Facing an urgent need for data to support socio-economic development planning for the new phase, the Central Steering Committee for the 2026 Economic Census has decided to adjust its plan, accelerate progress, and announce preliminary results seven months earlier than originally scheduled, reported Redio the Voice of Vietnam.
Chairing a conference held on February 9 to review the implementation of, and adjust the 2026 Economic Census plan, Minister of Finance and head of the Steering Committee, Mr. Nguyen Van Thang, stated that accurate and timely databases are vital for socio-economic management to achieve the country's strategic goals: becoming a developing nation with upper-middle income by 2030, and a developed, high-income nation with modern industry by 2045.
The minister emphasized that timely updates on the scale and structure of the economy, as well as the activities of enterprises and production-business units, will serve as an effective tool for analyzing and assessing the strengths, weaknesses, and shortcomings of the economy. From these insights, a comprehensive system of solutions can be developed to direct and implement socio-economic, national defense, and security objectives.
Consequently, instead of the original end-of-year completion target, the Central Steering Committee has requested an acceleration of the timeline. The goal is to complete and announce the census results by June 30, 2026, at the latest—seven months ahead of the initial plan.
Mr. Thang noted that while the project is being fast-tracked, quality must remain a priority. This must be coupled with a thorough review to eliminate impractical statistical criteria and categories to avoid waste and ensure efficiency.
Streamlining of manual tasks
Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, Director of the National Statistics Office (Ministry of Finance) and Head of the Standing Group of the Central Steering Committee, reported that Phase 1 of data collection is scheduled to conclude on March 10, 2026. Phase 2 will take place from March 1 to April 30, 2026. Data verification and cleaning will be carried out concurrently, with preliminary results expected to be compiled and announced by June 30, 2026.
She highlighted that a key innovation in this census cycle is the expansion of its scope to include online business models and the comprehensive application of information technology (IT). Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be utilized for industry classification coding, while digital maps will be used to track progress in real-time.
To ensure the content and progress of key tasks meet the updated schedule, Ms. Huong proposed a significant reduction in manual workloads. For the enterprise sector, the survey form will omit 20 indicators, including detailed information on fixed assets, which effectively reduces the questionnaire by 21 questions. Instead, the statistics agency will leverage existing administrative data from tax authorities and financial reports to automatically populate the required data fields.
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