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. 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, 5.2% in 1993, 5.5% in 1994, 4.8% in 1995, 4.7% in 1996, and an estimated 5.5% in 1997. A shortage of labor continues to put upward pressure on prices and the cost of living. Even before Hong Kong reverted to Chinese administration on 1 July 1997 it had extensive trade and investment ties with China.

GDP purchasing power parity - $175.2 billion (1997 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 5.5% (1997 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $26,800 (1997 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 0.1%
industry: 16.1%
services: 83.8% (1996 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 5.1% (1997 est.)

Labor force
total: 3.183 million (1997)
by occupation: wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 32.4%, social services 9.9%, manufacturing 9.9%, financing, insurance, and real estate 13.0%, transport and communications 5.7%, construction 2.6%, other 26.5% (June 1997)

Unemployment rate 3.1% (1996 est.)

Budget
revenues: $19 billion
expenditures: $14.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $289 million (FY95/96 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate -3.2% (1997 est.)

Electricity - capacity 11.3 million kW (1996)

Electricity - production 28 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity - consumption per capita 3,968 kWh (1995)

Agriculture - products fresh vegetables; poultry

Exports
total value: $180.7 billion (including reexports; f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: clothing, textiles, yarn and fabric, footwear, electrical appliances, watches and clocks, toys
partners: China 34%, US 21%, Japan 7%, Germany 4%, UK 3% (1996)

Imports
total value: $198.6 billion (c.i.f., 1996)
commodities: foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum; a large share is reexported
partners: China 37%, Japan 14%, Taiwan 8%, US 8%, Singapore 5% (1996)

Debt - external none (1996)

Economic aid $NA

Currency 1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$ - 7.74 (1997), 7.730 (1996), 7.800 (1995), 7.800 (1994), 7.800 (1993), 7.741 (1992); note - linked to the US dollar at the rate of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$

Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March

NOTE: The information regarding Hong Kong on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Hong Kong Economy 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Hong Kong Economy 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.