Bangkok (VNA) – The gross domestic product (GDP) of Thailand's digital economy is expected to increase 7.3% year-on-year in 2025 to reach 4.85 trillion THB (144.4 billion USD), according to the Digital Economy and Society Ministry (DES).

The digital economy's GDP growth rate will be 2.6 times higher than the country's overall GDP expansion, which is projected to stand at 2.8% this year, generating 19.2 trillion THB.

Digital investment this year is expected to expand by 9.9%, or 2.7 times higher than the anticipated growth rate of total investment in the country.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister and DES Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong said the Government is committed to improving the country's competitiveness, using the digital economy to expand the national economy, especially in attracting investment in cloud services, data centres, and other digital technologies.

The DES forecast is based on foreign investment in digital businesses such as cloud, data centres, and artificial intelligence (AI). The estimate is also based on the government's cloud first policy, digital hub policy, acceleration of digital government initiatives, as well as the private sector's adoption of AI.

Wetang Phuangsup, Secretary-General of the National Digital Economy and Society Commission, said the digital economy has expanded rapidly and is one of the sectors that has continuously supported the country's economy. The anticipated increase in digital investment this year is attributed to government policies to attract investment, especially foreign direct investment in cloud services, data centres, technology used for manufacturing, electronic parts and other digital products.

The forecast said private digital consumption may expand by 7.6% this year, higher than the estimate for Thailand's overall consumption growth of 3.3%, as Thais enjoy purchasing items on digital platforms. Government digital consumption is projected to increase by 4.3% from the development of management systems and the provision of services via online platforms and channels.

Regarding the foreign trade sector, Wetang said the export value of digital goods and services this year is expected to rise 5.5% from 2024 due to high demand for electrical appliances and electronic products, growth in the electric vehicle industry, vario𝄹us sectors' adaptation to digital services, awareness of AI technology development, and foreign tourists increasingly using online platforms to book hotel rooms, travel, and tourism services./.