Brief Introductionª¤

I. Data in this chapter show main social and economic developments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, including data on land, population, employment, national accounts, industry, energy, construction, transportation, external trade, finance and banking, education, housing, health and social security.ª¥

II. Data of 1996 and previous years in this chapter refer to data of the former Hong Kong region.

III. All data in this chapter are provided by the Census and Statistics Department, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and further tabulated or edited by the International Statistical Information Centre of the National Bureau of Statistics.ª¥

IV. According to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region maintains its independent statistical system, and compiles and disseminates statistics on the Region. as Hong Kong and the mainland of China use different statistical concepts, definitions and terminologies, users are advised to make reference of the following materials when using and comparing data of the mainland of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region:ª¥

1. A Comparison of Common Statistical Terms Used in China statistical Yearbook and publications Compiled by the Census and Statistics Department, the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which listed similar statistical concepts using different terms.ª¥

2.The Explanatory Note at the end of this chapter which gives explanation on important statistical indicators.ª¥

V. as Hong Kong is a separate custom territory, trade between Hong Kong and the mainland of China needs customs declaration procedures. in terms of trade statistics, data on Hong Kong's imports and exports include Hong Kong's trade with the mainland of China.ª¥

VI. as HK dollar is the legal tender in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, all other currencies (including Renminbi) are regarded as foreign currencies in compiling foreign exchange statistics and related statistics.ª¥

VII. for more detailed statistics and technical details, users are advised to read Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics, Hong Kong Annual Digest of Statistics and other publications compiled by the Census and Statistics Department, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.ª¤

VIII. Notations used in this chapter:

¡°¡ª¡± indicates that the data not available. ¡°N.A.¡± indicates no data.