Thai Developers: Skills, Divides, and Challenges

This report presents the results of the 2023 Thai Developer Survey conducted by The Asia Foundation and the Thai Programmers Association among 1,865 developers in Thailand. The survey further proves the persisting gender and regional divides among digital economy professionals. In addition, this study provides an overview of the specific programming languages and expertise in across a broad range of technologies among Thai developers. The key findings can be summarized as follows:

1. The median Thai developer has an undergraduate degree and intermediate English language knowledge.
2. The results suggest that many experts in emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, the Internet of Things, and robotics, do not use their expertise in their current roles.
3. Time constraint is the main barrier to upskilling.
4. Women’s participation and access to higher-paid jobs are still a challenge.
5. Most programmers born in provinces migrate to Bangkok, and Bangkok-based developers are likelier to have the highest-paid jobs than those living outside of Bangkok.