The Economic Census 2024 began from Tuesday aimed at getting a clear picture of structural changes the country’s economy has witness over the last decade.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) is carrying out the census across the country until 26 December, supported by a fully digital system.
A total of 95,000 data collectors will be engaged to do the job, according to BBS officials.
Statistics and Informatics Secretary Md Mahbubur Rahman inaugurated the census at the BBS office premises in the capital.
To ensure the security and preservation of the data, all collected information will be stored at the Bangladesh Data Center Company Limited (BDCCL), which features state-of-the-art facilities.
The data will remain confidential until it reaches the BBS server via BDCCL (Bangladesh Data Center Company Limited), ensuring compliance with the Statistics Act of 2013 and safeguarding personal information. The public is encouraged to cooperate by providing accurate information to enumerators.
This year’s economic census will include new aspects, such as data on foreign nationals working in Bangladesh and information on digital and e-commerce businesses, report media.
The census will address social and environmental issues, identify challenges, and evaluate ICT integration in production processes through 70 questions. It will also analyse institutions’ income, expenditure, and profitability.
To conduct the census, the BBS has divided the country into 13 divisions, 130 districts, 520 Upazilas, 2,600 zones, 19,000 supervisory areas, and 95,000 enumeration areas for the census.
The country’s first economic census was conducted in 1986. The second and third ones were held in 2001 and 2003 (in phases), and the third in 2013.
