The census was conducted by the Central Statistical Organisation and the directorates of economics & statistics in states and Union Territories (UTs). EC 1998 was conducted with a view to enumerate all entrepreneurial activities in the urban and rural areas of the country.

An enterprise has been defined as a unit involved in the production or distribution of any good or service not solely for its own consumption. The EC covered both agricultural (excluding crop production and plantation) and non-agricultural activities.

The total number of enterprises in 30 states and UTs is 237.82 lakh, says the census. Nagaland recorded maximum growth rate 5.63 per cent, followed by Pondicherry (4.31 per cent), Dadra & Nagar Haveli (4.26 per cent) and Delhi (4.03 per cent).The rate was negative in Arunachal Pradesh (-0.15 per cent) and Lakshadweep (0.13 per cent).

Delhi stands out as the only place where almost all enterprises are in urban areas. In most other states or UTs, a majority of enterprises are in rural areas.

The objective was to gather basic information on the number and distibution of enterprises and employment along with their distribution by location, type of activity, nature of operation and to provide a sampling frame for detailed follow-up surveys covering the seb-sectors of unorganised activities.

Another objective was to assess the impact of liberalisation. About 134.2 lakh enterprises (56.44 per cent of the total, except Jammu & Kashmir) are located in rural areas. In EC 1990, the corresponding figure was 56.5 per cent. Out of total enterprises, 28.71 lakh or 12.07 per cent were engaged in agricultural activities, which is significantly above 8.75 per cent of 1980-90.

Among the states, the maximum growth rate per annum was in Kerala (5.21 per cent),followed by Nagaland (4.74 per cent) and Orissa (3.81 per cent). Among the UTs, the maximum growth rate is in Dadra & Nagar Haveli (4.05 per cent), followed by Pondicherry (3.96 per cent) and Daman & Diu (3.13 per cent). It was negative in Chandigarh (-5.98 per cent), Lakshadweep (-1.58 per cent), Arunachal Pradesh (-1.2 per cent) and Sikkim (-0.18 per cent).