nine sub-factors for a total of 61 criteria.
Switzerland ranked first, followed by the United States and Singapore. Global trade tensions are affecting national digital strategies, and firms and nations must respond to remain competitive, according to the IMD.
For Thailand, all of the sub-factors under the technology category, covering regulatory framework, capital and technological infrastructure, recorded declines.
According to the TMA, the technology factor was once considered a strength for Thailand, ranking 15th in 2023. Private sector investment in AI fell to 53rd place.
For the knowledge factor, Thailand ranked 37th, improving three spots from last year as it gained in the talent and training and education criteria, but the country continues to lag in scientific and technical employment (57th) and AI-related publications (53rd).
In terms of future readiness, Thailand fell from 41st to 45th, placing 54th in tablet ownership, 58th in software piracy, 55th in government cybersecurity capacity and 58th in privacy protection laws.
The TMA said the lower technology ranking does not necessarily indicate that technological development isn’t taking place, but rather that other economies adopted emerging technologies and innovation at a faster pace.
Thailand experienced low growth on many factors, including R and D investment, innovation (including few unicorn startups) and adoption of advanced technologies such as AI and automation.
Skills gap persists
Another weakness is its skills gap: persistent shortages in both the quantity and quality of talent in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, with educational output still misaligned with modern labour market demand.
Despite the country’s solid IT infrastructure, the environment to foster technological innovation remains constrained by bureaucratic hurdles and policy implementation challenges, noted the TMA, underscoring the need to shift from basic digital adoption to an innovation-driven economy.
The government needs to introduce targeted measures to foster digital competitiveness, intensify R and D investment, address the skills gap through education reform and training initiatives, and streamline regulatory frameworks to attract private investment and encourage innovation, said the association.
The IMD World Competitiveness Center warned that rising uncertainty and complexity will pose increasing challenges for both businesses and governments.
According to the TMA, the country needs to understand how digital factors have different impacts on various industries in order to analyse the situation.
The country’s global digital competitiveness is influenced by three factors – infrastructure, competent personnel and a favourable regulatory framework – which support effective technology adoption and application, noted the association.