Hong Kong
| Country summary | |
|---|---|
|
Capital |
|
|
Borders |
(N/A) |
|
Government type |
limited democracy |
|
Population |
7,055,071 (July 2010 est.)[1] |
|
Population growth |
0.504% (2010 est.)[1] |
|
Life expectancy |
81.86 years[1] |
|
Unemployment |
5.3% (2009 est.)[1] |
|
1[2] | |
|
12[3] | |
|
3[4] | |
Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system would not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years.[1]
Economical characteristics
- Currency: Hong Kong dollar (ISO code: HKD)
- Central bank discount rate: 0.5% (31 December 2009)[1]
- Commercial banks lending rate: 5% (31 December 2009)[1]
- Stock of money (M1): $127.3 billion (31 December 2009)[1]
- Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $757.6 billion (31 December 2009)[1]
Notable events:
- Banking crisis: 1982, 1983-1986, 1998[5]
Statistics
| Statistic / Year | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (million USD)[6] | 163 283 | 169 121 | 166 593 | 163 781 | 158 572 | 165 886 | 177 772 | 189 932 | 207 069 | 215 355 |
| Govt. debt (% of GDP)[7] | ||||||||||
| Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[8] | ||||||||||
| Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[9] | ||||||||||
| Debt to revenue (years) |
References
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Hong Kong", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Hong Kong", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Transparency International. "Hong Kong", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Doing Business. "Hong Kong", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. "This Time is Different", Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 367. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-20.
- ↑ World Bank. "Hong Kong: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Hong Kong: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Hong Kong: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Hong Kong: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
Links
- Hong Kong on Wikipedia
- Central bank of Hong Kong
- BBC country profile
- Freedom Works: The Case of Hong Kong by Andrew P. Morriss
- Lessons in Liberty: Hong Kong, Crown Jewel of Capitalism by Robert A. Peterson
- The Man Behind the Hong Kong Miracle by Lawrence W. Reed, February 2014
