Mohd Uzir giving his presentation at the engagement session in Klang.
THE 2026 Economic Census, scheduled to run nationwide from February to October, will collect data from 300,000 establishments in Selangor, according to the Statistics Department (DOSM).
Chief statistician Datuk Mohd Uzir Mahidin said Selangor was the highest contributor to Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 with a contribution of 26.2%.
The state’s main driver, he said, was the services and manufacturing sectors – the backbone of the state’s economic strength.
The 2026 Economic Census was expected to provide comprehensive and detailed statistics to assess the performance and potential of the state’s main industries, he said.
The data generated through this census will be an important reference source in strengthening Selangor’s economic development policies, especially in efforts to increase productivity, expand employment opportunities and ensure more balanced and sustainable regional development.
Mohd Uzir said comprehensive information on the performance and contribution of economic sectors including micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, large businesses and non-profit organisations would be collected.
He hinted that the census would include homestay operators and digital content creators, sectors which he said had largely “remained under the radar” in past exercises.
“The data will assist in the assessment of productivity, investment, employment opportunities, use of technology and competitiveness of the country’s economy.
“The statistics produced will also be an important basis in strengthening the planning, monitoring and evaluation of national development policies, right down to the district and community levels,” he said during an engagement session in Klang.
The session was attended by 300 representatives from government agencies, industry associations, trade organisations and entrepreneurs.
Mohd Uzir said the census would be the country’s largest data collection initiative in the economic sector.
“The census will gather data through a combination of online and physical forms, with collection done via post, telephone, email and face-to-face interviews.”
He also stressed the importance of cooperation from the business community to ensure the data collected would be both accurate and reliable.
“This is so that we can rely on the numbers to form a solid foundation for strategic planning,” he said.
He added that DOSM would not hesitate to go on the ground to observe business operations where necessary, to ensure accuracy of the data.
Attendees familiar with past census rounds said questions typically revolved around employee salaries, organisational structure, recruitment numbers and resignations.
The upcoming census will be the department’s sixth, with the last exercise carried out in 2001.
Selangor youth, sports and entrepreneurship committee chairman Mohd Najwan Halimi, who officiated the session, said the census was of great significance to Selangor, which recorded the highest GDP in the country at RM432.1bil.
“This census will allow us to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities as well as threats in various economic sectors, including micro and small enterprises, which make up almost 80% of all business entities,” he added.
