The country鈥檚 service sector-based units grew more than manufacturing units over the past one decade that was also marked by a decrease in female employment.
The past decade also shows dominance of rural area in overall units.
The information was revealed by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics at its release of the preliminary findings of the Economic Census 2024 at its office at the city鈥檚 Agargaon.
The previous census was done in 2013.
The overall economic units鈥攑ermanent, temporary and economic households鈥攊ncreased by 40.48 lakh nationwide to 118.77 lakh in between the two censuses.
The service sector-based units grew by a whopping 56 per cent to 108.35 lakh in 2024 from 69.15 lakh in 2013, compared with only 15 per cent growth in manufacturing units to 10.41 lakh in 2024 from 9.02 lakh in 2023.
The share of manufacturing and service units in the 2024 census stood at 8.77 per cent and 91.23 per cent respectively against 11.54 per cent 88.46 per cent respectively in 2013, according to the BBS preliminary findings.
Former World Bank Dhaka office chief economist Zahid Hussain called the trend as 鈥榥ot good鈥� for a country like Bangladesh where formal sector employment is low.
Referring to other countries, he said that the service sector flourished on the back of successful industrialisation.
But the preliminary findings showed that the country was at a crossroad, he said, adding that the findings also proved the emptiness of the development narrative harped by the Awami League regime ousted amid a mass uprising six months back on August 5.
Planning adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud who addressed the ceremony as chief guest said that clearer pictures of the country鈥檚 economic status would be available with the release of the final census report.
Referring to the finding that economic units in rural areas are dominating with 70.27 per cent share against 29.73 per cent in urban areas, he said that it was not clear whether the growing business activities in rural areas were linked to poverty or whether employment opportunities were diversified to areas other than agriculture.
He lamented at the findings that 75.812 lakh economic units faced challenges of capital shortage, lack of access to easy loan facilities, want of infrastructure, growing production cost, lack of skilled workers, energy shortage and lack of access to the market.
Respondents identified capital shortage, lack of access to easy loan facilities, want of infrastructure as top challenges with 48 per cent identifying lack of capital as the main problem, while 19 per cent identified lack of access to easy loan facilities and 10 per cent mentioned lack of infrastructure as their main challenges.
The planning adviser remarked that it was an irony that while many entrepreneurs suffered from severe capital shortage, the immediate past regime led the plunder of the country鈥檚 banking sector.
The statistical bureau鈥檚 preliminary findings also showed that the share of female participation in economic units decreased to 6.4 per cent in 2024 from 7.21 per cent in 2013.
Some 1.1 lakh economic units out of total 1.5 lakh respondent units in the census said that they were involved in e-commerce.
Of those, 37.11 per cent units used e-commerce facilities for customer service, 29 per cent for sales of products and 12 per cent for online transaction.
