New Delhi, April 12 (IANS) Bangladesh recorded 1.17 crore economic units in 2024, marking the lowest growth since 1996, according to a report in the local media.

Between 2013 and 2024, the country saw a 50 per cent growth in the number of economic units, which was much lower than the 111 per cent increase in the previous decade, according to the final figures of the Economic Census 2024 by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the report in The Daily Star, based on the Economic Census, said.

According to the BBS, an economic unit is defined as a single establishment or economic household engaged in economic activities for profit, household gain, or indirect benefit to the community.

In 1996, Bangladesh had 21.68 lakh units engaged in economic activities. The number rose by 71 per cent to 37 lakh in 2003, according to BBS.

As per the present data, the country also registered the lowest growth in the number of persons engaged in economic units in 28 years, since 1996.

Some 3.06 crore people are engaged in these economic units, up 25 per cent from 2013, according to the latest economic census.

As per the results of the 2024 census, wholesale and retail trade account for the largest share at 40.19 per cent, followed by transportation and storage, which account for 22.22 per cent of all economic units.

The manufacturing sector accounted for only 9.57 per cent of total economic units in 2024, according to the census. This indicates that about 90 per cent of economic units are in the services sector.

The final data show that economic units increased in both rural and urban areas, with rural areas accounting for two-thirds of the total.

The Economic Census 2024 shows that micro industries comprise 57 per cent and cottage industries account for 39 per cent of the total number of economic units in Bangladesh.

Small industries account for only 4.2 per cent, followed by medium industries at 0.31 per cent and large industries at 0.08 per cent.

–IANS

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