Main Social and Economic Indicators of
Crude birth rate refers to the number of live births occurred
during a calendar year to the mid-year population of that year. It is usually
expressed in terms of 1000 population.
Crude death rate refers to the number of deaths occurred during a
calendar year to the mid-year population of that year. It is usually expressed
in terms of 1000 population.
Expectation of life at birth refers to the average number of years of life that
a male/female born in a given year can expect to live if he/she were subjected
to the prevalent mortality conditions as reflected by the set of age sex
specific mortality rates for that year.
Mid-year population before 1996 was compiled using the "extended
de facto" approach. It
includes Hong Kong Permanent and Non-permanent Residents and visitors who are
in
Total fertility rate
refers to the average number of children that would be born alive to
1000 women during their lifetime if they were to pass through their
childbearing ages 15-49 experiencing the age specific fertility rates
prevailing in a given year.
Infant mortality rate
refers to the number of deaths aged under one occurred during a calendar
year per 1000 live births in the same year.
Labour force refers to the land-based non-institutional
population aged 15 and over who satisfy the criteria for inclusion in the
employed population or the unemployed population.
Labour force participation rate refers to the proportion of labour
force in the land-based non-institutional population aged 15 and over.
Employed population consists of those persons aged 15
and over who have been at work for pay or profit during the seven days before
enumeration or have had formal job attachment. Unpaid family workers and employed persons who have been on
leave/holiday during the seven days before enumeration are included.
Unemployed population
comprises all those persons aged 15 and over who have not had a job, have not
performed any work for pay or profit, have been available for work during the
seven days before enumeration and have sought work during the thirty days
before enumeration. It also includes persons without a job who have sought work
but have not been available for work because of temporary sickness; and
persons without a job who have been available for work but have not sought work
because they (I) have made arrangements to take up a new job or to start
business at a subsequent date; or (II) were expecting to return to their
original jobs; or (III) believe that work is not available to
them (persons in (III) refer to “discouraged workers”).
Unemployment rate refers to the proportion of unemployed persons in
the labour force.
Underemployed population
comprises those employed persons who have involuntarily worked less than
thirty-five hours during the seven days before enumeration and have sought
additional work during the thirty days before enumeration, or have not sought
but have been available for additional work during the seven days before
enumeration. Following this definition, employed persons taking no-pay leave
due to slack work during the seven days before enumeration are also classified
as underemployed if they worked less than thirty-five hours or were on leave even for the whole period during the seven-day period.
Underemployment rate refers to the proportion of underemployed persons
in the labour force.
Real wage index
indicates changes in the purchasing power of the amount of money earned as wages
by employees up to supervisory level and is obtained by deflating the nominal
wage index by the Consumer Price Index(A).
Monthly employment earnings refer to earnings from all jobs during the last
month. For employees, they include
wage and salary, bonus, commission, housing allowance, overtime allowance and
attendance allowance. However, back
pays are excluded. For employers
and self-employed, they refer to amounts drawn from the self-owned enterprise
for personal and household use. If
information on the amounts drawn for personal and household use is not
available, data on net earnings from business would be collected instead.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a measure of the total value of production
of all resident producing units of a country or territory in a specified
period, before deducting allowance for consumption of fixed capital.
Per capita GDP of a country or territory is obtained by dividing total GDP in a year
by the population of that country or territory in the same year.
Gross National Product (GNP)
refers to the total income of the residents of a country or region from
engaging in various economic activities, irrespective of whether the economic
activities are carried out in the economic territory of the country or region
or not. In other words, the gross national product should include the income of
the residents engaged in various economic activities within or outside the
economic territory of the country or region, but exclude the income of
non-residents engaged in economic activities in the economic territory of the
country or region. The following formula is used in the calculation of the
gross national product:
GNP
= Gross Domestic Product
+Factor
income earned by residents from outside
the economic
territory of the country or region
-Factor
income earned by non-residents from within
the economic
territory of the country or region.
Per capita GNP of a country or a region refers to the gross national product of the
country or region in a year divided by the total population in the same year.
The components of factor income are mainly classified into investment income
and compensation of employees. Investment income includes direct investment
income, portfolio investment income and other investment income.
The
items "Balance of Payments accounts" until "Reserve assets"
are applicable to balance of payments account (Table 23-14):
Balance of Payments (BOP) account is a statistical statement that
systematically summarizes, for a specific time period, the economic
transactions of an economy with the rest of the world. A complete BOP account comprises two
broad accounts: (a) Current Account; (b) Capital and Financial Account.
Current account largely measures flow of real resources, including
exports and imports of good and services, income receivable and payable abroad,
and current transfers from and to abroad.
Goods
comprise all
movable goods that change ownership from residents to non-residents (exports)
and from non-residents to residents (imports).
Services
include services
rendered by residents to non-residents (exports) and by non-residents to
residents (imports).
Income
consists of
earnings by residents from non-residents (income receivable) and by
non-residents from residents (income payable) for the provision of factors of
production.
Current transfers are those transactions in which an economy
provides to other economies real or financial resources, that are immediately
or shortly consumed, without receiving equivalent values in return.
