Kathmandu, September 13

A preliminary report of the economic census has revealed that on an average four people are engaged (employed) in every establishment in the country.

There are 922,445 establishments in the country that provide employment to 3.4 million people, as per the preliminary report.

The census carried out by Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) between April 14 and June 14 is the first economic census of Nepal and has covered all establishments across the country except non-registered establishments belonging to agriculture, forestry and fishery; public administration and defence; compulsory social security, activities of household as employers and activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies.

As per the preliminary report, based on the population size of the country, there are altogether 31.6 establishments per 1,000 persons and one-third of the country’s workforce comprise of females. The largest number of establishments or 30 per cent of the total is concentrated in Province 3, followed by Province 1, where 18 per cent of establishments are operated. Similarly, 16 per cent of establishments are located in Province 5; 13 per cent in Province 2; 11 per cent in Gandaki province; seven per cent in Province 7 and lowest five per cent in Karnali Province.

The district with highest number of establishments is Kathmandu, with 123,994 establishments or 13.4 per cent to the total, followed by Jhapa (with 38,741 or 4.2 per cent); Rupandehi (with 38,415 or 4.2 per cent); Morang (with 35,237 or 3.8 per cent) and Sunsari (with 31,486 or 3.4 per cent).

“The aforementioned five districts and plain areas of Tarai cover 30 per cent of total establishments in Nepal,” said Anil Sharma, director of CBS. Altogether 170,632 establishments or 18.5 per cent of the total are operating in the three districts of the Valley — Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur. There are 27,009 establishments operational in Lalitpur and 19,629 in Bhaktapur.

The preliminary report of economic census shows that there are 6.3 establishments in every square kilometre territory of the country as compared to 15.3 such establishments over same distance in Japan; 13.9 in Indonesia; 15.5 in Sri Lanka and 2.8 in Cambodia. Among these countries, establishment density of Nepal is relatively low for its area size, says the report.

Unveiling the report, Suman Raj Aryal, director general of CBS, said that against the national average of 31.6 establishments per 1,000 persons, the ratio is relatively higher in Manang district at 76.2 establishments, followed by Mustang at 64.7 establishments, as the population of these districts is low.

Similarly, the number of establishments per 1,000 person in Kathmandu is 58.3; 55.3 in Bhaktapur and 54.4 in Kaski. At the other end of the spectrum

is Achham with 15.2 establishments per 1,000 persons, followed by Bara with 15.6; Rautahat with 15.8, Baitadi with 16.7 and Doti with 17.2, as per the report.

As 3.409 million people are engaged in 922,445 establishments in Nepal, on an average, one establishment engages four persons.

This is relatively lower compared to 10 persons employed in one establishment in Japan, which in turn has created 57.4 million jobs there. The average ratio in Indonesia stands at three people employed in one establishment and 70.3 million jobs. Each Sri Lankan establishment provides

employment to three people, and has created a total of 2.8 million jobs. With three recruits per establishment in Cambodia, the number of jobs created is 1.7 million, according to the report.