A total of 44,797 young men volunteered for conscription this year, or 43% of the 104,734 drafted into the armed forces, the defence spokesman said on Monday.
Of the 104,734 recruits, 80,011 entered the army, 16,000 the air force and 8,723 the navy, Lt Gen Kongcheep Tatrawanit said.
The military needed 2,446 recruits for the three violence-plagued southern border provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, and 1,679 people had applied there, making up 69% of the draft.
Between 2011 and 2014, volunteers made up 31% of all recruits. This rose to 46% from 2015-2017, Lt Gen Kongcheep said.