Overview: Hong Kong has a bustling free market economy with few tariffs or nontariff barriers. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Manufacturing accounts for about 17% of GDP. Goods and services exports account for about 50% of GDP. Real GDP growth averaged a remarkable 8% in 1987-88, slowed to 3.0% in 1989-90, and picked up to 4.2% in 1991, 5.0% in 1992, and 5.2% in 1993. Unemployment, which has been declining since the mid-1980s, is now about 2%. A shortage of labor continues to put upward pressure on prices and the cost of living. Short-term prospects remain bright so long as major trading partners continue to be reasonably prosperous.

National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $119 billion (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate: 5.2% (1993)

National product per capita: $21,500 (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.5% (1993)

Unemployment rate: 2.3% (1993 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $19.2 billion
expenditures: $19.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY94)

Exports: $145.1 billion (including re-exports of $104.2 billion )(f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities: clothing, textiles, yarn and fabric, footwear, electrical appliances, watches and clocks, toys
partners: China 32%, US 23%, Germany 5%, Japan 5%, UK 3% (1993 est.)

Imports: $149.6 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
commodities: foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum
partners: China 36%, Japan 19%, Taiwan 9%, US 7% (1993 est.)

External debt: none (1993)

Industrial production: growth rate 2% (1993 est.)

Electricity:
capacity: 9,566,000 kW
production: 29.4 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 4,980 kWh (1992)

Industries: textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks

Agriculture: minor role in the economy; local farmers produce 26% fresh vegetables, 27% live poultry; 8% of land area suitable for farming

Illicit drugs: a hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade; transshipment and major financial and money-laundering center

Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $152 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $923 million

Currency: 1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$ - 7.800 (1993), 7.741 (1992), 7.771 (1991), 7.790 (1990), 7.800 (1989); note - linked to the US dollar at the rate of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$ since 1985

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

NOTE: The information regarding Hong Kong on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Hong Kong Economy 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Hong Kong Economy 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.