Capital account
measures
external transactions in capital transfers, and in acquisition or disposal of
non-produced, non-financial assets.
Capital transfers are transfers of ownership of a fixed asset or
the forgiveness of a liability without receiving any economic value in return.
Financial account records transactions in financial assets and
liabilities between residents and non-residents. It shows how an economy's external
transactions are financed.
Transactions in the financial account are classified into direct
investment, portfolio investment, financial derivatives, other investment and
reserve assets.
Direct investment refers to external investment in which an
investor of an economy acquires a lasting interest and an effective control
over the management of an enterprise located in another economy.
Portfolio investment refers to investment in non-resident equity
securities and debt securities (e.g. bonds and notes, money market
instruments), for which the investors have no lasting interest or influence in
the management of the companies they invest.
Financial derivatives are financial instruments that are linked to a
specific financial instrument or indicator or commodity, and through which
specific financial risks can be traded in financial markets (including on
Exchange and over the counter) in their own right.
Other investment refers to other financial claims on and
liabilities to non-residents that are not classified as direct investment,
portfolio investment, financial derivatives or reserve assets.
Reserve assets consist of foreign currency assets
that are readily available to and controlled by the monetary authority of an economy (in the
case of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority) for directly financing
payment imbalances and for indirectly regulating the magnitude of such
imbalances through intervention in foreign exchange markets to affect the
currency exchange rate of that economy.
International
Investment Position (IIP) is a balance sheet showing an
economy’s stock of external financial assets and liabilities at a particular
time point. External financial
assets consist of claims on non-residents.
On the other hand, an economy’s external financial liabilities refer to
the financial claims of non-residents on residents of the economy.
Net IIP is the difference between total
external financial assets and total external financial liabilities. Fully consistent with the balance of
payments financial account, IIP is
categorized by
type of investment. Assets and liabilities are divided into direct investment,
portfolio investment, financial derivatives and other investment. The asset side of IIP also includes the reserve
assets. For detailed explanation on investment
components, please refer to the explanatory notes on the components of the
financial account of the Balance of Payments account.
Index of industrial production
measures
the changes in local manufacturing output in real terms, i.e. changes in the
volume of local production after discounting the effect of price changes.
Assignments of building units refer to documents which effect the transfer of
ownership of property of undivided shares of a lot, i.e. building units.
Buildings with consents to commence work refer to buildings with consents to commence
building works issued by the Buildings Department. Such "consents"
are issued to private development projects (including Hong Kong Housing
Society's projects) and Hong Kong Housing Authority's development projects
under the Private Sector Participation Scheme, except small houses in the
Usable floor area
is defined as the aggregate of the areas of the floor or floors in a storey
or a building excluding any staircases, public circulation space, lift
landings, lavatories, water-closets, kitchens and any space occupied by
machinery for any lift, air-conditioning system or similar service provided for
the building.
Tenure of accommodation refers to the terms or conditions under which the accommodation is
held by a domestic household. The different terms are defined as
follows:
Owner-occupier refers to a household which owns the quarters it
occupies.
Sole tenant refers to a household which rents the whole
quarters it occupies from someone who lives outside the quarters without
sharing it with other household(s) or subletting.
Co-tenant refers to two or more households each of which
rents part of the quarters from someone who lives outside the quarters.
Main tenant refers to a household which rents the whole
quarters it occupies from someone who lives outside the quarters and sublets
part of it to other household(s).
Sub-tenant refers to a household which rents part of the quarters from
someone who lives in the same quarters.
Rent free refers to a household which occupies an
accommodation free, with or without the owner's permission. This does not include owner-occupiers or households occupying accommodation provided by employers.
Accommodation provided by employer refers to a household which occupies an
accommodation provided by the employer of one of the household members. This
also includes households occupying quarters leased from employers at a nominal
rent. If a household member uses housing allowance given by his/her employer for
renting accommodation, the tenure is not regarded as accommodation provided
by employer.
Inward and outward movements of passenger trains refer to the through train services operated by
the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) between
Inward and outward movements of motor vehicles refer to traffic through the control points at Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok to and from the mainland
of
Motor vehicle licensing conveys the right for a vehicle to be driven on a
road. The valid period is either four months or a year. The total vehicles
licensed figure refers to end of the year position.
Domestic exports are the natural produce of
Re-exports are
products which have previously been imported into Hong Kong and which are
re-exported without having undergone in Hong Kong a manufacturing process which
has changed permanently the shape, nature, form or utility of the product.
Their values are recorded on f.o.b (free-on-board)
basis.
Imports
are goods which
have been produced or manufactured in places outside the jurisdiction of
Exports to the mainland of
Imports from the mainland of China related
to outward processing refer to processed goods imported from
the mainland of China of which all or part of the raw materials or semi-manufactures
have been under contractual arrangement exported from or through Hong Kong to
the mainland of China for processing.
Re-exports of the mainland of China origin
to other places involving outward processing in the mainland of China refer to processed goods re-exported through
Hong Kong of which all or part of the raw materials or semi-manufactures have
been exported from or through Hong Kong to the mainland of China for processing
with a contractual arrangement for subsequent re-importation of the processed
goods into Hong Kong.
