NSO to run second nationwide economic census from Mar 15

KATHMANDU: National Statistics Office (NSO) has announced that the second nationwide Economic Census will run from March 15 to July 16, 2026. The exercise aims to provide a comprehensive statistical picture of Nepal’s economy.

To be conducted under the theme 'Economic Census for Measuring the Economy', the census will collect data on the number, type, investment, employment, production and service flows of industries, trade, businesses, service providers, cooperatives and public and private institutions across the country. Baseline information will be gathered for 18 economic sectors, while economic activities are classified into 21 parts under international industrial categorisation.

The NSO plans to deploy around 5,000 trained enumerators and supervisors for fieldwork. Preparatory work is scheduled to be completed before field operations begin, with enumerators visiting establishments to assess industrial conditions and employment generation across sectors.

Chief Statistician Dr Kamal Prasad Pokhrel said the exercise would strengthen the institutional foundation of economic statistics and support both short‑term and long‑term government planning. He emphasised that the census would contribute to investment promotion, employment creation and the production of data needed to revise the base year of national accounts and improve GDP estimates.

NSO Deputy Chief Statistician and Spokesperson Dhundi Raj Lamichhane said the census is a significant initiative for gathering basic and reliable statistics essential for policy formulation, development planning and assessment of government targets. He added that detailed information from the census will be released gradually from the next fiscal year, 2026/27.

Officials noted that the second census will build on the first national economic census conducted seven years ago, which recorded 923,356 business institutions and 3.228 million people involved in those establishments. The earlier census found that around 30% of business firms had women managers and that formal and informal institutions were present in roughly equal numbers.

The NSO said internationally recognised census systems are being integrated into the exercise, with technical support from experts at the Ministry of Finance and the National Planning Commission. The office expects the new data to help policymakers identify sectoral contributions and growth rates, set priorities and design informed budgets and policies.