2025 Economic Census Completed to Draw 'Future Economic Map'... AI and Unmanned Store Trends Reflected for the First Time

Reflecting the Status of AI, Robots, and Smart Factories
Preliminary Results in December This Year, Final Announcement in June Next Year

The "2025 Economic Census," the nation's fundamental statistical survey providing a comprehensive understanding of employment, production, and business operations across all domestic industries, has successfully concluded 52 days of on-site investigation. This census is notable for reflecting the rapidly evolving industrial ecosystem, including the AI-driven transformation and automation, and for significantly reducing the response burden on businesses by heavily utilizing administrative data—cutting it to less than half compared to previous years.

2025 Economic Census Poster. Ministry of Data and Statistics.

The Ministry of Data and Statistics announced on July 23 that it has successfully wrapped up the on-site phase of the "2025 Economic Census," which surveyed business establishments nationwide from June 1 through July 22. The Economic Census serves as a core data source for the government’s economic policymaking, regional industry development, support for small businesses, and formulation of strategies for future industries.

In particular, the latest census newly incorporated items reflecting recent changes in the industrial ecosystem, such as the use of AI and robots, operation of smart factories, and the prevalence of unmanned stores. Additionally, efficiency was enhanced by greatly expanding the use of administrative data shared between government entities. Among approximately 7.53 million targeted businesses, on-site surveys were conducted for only about 3.34 million, or 44.4%, drastically reducing the workload for both companies and small business owners.

Improvements to the online survey system and the operation of a 24-hour AI chatbot call center also contributed to respondent convenience, enabling the census to finish swiftly. After reviewing the collected field data, the Ministry of Data and Statistics plans to release preliminary findings in December, with statistics on the number of businesses and employees by region and industry. Finalized results—including total sales and details on business operations—will be published in June next year. The results will be made available to the public, businesses, and research institutions via the National Statistical Portal (kosis.kr) and the Micro Data Integrated Service (mdis.mods.go.kr).

Ahn Hyungjun, Commissioner of the Ministry of Data and Statistics, stated, "I would like to thank the businesses that sincerely responded, the more than 16,000 surveyors, and the over 840 local government officials for their hard work. We will do our best to ensure that this Economic Census delivers an accurate picture of the rapidly changing industry shaped by the AI transformation (AX), and that its results lead to tailored policies that benefit the Korean people."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.