Economy - overview:
Hong Kong has a free market economy highly dependent on international trade and finance - the value of goods and services trade, including the sizable share of re-exports, is about four times GDP. Hong Kong's open economy left it exposed to the global economic slowdown, but its increasing integration with China, through trade, tourism, and financial links, helped it recover more quickly than many observers anticipated. The Hong Kong government is promoting the Special Administrative Region (SAR) as the site for Chinese renminbi (RMB) internationalization. Hong Kong residents are allowed to establish RMB-denominated savings accounts; RMB-denominated corporate and Chinese government bonds have been issued in Hong Kong; and RMB trade settlement is allowed. The territory far exceeded the RMB conversion quota set by Beijing for trade settlements in 2010 due to the growth of earnings from exports to the mainland. RMB deposits grew to roughly 3.6% of total system deposits in Hong Kong by October 2010, an increase of over 250% since the beginning of the year. The government is pursuing efforts to introduce additional use of RMB in Hong Kong financial markets and is seeking to expand the RMB quota for 2011. The mainland has long been Hong Kong's largest trading partner, accounting for about half of Hong Kong's exports by value. Hong Kong's natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. As a result of China's easing of travel restrictions, the number of mainland tourists to the territory has surged from 4.5 million in 2001 to 17.7 million in 2009, outnumbering visitors from all other countries combined. Hong Kong has also established itself as the premier stock market for Chinese firms seeking to list abroad. In 2009 mainland Chinese companies constituted about 40% of the firms listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and accounted for 60% of the Exchange's market capitalization. During the past decade, as Hong Kong's manufacturing industry moved to the mainland, its service industry has grown rapidly and in 2009 accounted for more than 90% of the territory's GDP. GDP growth averaged a strong 4% from 1989 to 2008. Hong Kong's GDP fell in 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis, but a recovery began in third quarter 2009, and the economy grew nearly 6% in 2010. The Hong Kong government adopted several temporary fiscal policy support measures in response to the crisis that it may discontinue if strong growth is sustained. Credit expansion and tight housing supply conditions caused Hong Kong property prices to rise rapidly in 2010, and some lower income segments of the population are increasingly unable to afford adequate housing. Hong Kong continues to link its currency closely to the US dollar, maintaining an arrangement established in 1983.
GDP (purchasing power parity): GDP (official exchange rate): GDP - real growth rate: GDP - per capita (PPP): GDP - composition by sector: Labor force: Labor force - by occupation: Unemployment rate: Population below poverty line: Household income or consumption by percentage share: Distribution of family income - Gini index: Investment (gross fixed): Budget: Public debt: Inflation rate (consumer prices): Central bank discount rate: Commercial bank prime lending rate: Stock of narrow money: Stock of broad money: Stock of domestic credit: Market value of publicly traded shares: Agriculture - products: Industries: Industrial production growth rate: Electricity - production: Electricity - consumption: Electricity - exports: Electricity - imports: Oil - production: Oil - consumption: Oil - exports: Oil - imports: Oil - proved reserves: Natural gas - production: Natural gas - consumption: Natural gas - exports: Natural gas - imports: Natural gas - proved reserves: Current account balance: Exports: Exports - commodities: Exports - partners: Imports: Imports - commodities: Imports - partners: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Debt - external: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: Exchange rates:
NOTE: The information regarding Hong Kong on this page is re-published from the 2011 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Hong Kong Economy 2011 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Hong Kong Economy 2011 should be addressed to the CIA.
$323.3 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 38
note:
data are in 2010 US dollars
[see also: GDP (purchasing power parity) country ranks ]
$226.5 billion (2009 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]
5.7% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
[see also: GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]
$45,600 (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12
note:
data are in 2010 US dollars
[see also: GDP - per capita country ranks ]
agriculture: 0.1%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - agriculture country ranks ]
industry:
7.6%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - industry country ranks ]
services:
92.3% (2009 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - services country ranks ]
3.7 million (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 92
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]
manufacturing: 6.1%
construction:
1.9%
wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels:
42.9%
financing, insurance, and real estate:
21.4%
transport and communications:
7.9%
community and social services:
19.7%
note:
above data exclude public sector (2008 est.)
4.6% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 44
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]
NA%
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]
lowest 10%: NA%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10% country ranks ]
highest 10%:
NA%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - highest 10% country ranks ]
53.3 (2007)
country comparison to the world: 16
[see also: Distribution of family income - Gini index country ranks ]
22.2% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 64
[see also: Investment (gross fixed) country ranks ]
revenues: $46.67 billion
[see also: Budget - revenues country ranks ]
expenditures:
$40.14 billion (2009 est.)
[see also: Budget - expenditures country ranks ]
18.2% of GDP (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 111
[see also: Public debt country ranks ]
2.2% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 64
[see also: Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks ]
0.5% (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 138
[see also: Central bank discount rate country ranks ]
5% (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 151
[see also: Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks ]
$84.88 billion (31 December 2010 est)
[see also: Stock of narrow money country ranks ]
$850.8 billion (31 December 2009)
[see also: Stock of broad money country ranks ]
$374.8 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29
[see also: Stock of domestic credit country ranks ]
$2.292 trillion (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 8
[see also: Market value of publicly traded shares country ranks ]
fresh vegetables; poultry, pork; fish
textiles, clothing, tourism, banking, shipping, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks
-0.3% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 156
[see also: Industrial production growth rate country ranks ]
39.4 billion kWh (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 57
[see also: Electricity - production country ranks ]
42.1 billion kWh (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 49
[see also: Electricity - consumption country ranks ]
3.926 billion kWh (2009 est.)
[see also: Electricity - exports country ranks ]
11.7 billion kWh (2009 est.)
[see also: Electricity - imports country ranks ]
0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 186
[see also: Oil - production country ranks ]
359,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35
[see also: Oil - consumption country ranks ]
160,000 bbl/day (2009)
country comparison to the world: 54
[see also: Oil - exports country ranks ]
440,000 bbl/day (2009)
country comparison to the world: 29
[see also: Oil - imports country ranks ]
0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 170
[see also: Oil - proved reserves country ranks ]
0 cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 176
[see also: Natural gas - production country ranks ]
2.83 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 75
[see also: Natural gas - consumption country ranks ]
0 cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 172
[see also: Natural gas - exports country ranks ]
2.83 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
[see also: Natural gas - imports country ranks ]
0 cu m (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 168
[see also: Natural gas - proved reserves country ranks ]
$18.07 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 18
[see also: Current account balance country ranks ]
$382.6 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12
[see also: Exports country ranks ]
electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones, printed material
China 51.2%, US 11.6%, Japan 4.4% (2009 est.)
$413 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10
[see also: Imports country ranks ]
raw materials and semi-manufactures, consumer goods, capital goods, foodstuffs, fuel (most is re-exported)
China 46.4%, Japan 8.8%, Taiwan 6.5%, Singapore 6.5%, US 5.3% (2009)
$262.7 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
[see also: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold country ranks ]
$69.86 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 45
[see also: Debt - external country ranks ]
$962.2 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home country ranks ]
$873.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad country ranks ]
Hong Kong dollars (HKD) per US dollar - 7.78 (2010), 7.7518 (2009), 7.751 (2008), 7.802 (2007), 7.7678 (2006)
This page was last modified 09-Feb-11