Fiscal Nepal
First Business News Portal in English from Nepal
NSO office news data
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s second national economic census has identified around 38,000 business establishments as closed, while a total of more than 1.35 million enterprises have been successfully recorded so far, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO).
In a press briefing, the NSO said that 1,344,500 establishments were enumerated through paper questionnaires and an additional 7,000+ businesses were recorded via the digital e-Census platform, bringing the total count to 1,351,331 establishments and enterprises.
The office stated that the census has achieved 91.6 percent completion of its national target of around 1.4 million establishments.
NSO spokesperson and Deputy Chief Statistics Officer Dhundiraj Lamichhane said that data entry from several districts is still being processed into the central system, meaning the final figures may slightly increase.
He added that while some business owners initially hesitated to provide information, concerns over data confidentiality were addressed, and cooperation has since improved significantly.
The census exercise involved a large-scale field operation with 3,907 enumerators and 526 supervisors deployed across the country.
One of the key findings of the census is that approximately 38,000 establishments that were previously operational are now closed, reflecting structural changes in Nepal’s business environment.
Officials said this data will help policymakers understand business survival rates, sectoral shifts, and post-pandemic recovery trends across industries.
The NSO said the economic census plays a crucial role in determining the structure and size of Nepal’s economy by analyzing overall economic activity across sectors.
The data will be used for national planning, policy formulation, and economic forecasting, and will be gradually published from the next fiscal year onward.
The first national economic census conducted in 2018 (2075 BS) had recorded 923,356 active establishments and businesses across the country.
The significant increase in the number of registered establishments in the second census reflects both expansion in formal economic activity and improved data coverage, according to officials.
Economists say the updated census will provide critical insights into Nepal’s evolving economic structure, including the growth of micro and small enterprises, regional disparities, and sectoral performance.
The findings are also expected to support evidence-based policymaking as Nepal seeks to strengthen industrial development, employment generation, and investment planning.
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