China unveils results of 5th national economic census

China on Thursday published the results of its fifth national economic census, which showed that the country's economy has progressed while maintaining stability over the past five years.

The census results reflected that China has witnessed a significant increase in the number of entities and persons employed in secondary and tertiary industries, Kang Yi, head of the National Bureau of Statistics, said at a press conference on the census.

China had 33.27 million legal units engaged in secondary and tertiary industries at the end of 2023, up 52.7 percent from the end of 2018.

The secondary and tertiary industries employed over 428.98 million people at the end of 2023, up 11.9 percent compared with the end of 2018.

The number of self-employed units was nearly 88 million, with 179.56 million persons employed, according to the results.

In particular, the fifth national economic census included the digital economy for the first time.

The capacity for technological innovation and labor productivity has continued to improve, said Kang, adding that the industrial structure has been optimized, and the digital economy has experienced robust growth.

China had 2.92 million corporate enterprises engaged in the core industries of the digital economy, with 36.16 million persons employed as of the end of 2023.

The total yearly business revenue for the core industries of the digital economy reached 48.45 trillion yuan (about $6.74 trillion).

The economic census, one of China's key national surveys, provides a comprehensive overview of the country's secondary and tertiary industries, offering valuable insights into its social and economic development.

China conducted four national economic censuses in 2004, 2008, 2013 and 2018, respectively, and formally started its fifth national economic census in 2023.

To ensure the authenticity and reliability of the census data, Kang said a scientific plan for the economic census was formulated and that the quality control of the data had been strengthened throughout the entire process.

The post-enumeration check, sampling 21,000 units, 1,099 enumeration areas, and 249 county-level regions from 31 provincial-level regions, showed that the combined error rate was 0.47 percent, meeting the data quality standard.

Based on the data collected by the fifth national economic census and from relevant departments, China's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 was revised to 129.4 trillion yuan (about $18 trillion) on Thursday.

The amount represents an increase of 3.4 trillion yuan from the preliminary calculation, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

China's annual GDP goes through two sets of accounting: preliminary calculation and final verification. The final verification is conducted based on the annual statistical data, final fiscal accounts and departmental administrative records.

(With input from Xinhua)