Nearly 900,000 factories, business establishments and service providers are operating in Nepal, according to a preliminary report of the National Economic Census 2018. The figure obtained by the Post is based on a two-month long survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).

The study, which began on April 14, aimed to gather fundamental statistics of all establishments and enterprises in Nepal and determine the actual situation of Nepal’s economy. The final report is expected to be unveiled by January next year.

Pramod Raj Regmi, information officer at the CBS, said the study revealed that there were an estimated 900,000 factories including micro enterprises and large production plants. According to him, CBS has finished collecting the data and is processing it.

The CBS employed 4,000 enumerators to collect the data. Each enumerator was assigned to cover 15 establishments daily in urban areas and eight daily in rural areas. According to Regmi, they collected statistics from 300 municipalities over the internet. As per the CBS, the survey covered all private and state-owned enterprises, cooperatives, non-governmental organisations and other institutions such as temples, political organisations and branch offices of foreign companies. “However, it did not cover sectors such as agriculture, fishery and forestry,” said Regmi, adding that the CBS had been conducting the Agriculture Census every 10 years.  

The study has excluded international organisations, embassies, multilateral institutions, public administration, the defence sector, operators of mandatory social security schemes and street vendors. Also, goods and services produced at the household level for self-consumption were not covered by the study.

The economic data is expected to help formulate evidence-based policy at the federal, provincial and local levels, consolidate the nation’s accounts system, and augment policy and plan formulation by industrialists, businessmen and investors for business promotion and prosperity besides aiding academic researchers to conduct research and study.

As per the CBS, it has had to depend on the GDP basket, which is almost two decades old, to calculate national accounts in the absence of updated economic data. The survey is also expected to produce quality information that will be crucial in addressing several indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) supported the government to carry out the country’s first economic census.