NSO Releases India’s First District-Level Estimates for Unincorporated Non-Agricultural Sector

India’s National Statistics Office has released, for the first time, district-level estimates of the country’s unincorporated non-agricultural sector, offering a much more detailed picture of where small businesses, informal enterprises, employment and economic activity are concentrated across the country.

The estimates are based on the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises 2025 (ASUSE 2025) and cover 757 of the 770 districts that formed part of the survey’s sampling frame.

The new dataset examines the number of establishments and workers, ownership patterns, women’s participation, registration status, worker earnings and Gross Value Added at both establishment and worker level.

Top 50 Districts Account for Nearly One-Third of Activity

One of the clearest findings is the strong geographical concentration of India’s unincorporated economy.

The top 10 districts, ranked by number of unincorporated establishments, together account for roughly one-tenth of total establishments, workers and Gross Value Added generated by the sector.

The concentration becomes even more striking among the top 50 districts, which together account for nearly one-third of establishments, workforce and GVA.

These top 50 districts are spread across 12 states: Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

One-Third of Districts Have More Than One Lakh Establishments

The district-level numbers also underline the enormous scale of India’s small-enterprise economy.

Roughly one-third of all districts have more than one lakh unincorporated establishments each, while around 9% have fewer than 10,000.

Only 16 districts have more than five lakh establishments. Of these, eight are in West Bengal, three in Maharashtra, two in Gujarat and one each in Karnataka, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.

The sector covered by ASUSE includes unincorporated enterprises engaged in manufacturing, trade and other services. Ownership categories include proprietorships, partnerships other than LLPs, cooperatives, societies and trusts.

280 Districts Beat National Productivity Average

The report also reveals substantial differences in productivity between districts.

In around 331 districts, GVA per worker falls between ₹1 lakh and ₹1.5 lakh.

More importantly, 280 districts recorded GVA per worker above the national average of ₹1,56,539, indicating significantly higher productivity in parts of the unincorporated economy.

This district-level view can help policymakers identify clusters where small businesses are generating relatively high economic value and areas where productivity remains weak.

Women Form One-Third of Workforce in 237 Districts

The survey also provides one of the clearest district-level pictures yet of women’s participation in the unincorporated sector.

In 237 districts, women account for at least one-third of the workforce, while in 25 districts they make up more than half of all workers.

The highest shares of women-led establishments are concentrated in parts of Telangana, Manipur and Meghalaya.

Mizoram stands out particularly strongly: female-owned proprietary establishments account for at least 50% of establishments in every district of the state.

The top 10 districts for female workforce participation are spread across Telangana, Manipur, Meghalaya and Mizoram.

Major Districts Emerge as State-Level Enterprise Hubs

The report also identifies the district contributing the largest share of unincorporated establishments within each state or Union Territory.

Among the notable examples are Surat in Gujarat, Pune in Maharashtra, Bengaluru Urban in Karnataka, Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, Rangareddy in Telangana, Ludhiana in Punjab and Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh.
Some smaller states and Union Territories show very high concentration in a single district. North Goa accounts for 77.66% of Goa’s establishments, Puducherry district for 76.64% of Puducherry’s, and South Andaman for 61.04% of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands total.

Why the New District-Level Data Matters

Until now, national and state-level statistics could show the broad scale of India’s unincorporated economy, but they offered limited insight into how activity differed from one district to another.

The new district estimates allow governments to identify local business clusters, productivity gaps, female-enterprise concentrations and areas requiring targeted support. MoSPI says the aim is to strengthen evidence-based policymaking at the sub-state level.

The data could also be useful for designing district-specific interventions involving credit, skilling, formalisation, infrastructure and market access.

Important Statistical Caveats

The NSO has cautioned that the figures are based on a sample survey and should be interpreted in light of regional differences, economic structure, local conditions and sampling variability.

Relative Standard Errors have been provided to help users assess reliability, and some district estimates carry relatively high RSEs.

Delhi is not included in the district-level estimates because its rural and urban districts were combined into single sampling strata, making separate district estimates unavailable. Lakshadweep and Chandigarh are also not separately presented because each consists of only one district and their district figures are identical to their Union Territory totals.

The release nevertheless marks a major expansion in India’s statistical system. For the first time, policymakers and researchers can examine the country’s vast informal and small-enterprise economy at district level rather than relying mainly on state-wide averages.

---

Reference

National Statistics Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation — September 10, 2026
First-ever district-level estimates released by NSO for unincorporated non-agricultural sector

---