Nguyễn Bích Lâm, director general of Việt Nam General Statistics Office (GSO), spoke to Thời báo Kinh tế Việt Nam (Viet Nam Economics Times) newspaper about the significance of the 2017 Census.

The 2nd phase of the 2017 Economic Census is due to start in the next few days. What types of information will be collected in this phase?

The 2017 Economic Census surveys the operation of the country’s economic entities, Party and Government offices, mass organizations including religious and belief organizations and foreign non-governmental organizations. In other words, the 2017 Economic Census is very big. With its wide-reaching scope, the statistics sector divided the census into two phases: the 1st phase from March to May and the 2nd phase taking place in July.

In the 1st phase, we focused our work on enterprises and public administrative offices and organizations. In Việt Nam, the 2nd quarter is the time that enterprises have completed their financial settlement for the previous year. As a result, they will provide us with valuable inputs to calculate and create the country’s socio-economic targets. The first phase of the census is basically completed and we are now embarking on the second phase.

The second phase of the Census takes place throughout July. Our survey will focus on individual household economics, religion and belief. We hope the survey results will help give us a whole picture of the national economy. According to plan, initial statistics of the 2017 Economic Census will be made public in December 2017 and the official report will be released in the 3rd quarter of 2018.

It’s often said that quality statistics are the “soul” of the General Economic Census. Will you please further elaborate on that idea?

I should say the scope and scale of the 2017 General Economic Census are very big and important. With such an important mission, the Central Census Steering Committee has worked closely with the Standing Group of 63 provinces to ensure high quality statistics.

I can say almost everything has gone smoothly and according to schedule, ranging from surveyors to their supervisors. This is a decisive factor for high quality statistics.

How will the General Economic Census affect the country’s economic development in the coming years?

High quality socio-economic statistics are a foundation for the Central Government and local governments to come up with their specific policies in running their economies.

This year is the 5th GSO General Economic Census. The previous four censuses were held in 1995, 2002, 2007 and 2012.

The goal of the 2017 Economic Census is to collect data on economic establishments in order to meet the three main goals: (1) Assessing development in the number of establishments and employees; results of production and business; application of information technology; structure and distribution of establishments and employees by province, kinds of economic activity, types of ownership, meeting the management requirements of the Party, the Government, ministries and line ministries, provinces. (2) Calculating the official statistical indicators of statistical areas, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) for 2016 according to the Scheme on innovation of compilation process of gross regional domestic product, other statistical indicators in the System of National Accounts. (3) Supplementing data and updating the database on enterprises, the overall sample frame on economic establishments for sample surveys of the Statistics, ministries, line ministries and localities in the next period._VNS