China's first economic census will enter the crucial phase of registration on 31st, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

This census, the largest ever survey conducted since the founding of new China, is designed to draw an economic panorama of China's fast-expanding secondary and tertiary industries and complete a database covering all economic sectors.

This will enable the Chinese government to map plans for economic and social growth.

The census will survey 5 million corporate people, involve nearly 10 million statisticians and volunteers and could cost billions of yuan.

The survey will cover such economic sectors as building construction and transportation sector and scientific research, concerning their staff members, financial conditions, and productivity management.

Data gathered during the census should not be used as evidence for legal prosecution, said an official from NBS, and the final outcome will be released in September of 2005.

China's economic census, to be first formally initiated on Dec. 31, will be conducted every five years in the future.

Source: Xinhua