Communiqué on the Fourth National Economic Census (No. 2)

---- Basic Situation of the Units

National Bureau of Statistics of China

Office of the Leading Group of the State Council for the

Fourth National Economic Census

November 20, 2019

Based on the results of the fourth national economic census, the data of basic situation of units, persons employed, assets and liabilities, and business revenue are released as follows:

I. Basic Situation of the Units

By the end of 2018, there were 21.789 million legal entities in the secondary and tertiary industries, an increase of 10.932 million or up by 100.7 percent compared with that at the end of 2013 (2013 was the year for the Third National Economic Census); 24.550 million establishments, an increase of 11.515 million or up by 88.3 percent; and 62.959 million self-employed (see Table 2-1).

Table 2-1 Number of Units and Self-employed

By the end of 2018, the top three sectors in terms of number of legal entities in the secondary and tertiary industries were: wholesale and retail with 6.499 million entities, or 29.8 percent of the total; manufacturing with 3.270 million, or 15.0 percent; and leasing and business services, 2.551 million entities or 11.7 percent. Among self-employed, the top three sectors were: wholesale and retail, 31.846 million, taking up 50.6 percent; hotels and catering services, 7.591 million, taking up 12.1 percent; and transport, storage and post, 5.804 million, taking up 9.2 percent (see Table 2-2). 

Note: The total number in the table above includes legal entities and self-employed that undertake professional and supporting activities to agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, and legal entities and self-employed in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery that are engaged concurrently in the secondary and tertiary industries.

By the end of 2018, there were 18.570 million corporate enterprises in the secondary and tertiary industry, an increase of 10.362 million or up by 126.2 percent compared with that at the end of 2013. Of the total, domestic funded enterprises accounted for 98.8 percent, enterprises funded by investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan for 0.6 percent and foreign funded enterprises for 0.6 percent. Among the domestic funded enterprises, state owned enterprises took up 0.4 percent and private enterprises 84.1 percent (see Table 2-3).

Table 2-3 Number of Corporate Enterprises by Status of Registration

II. Employed Persons

By the end of 2018, there were 383.236 million persons employed by legal entities in the secondary and tertiary industries, an increase of 27.213 million or up by 7.6 percent compared with that at the end of 2013; of the total, 144.467 million were female employees. There were 172.558 million persons in the secondary industries, a drop of 20.050 million or down by 10.4 percent. There were 210.677 million persons in the tertiary industries, an increase of 47.262 million or up by 28.9 percent. About 149.312 million persons were employed by self-employed units, of whom, the number of female employees was 69.009 million.

Among the legal entities, the top three sectors in terms of employed persons were manufacturing, taking up 27.3 percent with 104.713 million employees; construction, taking up 15.2 percent with 58.091 million employees; and wholesale and retail, taking up 10.5 percent with 40.085 million employees. Among the self-employed, the top three were wholesale and retail, taking up 43.2 percent with 64.432 million employees; hotels and catering services, taking up 15.0 percent with 22.353 million employees; and manufacturing, taking up 11.0 percent with 16.374 million employees (see Table 2-4).

Table 2-4 Number of Employed Persons of Legal Entities and

Self-employed by Sector

Note: The total number in the table above includes employed persons working for legal entities and self-employed that undertake professional and supporting activities to agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery.

III. Assets, Liabilities and Business Revenue

By the end of 2018, the total assets of legal entities engaged in the secondary and tertiary industries were 914.2 trillion yuan, among which, that of the secondary industries accounted for 19.0 percent and that of the tertiary industries accounted for 81.0 percent. The total liabilities of legal entities were 624.0 trillion yuan, among which, that of the secondary industries accounted for 16.1 percent and that of the tertiary industries accounted for 83.9 percent.

In 2018, the business revenue from corporate enterpises engaged in the secondary and tertiary industries were 294.6 trillion yuan, among which, that of the secondary industries accounted for 48.8 percent and that of the tertiary industries accounted for 51.2 percent (see Table 2-5).

Note: The total number in the table above includes entities that undertake professional and supporting activities to agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery. The corporate enterprises in the table include the legal entities registered as enterprises, as well as institutions, private non-enterprise legal entities and foundations that follow the Accounting System for Business Enterprises, specialized farmer cooperatives, rural collective economic organizations and legal entities that are categorized as other organizations excluding places for religious activities.

Notes:

[1] Classification of Industries.

Primary industry refers to agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery (excluding professional and supporting activities to the above businesses).

Secondary industry refers to mining (excluding professional and supporting activities to mining), manufacturing (excluding repair of metal products, machinery and equipment), production and supply of electricity, heat power, gas and water, and construction.

Tertiary industry, or service industry, refers to lines of businesses other than the primary and secondary industries. It includes wholesale and retail, transport, storage and post, hotels and catering, information transmission, software and information technology services, financial services, real estate, leasing and business services, scientific research and technology, water conservancy, environment and public utility administration, household service, repair and other services, education, health care and social work, culture, sports and entertainment, public management, social welfare and social organization, international organization, professional and supporting activities to agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, professional and supporting activities to mining and repair of metal products, machinery and equipment. 

[2] Classification of units.

Legal entities refer to organizations that are entitled to hold assets, assume liabilities and undertake social and economic activities (or trade with other units) independently. Legal entities shall meet simultaneously the following criteria:

(1) established by law, have its own name, organizational structure and locations, and capable of independently assuming debts and other civil obligations;

(2) with independent ownership of (or authorized with rights to use) assets, with authority to sign contracts with other units; and

(3) capable of compiling balance sheets and other accounting statements as independent accounting units.

Legal entities include corporate enterprises, institutions, government departments, social organizations and others.

Establishments refer to units or part of units that are engaged or predominantly engaged in one kind of social or economic activities at a fixed location. Establishment shall meet simultaneously the following criteria:

(1) engaged or mainly engaged in one kind of social or economic activities at a fixed location;

(2) organizing its production or business operation independently; and

(3) with accounting data on its revenue and expenses.

[3] The errors of the total numbers and some results in the table caused by the rounding-off of decimals are not mechanically adjusted.

(In case of any difference between English translation and the original Chinese text, the Chinese edition shall prevail.)