National Bureau of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China

Office of the Leading Group for the Second National Census of Basic Units

January 17, 2003

According to the decision of the State Council, the second national census of basic units was undertaken in 2001 following the first census in 1996. The reference time for the census was December 31, 2001. The census covered all corporate units and establishments except households and self-employed laborers in urban and rural areas. The main results of the census are published as  follows¹:

I. An Overview of Basic Units

By the end of 2001, the number of corporate  units² in China totaled 5.107 million, 552,000 units more than the number in 1996, representing an increase rate of 12.1%. Of the total, corporations totaled 3.026 million, taking up 59.2%; administrative units (i.e. government and party organizations) and institutional units totaled 1.026 million with a share of 20.1%; social organizations totaled 106,000 with a share of 2.1%; urban residents’ committees and rural villagers’ committees totaled 792,000 with a share of 15.6%; and other corporate units totaled 157,000 with a share of 3%.

By the end of 2001, the number of establishments³ in China totaled 7.088 million, 736,000 establishments more than the number in 1996, representing an increase rate of 11.6%.

Table 1: Number and Proportion of Corporate Units and Establishments by Type

 

	Number	Proportion
	(10000)	（%）
1. Corporate units	510.7	100.0
Corporations	302.6	59.2
Administrative and institutional units	102.6	20.1
Social organizations	10.6	2.1
Residents’ committees and villagers’ committees	79.2	15.6
Other corporate units	15.7	3.0
2. Establishments	708.8	100.0

Chart 1  Number of Corporate units by type (10000)

In terms of geographical distribution, over 50% of the corporate units and establishments were located in the eastern region, and the number of the basic units had a decreasing tendency of concentration from the eastern region to the western region⁴. By the end of 2001, corporate units in the eastern region totaled 2.861 million, with a share of 56%. The central region had 1.337 million corporate units, with a share of 26.2%. The western region had 909,000 units, with a share of 17.8%. The establishments in the eastern region totaled 3.69 million, with a share of 52% in the whole country. The central region had 2.026 million establishments, making up 28.6%, and the western region had 1.372 million establishments, with a share of 19.4%.

Table 2: Distribution of Corporate Units and Establishments in Eastern, Central and Western Regions

	Corporate units	Proportion	Establishments	Proportion
	（10000）	（%）	（10000）	（%）
Total	510.7	100.0	708.8	100.0
Eastern region	286.1	56.0	369.0	52.0
Central region	133.7	26.2	202.6	28.6
Western region	90.9	17.8	137.2	19.4

Chart 2  Distribution of the corporate units and establishments in Eastern, Central and Western Regions (10000)

Analyzed by province，Guangdong had the largest number of corporate units in China by the end of 2001, followed by Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Henan, Sichuan, Shanghai, Beijing, Hebei and Liaoning, and the number of corporate units in these 10 provinces or municipalities made up 58.4% of the total corporate units in China. Guangdong also boasted the largest number of establishments, followed by Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Henan, Sichuan, Shanghai, Hebei, Hunan and Anhui, and the number of establishments in these 10 provinces or municipalities made up 55.1% of the total establishments in China.

Table 3: Distribution of Corporate Units and Establishments by Province

	Number of corporate units	Number of establishments
	(10000)	(10000)
Total	510.7	708.8
Beijing	24.7	26.6
Tianjin	9.3	10.2
Hebei	21.9	29.4
Shanxi	12.6	21.0
Inner Mongolia	7.3	10.9
Liaoning	21.8	27.6
Jilin	8.7	11.7
Heilongjiang	10.8	17.5
Shanghai	25.9	33.6
Jiangsu	40.2	48.2
Zhejiang	36.0	43.1
Anhui	17.9	28.4
Fujian	15.7	23.2
Jiangxi	14.7	21.3
Shandong	34.9	50.4
Henan	26.8	37.5
Hubei	16.2	25.3
Hunan	18.8	29.1
Guangdong	40.3	53.5
Guangxi	12.3	18.9
Hainan	3.1	4.3
Chongqing	9.0	14.2
Sichuan	26.0	37.1
Guizhou	8.6	12.7
Yunnan	9.8	16.5
Tibet	1.6	2.2
Shaanxi	16.3	22.7
Gansu	8.3	13.8
Qinghai	2.1	3.0
Ningxia	2.5	3.4
Xinjiang	6.6	11.5

Chart 3-1: Distribution of Corporate Units by Province (10000)

Chart 3-2: Distribution of Establishments by Province (10000)

II. Distribution of Basic Units Among Sectors

In terms of distribution among national economic sectors, the number of establishments engaged in manufacturing sector totaled 1.319 million by the end of 2001, with a share of 18.6%. Number of establishments engaged in the wholesale, retail and catering trade totaled 1.336 million, with a share of 18.8%. Number of establishments engaged in education, culture, arts, radio, film and television totaled 856,000, with a share of 12.1%. Number of establishments affiliated to governments, parties, social organizations and communities totaled 1.429 million, with a share of 20.2%. The above 4 sectors absorbed 69.7% of all establishments in the country.

Table 4: Distribution of Establishments by Sectors

Sector	Number	Proportion
	（10000）	（%）
Total	708.8	100.0
Farming, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery	26.3	3.7
Mining and quarrying	7.9