Bangladesh recorded 1.17 crore economic units in 2024, marking the lowest growth since 1996. Between 2013 and 2024, the country saw a 50 per cent growth in the number of economic units, significantly lower than the 111 per cent increase in the previous decade. The final figures of the Economic Census 2024 by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) revealed this information, as reported by The Daily Star based on the Economic Census.
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, which increased by 71 per cent to 37 lakh in 2003, as per BBS data. The country also registered the lowest growth in the number of persons engaged in economic units in 28 years, since 1996.
The latest economic census shows that around 3.06 crore people are engaged in economic units, marking a 25 per cent increase from 2013. Wholesale and retail trade account for the largest share at 40.19 per cent, followed by transportation and storage at 22.22 per cent of all economic units. The manufacturing sector only represents 9.57 per cent of total economic units in 2024, indicating that about 90 per cent of economic units are in the services sector.
Economic units increased in both rural and urban areas, with rural areas contributing two-thirds of the total. Micro industries make up 57 per cent, and cottage industries 39 per cent of the total number of economic units in Bangladesh. Small industries represent only 4.2 per cent, followed by medium industries at 0.31 per cent and large industries at 0.08 per cent.
