Reference
·Primary source
Thailand registered foreign worker stock (2024)
~3.2M registered
Thailand registered approximately 3.2 million foreign workers under MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) bilateral arrangements with Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam as of end-2024 per Ministry of Labour Department of Employment data, the bulk in unskilled and semi-skilled manual sectors (construction, agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing, domestic services). Total foreign workforce including unregistered and short-term tourist-visa workers is estimated 4.0-4.5 million by IOM and Mahidol IPSR. The quota system caps formal CLMV migrant labour at sector-level ratios; skilled-professional foreign hires sit under a separate BOI/MoL track with materially different documentation and quota math.
Figure in context
Thailand registered approximately 3.2 million foreign workers under MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) bilateral arrangements with Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam as of end-2024 per Ministry of Labour Department of Employment data, the bulk in unskilled and semi-skilled manual sectors (construction, agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing, domestic services). Total foreign workforce including unregistered and short-term tourist-visa workers is estimated 4.0-4.5 million by IOM and Mahidol IPSR. The quota system caps formal CLMV migrant labour at sector-level ratios; skilled-professional foreign hires sit under a separate BOI/MoL track with materially different documentation and quota math.
Thailand registered approximately 3.2 million foreign workers under MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) bilateral arrangements with Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam as of end-2024 per Ministry of Labour Department of Employment data, the bulk in unskilled and semi-skilled manual sectors (construction, agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing, domestic services). Total foreign workforce including unregistered and short-term tourist-visa workers is estimated 4.0-4.5 million by IOM and Mahidol IPSR. The quota system caps formal CLMV migrant labour at sector-level ratios; skilled-professional foreign hires sit under a separate BOI/MoL track with materially different documentation and quota math.
Time scope
end-2024 stock
Source basis
Primary source
Interpretation notes
What this tells you
Thailand registered approximately 3.2 million foreign workers under MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) bilateral arrangements with Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam as of end-2024 per Ministry of Labour Department of Employment data, the bulk in unskilled and semi-skilled manual sectors (construction, agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing, domestic services). Total foreign workforce including unregistered and short-term tourist-visa workers is estimated 4.0-4.5 million by IOM and Mahidol IPSR. The quota system caps formal CLMV migrant labour at sector-level ratios; skilled-professional foreign hires sit under a separate BOI/MoL track with materially different documentation and quota math.
What not to do with it
Use the linked report for interpretation and keep basis differences explicit.
Related figures
Adjacent numbers that add context without drowning the value.
Thailand HR staffing, recruitment services sector revenue (2020-2024)
Adecco Thailand, Department of Business Development, Thailand Professional Recruiters Group
Thailand monthly salary band ranges, white-collar mid-career (2024)
Robert Walters Thailand Salary Survey 2024, Adecco Thailand Salary Guide, Michael Page Thailand Salary Benchmark
Singapore AI practitioner pool versus Thailand brain-drain risk
Singapore IMDA, AI Singapore, NESDC Thailand, BOI Thailand, LinkedIn Talent Insights
Thailand staffing big-firm market share (2024)
Adecco, DBD, Insight Research triangulation
LinkedIn Thailand registered users
NapoleonCat LinkedIn audience data, LinkedIn Talent Insights, Statista Digital Market Outlook
Thailand LTR Highly-Skilled Professional visa approvals (2022-2025)
BOI LTR Visa Centre, Royal Thai Government Gazette, BOI press releases
Report context
Atlas actors in this figure's reports
Profiles covered in the report that cite this number.