6898686
Cantonese (official) 89.5%, English (official) 3.5%, Mandarin (official) 1.4%, other Chinese dialects 4%, other 1.6% (2011 est.)
Hong Kong 7.26 million (2014)
- Conventional long form
- Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
- Conventional short form
- Hong Kong
- Local long form
- Heung Kong Takpit Hangching Ku (Eitel/Dyer-Ball); Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu (Hanyu Pinyin)
- Local short form
- Heung Kong (Eitel/Dyer-Ball); Xianggang (Hanyu Pinyin)
presidential limited democracy; a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China
- Name
- Hong Kong
- Geographic coordinates
- Time difference
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 reexports, is about four times GDP. Hong Kong has no tariffs on imported goods, and it levies excise duties on only four commodities, whether imported or produced locally: hard alcohol, tobacco, hydrocarbon oil, and methyl alcohol. There are no quotas or dumping laws. Hong Kong continues to link its currency closely to the US dollar, maintaining an arrangement established in 1983.
- Inflation
- 2.386%
- Total tax rate (% of commercial profits)
- 22.9%
- Real Interest Rate
- 3.166%
- Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP)
- 1.149%
- Current Account Balance
- US$ 10,264,062,288
- Labor Force, Total
- 3,912,945
- Employment in Agriculture
- 0.20%
- Employment in Industry
- 11.39%
- Employment in Services
- 79.39%
- Unemployment Rate
- 3.42%
- Imports of goods and services
- US$ 594,473,638,442
- Exports of goods and services
- US$ 601,307,224,065
- Total Merchandise Trade
- 331.58%
- FDI, net inflows
- US$ 117,109,696,832
- Commercial Service Exports
- US$ 104,261,852,607
fresh vegetables and fruit; poultry, pork; fish
textiles, clothing, tourism, banking, shipping, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks
- Commodities
- electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones, printed material
- Partners
- China 53.7%, US 9.5% (2015)
- Commodities
- raw materials and semi-manufactures, consumer goods, capital goods, foodstuffs, fuel (most is reexported)
- Partners
- China 49%, Japan 6.4%, Singapore 6.1%, US 5.2%, South Korea 4.3% (2015)
- Country Risk Rating
- A3
- Changes in generally good but somewhat volatile political and economic environment can affect corporate payment behavior. A basically secure business environment can nonetheless give rise to occasional difficulties for companies. Corporate default probability is quite acceptable on average.
- Business Climate Rating
- A2
- The business environment is good. When available, corporate financial information is reliable. Debt collection is reasonably efficient. Institutions generally perform efficiently. Intercompany transactions usually run smoothly in the relatively stable environment rated A2.
- Successful specialisation in services (92% of GDP)
- Robust and transparent banking system
- High-quality infrastructures
- Retention of the “one country, two systems” principle, considering the complementarity of the two economies
- Good business climate
- Economy vulnerable to economic slowdown in Chinese activity and in world trade
- Industry completely delocalized to mainland China
- Growing competition from mainland China in services sector
- Highly exposed to property sector
- Rising inequalities in the territory
- Lack of transparency of financial data
After falling in 2016, Hong Kong's growth is expected to stabilise in 2017. Domestic demand will remain firm and household consumption will continue to be the main driver of activity, thanks to solid employment levels, the control of inflation and rising wages. Activity is also expected to benefit from improved consumer confidence in a context of stabilising property prices. The price of real estate assets is likely to be hit by downward pressures, although these are likely to lessen: in November 2016 the authorities introduced new measures (higher stamp duty on property transactions) aimed at containing the property bubble, although their effects are likely to remain limited. The hike in the US Federal Fund rate in December 2016 is expected to be passed on by Hong Kong's monetary authority because of the Hong Kong dollar's peg to the US dollar, which will dampen activity.
The public finances remain sound: in 2017, the pays country is expected to continue to post a significant budget surplus and public debt will remain almost zero. Meanwhile, the current account surplus is likely to remain large. However, it is expected to reduce: imports will remain firm and exports are expected to decline slightly because of the Chinese economic slowdown. Against this background, the foreign exchange reserves will remain satisfactory (almost 8 months of imports).
In August 2014, the National People's Congress put forward new rules on the election of the chief executive in 2017. Although these rules provide for direct universal suffrage, the pro-democracy activists see the proposal as a backward step, since candidates authorised to put themselves forward for nomination have first to be approved by a committee made up of 1,200 members, most of whom belong to the Chinese Communist Party. This proposal was greeted with large-scale demonstrations between September and December 2014, with the formation of a movement called the "Umbrella Revolution", and was rejected by the Legislative Council in December 2015. As a result, the electoral law is likely to remain unchanged for the election of the chief executive in March 2017. These elections are likely to take place in a tense climate since the Pro-Democracy Party strengthened its position during the September 2016 elections and since two of its members were excluded from the Assembly for failing to respect Mainland China.