The Solomon Islands National Statistics Office (SINSO) successfully conducted a National Economic Establishment Census (NEEC) among business establishments in 2024. The census has covered all principal locations within the 9 provinces and Honiara. Using 55 enumerators and 18 team leads, all formal and informal businesses in the principal locations were identified and their main characteristics were registered. The NEEC was supported technically and financially by the World Bank as part of the Capacity Building for Statistics and Audit (CAPSA) project.
The NEEC results provide comprehensive data on an important set of business characteristics. Next to the number of establishments, it reveals the industry of the establishment (e.g., manufacturing, trade or services), the number and type of workers (hired/non-hired), location data, legal status, ownership of establishment, turnover classes and other business demography information.
Details on the methodology and important figures of the NEEC findings are presented in the main report. This press release only contains some highlights and a URL to access a much richer dataset on the number and characteristics on all formal and informal business establishments identified during the census. Formal business establishments are formally registered, licensed and regulated and often they have paid employees. Informal establishments are mostly smaller and not registered with the government and mostly operate by self-employed workers and family members.
The NEEC is the nation’s first comprehensive census of all establishments.
It marks a major milestone in Solomon Islands journey towards sustainable economic growth, providing essential data that will support evidence-based policy-making planning and development programming across the country.