|
ECONOMY
|
|
|
Economy
- Overview:
|
|
Hong
Kong has a bustling free market economy highly dependent on international
trade. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials
must be imported. Indeed, imports and exports, including reexports,
each exceed GDP in dollar value. Even before Hong Kong reverted
to Chinese administration on 1 July 1997 it had extensive trade
and investment ties with China. Per capita GDP compares with the
level in the four big countries of Western Europe. GDP growth
averaged a strong 5% in 1989-97. The widespread Asian economic
difficulties in 1998 hit this trade-dependent economy quite hard,
with GDP down 5%. The economy is recovering, with growth of 1.8%
in 1999 to be followed by projected growth of 3.7% in 2000. |
|
GDP:
|
|
purchasing
power parity - $158.2 billion (1999 est.) |
|
GDP
- Real Growth Rate:
|
|
1.8%
(1999 est.) |
|
GDP
- Per Capita:
|
|
purchasing
power parity - $23,100 (1999 est.) |
|
GDP
- Composition by Sector:
|
|
agriculture:
0.1%
industry: 14.7%
services: 85.2% (1997 est.) |
|
Population
Below Poverty Level:
|
|
NA%
|
|
Household
Income or Consumption by Percentage Share:
|
|
lowest
10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
|
Inflation
Rate :
|
|
-4%
(1999 est.) |
|
Labor
Force :
|
|
3.36
million (1998 est.) |
|
Labor
Force - by Occupation:
|
|
wholesale
and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 31.9%, social services
9.9%, manufacturing 9.2%, financing, insurance, and real estate
13.1%, transport and communications 5.7%, construction 2.6%, other
27.6% (October 1998) |
|
Unemployment
Rate:
|
|
6% (1999 est.) |
|
Budget:
|
|
revenues:
$23.1 billion
expenditures: $25.1 billion, including capital expenditures
of $NA (FY98/99) |
|
Industries:
|
|
textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics, toys, watches,
clocks |
|
Industrial
Production Growth Rate:
|
|
-8.7% (1998 est.) |
|
Electricity
- Production:
|
|
29.529 billion kWh (1998) |
|
Electricity
- Production by Source:
|
|
fossil
fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998) |
|
|
Electricity
- Consumption:
|
|
34.612
billion kWh (1998) |
|
|
Electricity
- Exports:
|
|
610
million kWh (1998) |
|
|
Electricity
- Imports:
|
|
7.76
billion kWh (1998) |
|
|
Agriculture
- Products:
|
|
fresh vegetables; poultry |
|
|
Exports:
|
|
$169.98
billion (including reexports; f.o.b., 1999 est.) |
|
|
Exports
- Commodities:
|
|
clothing,
textiles, footwear, electrical appliances, watches and clocks,
toys |
|
|
Exports
- Partners:
|
|
China
34%, US 23%, Japan 5%, Germany 4%, UK 4%, Singapore 2% (1998)
|
|
|
Imports:
|
|
$174.4 billion (c.i.f., 1999) |
|
|
Imports
-Commodities:
|
|
foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures,
petroleum; a large share is reexported |
|
|
Imports
- Partners:
|
|
China
41%, Japan 13%, US 8%, Taiwan 7%, South Korea 5%, Singapore 4%
(1998) |
|
|
Debt
- External:
|
|
$48.1
billion (1999) |
|
|
Economic
Aid - Recipient:
|
|
none
|
|
|
Currency:
|
|
1
Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents |
|
|
Exchange
Rates :
|
|
Hong
Kong dollars (HK$) per US$ - 7.7780 (January 2000), 7.7575 (1999),
7.7453 (1998), 7.7427 (1997), 7.730 (1996), 7.800 (1995); note
- Hong Kong became a special administrative region of China on
1 July 1997; before then, linked to the US dollar at the rate
of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$ |
|
|
Fiscal
Year :
|
|
1
April - 31 March |
|
