Description:
The Comprehensive Economic Census is a five-year scientific study that carried out for the purpose of updating and developing the economic database, ensuring its inclusiveness and accuracy to represent the subsequent economic surveys sample on expanding the results at the macro level, meeting the requirements of economic studies and researches, including the requirements of the 10th development plan preparation, and ensuring the data inclusiveness as to national accounts requirements. This census is distinguished, from other general economic censuses, by its comprehensive detailed data along with the data covered by the general economic census as to types of economic activities, property and workers by gender and nationality, and detailed data on workers' remunerations, such as salaries, wages, benefits and allowances, in addition to the inputs and outputs of production and capital formations. Owing to this inclusiveness of coverage and content, it is titled as the comprehensive economic census.
Objectives:
- Providing data to define the private sector's share in the GDP;
- Updating economic data of each economic activity;
- Providing detailed data on each economic activity practiced in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;
- Providing good integrated database which includes key economic variables;
- Providing more private investment opportunities in all production and service fields to promote economic, investment, productive and organizational efficiency.
- To identify the volume of capital formations by economic activity;
- Providing the needed statistical data and information for government bodies and agencies as well as researchers; and
- Using such data to make local, regional and international comparisons and carry out studies and analyses.
- Setting a plan and forming committees
- Preparing and processing the sample
- Preparing and printing the form
- Preparing the survey requirements, naming and training data collectors
- Field data collection
- Processing and analyzing outcome
- Publishing
Survey Implementation Methodology
The survey is implemented through a methodology that includes a survey form which is designed for collection of geographical and economic data (to be provided by the surveyed establishment).
Geographical data refer to spatial data that locate the surveyed establishment. While economic data are to be provided by the establishment; for example, a precise description of the establishment activity, data on workers, remunerations, other expenses, revenues and capital formations.
Survey data are collected during face-to-face interviews by qualified and well-trained researchers under the direct supervision of the General Authority for Statistics (GAStat) staff. The survey is carried out every five years; the last survey was carried out in 2012.
Establishments are classified into three categories according to the size:
- Small Establishments: They hire less than 5 workers
- Medium-Sized Establishments: They hire 5-19 workers
- Large Establishments: They hire more than 20 workers
As for the economic activity, establishments are classified as follows:
- Agriculture Sector Establishments: Establishments engaged mainly in agriculture and fishing activities.
- Energy and Industry Sector Establishments: Establishments engaged mainly in oil and minerals, manufacturing industry or electricity, gas and water activities.
- Construction Sector Establishments: Establishments engaged mainly in the construction activity.
- Trade Sector Establishments: Establishments engaged mainly in wholesale and retail trade or hotels and restaurants activity.
- Insurance and Finance Sector Establishments: Establishments engaged mainly in finance and insurance activity.
- Services Sector Establishments: Establishments engaged mainly in the activities of transport, storage, stockpiling and communication, real estate and business, education, health and social services, or collective and personal services.
Glossary
Establishment:
It is an economic entity with legal personality. It has a fixed location and carries out a certain economic activity. It is owned by one or a group of individuals, company, semi-government sector, or an establishment. The establishment is the smallest economic unit that may have data on workers, their remunerations, expenditure, income and capital formations.
Economic activity:
All business activities or services provided by the establishment in return for consideration. Sometimes, the establishment gets nothing in return, such as charities that are financed by donations.
The classification of the institutional economic activity is based on the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC4). Still, minor changes are adopted to suit the establishments operating in Saudi Arabia.
The main activity of each establishment was given, during the survey, a six-digit economic classification code.
Worker remunerations:
Total cash payments paid regularly by the establishment to workers in return for the normal working hours and fixed bonuses; i.e., salaries and wages, together with benefits and allowances which are cash and in-kind payments made by the employer to the workers, except for salaries and wages. These payments include all sorts of bonuses and benefits, such as scholarships, education payments for the worker or his/her dependents, food and housing allowances, social security fees, transport allowances and overtime.
Operating Expenses:
The goods and services, whether purchased in the same year or taken from stocks purchased in previous years, that were actually consumed by the establishment throughout the fiscal year to carry out the economic activity .
Operating Revenues:
Cash revenues earned by an establishment as a result of practicing its main activity or other secondary activities, such as the sale and marketing of its products, providing services for consumers, or trading in goods in general. The operating revenues also include daily returns received in consideration of operations.
Inventory Change:
The market value of the normal change that occurs during the accounting period of goods purchased for the purpose of reselling in the same condition, raw materials, under-production goods and finished products. In fact, the net inventory change is a year ending inventory value less the year beginning inventory value.
Fixed assets purchased in a year (capital formations)
The fixed assets purchased by the establishment during the year to be used in realizing the objectives, not to be sold or to be used as a raw material in the production operations, such as buildings, lands, means of transport, equipment, machines, and furniture.
Desk Audit:
It is conducted by field researchers in two phases: the first phase is a field auditing that is conducted once the form is received from the respondent at the establishment's headquarters. The second is a desk auditing conducted at the GAStat headquarters and it is meant to verify of the form, to make sure that the collected data are comprehensive and logical in accordance with predefined rules.
Automated Audit:
The automated audit procedures depend on the preparation of rules for the automated audit by entering programs into computers to make sure that data are within the accepted range or that there are no data of great importance with regard to information analysis such as (non availability of an economic activity or data on expenditures or revenues, .. etc.)
Then, replacement of missing data would be implemented in three stages: the first stage is concerned with estimating the missing data from an establishment with the same business activity and the workers volume category(hot deck). The second stage depends on looking for the missing data of the same establishment in previous surveys. The third stage is concerned with setting up an average matrix according to the business activity and workforce and replacing the missing data with such averages. The National Directory of Economic Activities will be used in coding in accordance with the International Standard Industrial Classification.
Key Findings:
1. Workers remuneration payable during the establishment's fiscal year for carrying out the economic activity
2. Operating expenses payable during the establishment's fiscal year for carrying out the economic activity
3. Quarterly operating expenses by economic activity
4. Operating returns yielded during the establishment's fiscal year by the economic activity
5. Fixed assets purchased during the establishment's fiscal year by the economic activity
How to benefit from the survey findings?
The survey (study) findings would help in the general economic censuses as the included variables, which form the mentioned framework, are limited only to some information distinguishing the establishment according to size (name and address of the establishment, economic activity, number of workers, total expenditures and revenues).
The findings also aim at updating and developing the economic database, ensuring its inclusiveness and accuracy to represent the subsequent economic surveys sample on expanding the results at the macro level in addition to economic changes taking place in Saudi Arabia.
Benefiting from this survey results are many government agencies, including: Ministry of Economy and Planning, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the chambers of commerce and industry, urban observatories, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), and Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH).
