Hong Kong Economy 2008

Economy - overview:
Hong Kong has a free market economy highly dependent on international trade. In 2006, the total value of goods and services trade, including the sizable share of reexports, was equivalent to 400% of GDP. The territory has become increasingly integrated with mainland China over the past few years through trade, tourism, and financial links. The mainland has long been Hong Kong's largest trading partner, accounting for 46% of Hong Kong's total trade by value in 2006. 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 13.6 million in 2006, when they outnumbered visitors from all other countries combined. Hong Kong has also established itself as the premier stock market for Chinese firms seeking to list abroad. Bolstered by several successful initial public offerings in 2007, mainland companies by September 2007 accounted for one-third of the firms listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and over half of the Exchange's market capitalization. Hong Kong's service industry over the past decade has grown rapidly as its manufacturing industry has moved to the mainland and now accounts for 91% of the territory's GDP. Hong Kong's natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Per capita GDP exceeds that of the four big economies of Western Europe. GDP growth averaged a strong 5% from 1989 to 2007, despite the economy suffering two recessions during the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98 and the global downturn in 2001-02. Hong Kong continues to link its currency closely to the US dollar, maintaining an arrangement established in 1983.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$293.4 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$204.5 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.8% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$42,000 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 0.1%
industry: 8.1%
services: 91.8% (2007 est.)

Labor force:
3.65 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
manufacturing 7.5%, construction 2.9%, wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 43.9%, financing, insurance, and real estate 19.6%, transport and communications 7.1%, community and social services 18.8%
note: above data exclude public sector (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate:
4% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
52.3 (2001)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
22.2% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $38.58 billion
expenditures: $34.83 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt:
12.8% of GDP (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products:
fresh vegetables; poultry, pork; fish

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

Industrial production growth rate:
-0.9% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:
36.14 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - consumption:
37.74 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:
4.498 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:
11 billion kWh (2005)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
293,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - exports:
26,090 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:
344,200 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

natural gas - consumption:
2.944 billion cu m (2005 est.)

natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

natural gas - imports:
2.944 billion cu m (2005)

natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:
$19.87 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:
$353.3 billion f.o.b., including reexports (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:
electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones, printed material

Exports - partners:
China 47%, US 15.1%, Japan 4.9% (2006)

Imports:
$371.3 billion (2007 est.)

Imports - partners:
China 45.9%, Japan 10.3%, Taiwan 7.5%, Singapore 6.3%, US 4.8%, South Korea 4.6% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:
$6.95 million (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$141.3 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:
$549.7 billion (30 June 2007)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$769.1 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$689 billion (2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$1.006 trillion (2005)

Currency (code):
Hong Kong dollar (HKD)

Exchange rates:
Hong Kong dollars per US dollar - 7.79 (2007), 7.7678 (2006), 7.7773 (2005), 7.788 (2004), 7.7868 (2003)