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