Nepal’s Economic Census Hits Bagmati Hardest, Karnali Lowest as Data Drive Reaches 80%

Nepal’s latest economic census is beginning to paint a detailed picture of how business activity is spread across the country, and the early numbers show a familiar pattern: Bagmati Province dominates, while Karnali remains at the lower end of the map.

According to the National Statistics Office, financial data has been collected from 282,000 business establishments in Bagmati, the highest figure among all provinces. At the other end of the spectrum, Karnali Province recorded the lowest participation, with data gathered from 52,000 establishments.

Director Dr. Bed Prasad Dhakal said the census had already achieved about 80 percent of its nationwide data collection target as of June 4. The exercise is designed to cover both formal and informal economic sectors, making it one of the most comprehensive snapshots of Nepal’s business landscape.

Why Bagmati stands out

Bagmati’s lead is not surprising. The province includes Kathmandu Valley, Nepal’s administrative and commercial core, and has long hosted the country’s densest concentration of registered firms, offices, and service-sector activity. Recent economic reporting has also described Bagmati as Nepal’s main economic hub, even as its growth rate has slowed in recent years.

That concentration matters because the census is not just counting companies. It is measuring the structure of the economy, including how business activity is distributed across geography, sector, and formality. In that context, Bagmati’s dominant role offers a strong signal of where economic power is centered.

Karnali’s low count highlights a regional gap

Karnali’s comparatively low participation reflects a broader challenge: limited business density, weaker infrastructure, and a thinner formal private sector compared with more urbanized regions. While the census numbers alone do not explain why participation is low, they reinforce the long-standing imbalance between Nepal’s urban centers and its more remote provinces.

That divide is especially important for policymakers because the census is expected to support planning, investment decisions, and provincial development strategies. If economic activity is concentrated in a few provinces, then targeted policies may be needed to bring more businesses into the statistical and policy framework.

Why this census matters

Economic censuses are a cornerstone of statistical planning because they provide baseline data on establishments, employment, and business characteristics. Nepal’s current census is especially important because it includes informal activity, which is often missing from routine administrative records but forms a meaningful part of the economy.

By collecting financial and structural details from businesses across all provinces, the Statistics Office can better estimate the scale of economic activity, identify sectoral concentration, and improve the quality of national accounts and policy design.

What comes next

With roughly four-fifths of the work already complete, the remaining phase will likely determine how quickly officials can finalize a nationwide picture of Nepal’s business ecosystem. The final dataset should help answer some of the country’s biggest economic questions, including where businesses are growing, which provinces remain undercounted, and how formal and informal sectors compare across regions.

For now, the headline is clear: Nepal’s economic engine remains heavily centered in Bagmati, while provinces like Karnali still face the challenge of being seen, counted, and included at the same scale.