The
items "Direct investment" until "Flow of direct investment"
are applicable to direct investment (Table 23-31 and 23-32):
Direct investment
represents investment which allows investors in one economy, on a long term
basis, to influence or have an effective voice in the management of an
enterprise in another economy. For
statistical purpose, an effective voice is taken as equivalent to a holding of
10% or more of the equity in an enterprise. Direct investment comprises equity
capital, reinvested earnings and other capital. Equity capital means equity in branches,
stock and shares in subsidiaries and associates. Reinvested earnings consist of
investors' share of earnings of their subsidiaries or associates not
distributed as dividends. Other
capital mainly involves inter-company debt transactions. These include short-term or long-term
borrowing and lending of funds between parent companies and their subsidiaries,
associates and branches.
Inward direct investment refers to direct investment in a
Outward direct investment refers to direct investment by a
Position of direct investment refers to the value of investment abroad or investment received
from abroad of
Flow of direct investment refers to the additions/withdrawals of investment abroad
or investment received from abroad of
A regional headquarters is an office that has control over the
operations of offices in the region (i.e.
A regional office is an office that coordinates offices/operations in the region (i.e.
The Loan Fund is used to finance schemes of the HKSAR
Government loans, such as housing loans and students loans. The main sources of
income are appropriations from the General Revenue Account, loan repayments and
interest on loans.
Effective exchange rate index (EERI) measures movements in the weighted average of the
exchange rate of Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) against the currencies of major trading
partners of
Exchange rates between
Authorized institutions include licensed banks, restricted licence banks and deposit-taking companies.
Licensed banks can accept deposits of any size and any term of maturity.
Before
Restricted licence
banks can accept time deposits in amounts of not
less than HK$500,000 with any term of maturity. There is no restriction on
interest rate payable.
Deposit-taking companies can accept time deposits in amounts of not
less than HK$100,000 with a term of maturity of at least three months. There is
no restriction on interest rate payable.
Foreign currency swap deposits refer to deposits involving customers buying
foreign currencies in the spot market and placing them as deposits with
authorized institutions, while at the same time entering into a contract to
sell such foreign currencies (principal plus interest) forward in line with the
maturity of such deposits. For most analytical purpose, they should be regarded
as
Money Supply M1 refers to the sum of legal tender notes and coins
held by the public plus customers' demand deposits placed with licensed banks.
Money Supply M2 refers to the sum of M1 plus customers' savings
and time deposits with licensed banks, plus negotiable certificates of deposits
issued by licensed banks held by non-authorized institutions.
Money Supply M3 refers to the sum of M2 plus customer deposits
with restricted licence banks and deposit-taking companies
plus negotiable certificates of deposits issued by restricted licence banks and deposit-taking companies held by
non-authorized institutions.
Hang Seng Index launched on
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
summarizes changes in the price level of consumer goods and services purchased by
households. Its change measures the change over time in the total cost of a
given basket of goods and services. Its year-on-year rate of change is an
important indicator of inflation affecting consumers. The year-on-year rate of
change is the percentage increase or decrease in the current index compared to
that in the same period of preceding year.
Different CPIs are compiled by the Census
and Statistics Department of the HKSAR to reflect the impact of consumer price
changes on households in different expenditure ranges. The CPI(A),
CPI(B) and CPI(C) are compiled based on the expenditure patterns of households
in the relatively low, medium and relatively high expenditure ranges. A
Composite CPI is compiled based on the expenditure patterns of all households
taken together to reflect the impact of consumer price changes on the household
sector as a whole.
The expenditure weights of the CPIs are updated once every five
years. The expenditure weights currently in use are derived from the results of
the Household Expenditure Survey conducted in 1999/2000 .
Educational attainment refers to the highest level of education ever
attained by a person in school or other educational institution, regardless of
whether he/she had completed the course. Only formal courses are counted as
educational attainment. A formal course shall be one that lasts for at least
one academic year, requires specific academic qualifications for entrance (except
sub-degree, associate degree, degree and post-graduate courses offered by the
Open University of Hong Kong) and includes examinations or specific academic
assessment procedures.
Kindergarten
refers to all
classes in kindergarten.
Non-degree course refers to all higher diploma/endorsement
certificate courses in technical institutes/technical colleges (technical
institutes and technical colleges were merged as the Hong Kong Institute of
Vocational Education in 1999)/polytechnics (the present universities), associateship and other non-associateship
courses in polytechnics (the present universities) and other post-secondary
colleges. Certificate/diploma courses in colleges/institute of education and in
the
Degree course refers to all first degree courses and
post-graduate courses in tertiary educational institutions in
Social Security Schemes aim to provide for the basic and special needs
of the members of our community who are in need of financial or material
assistance. The non-contributory social security system comprises: the Comprehensive
Social Security Assistance Scheme, the Social Security Allowance Scheme, the
Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation Scheme, the Traffic Accident
Victims Assistance Scheme and Emergency Relief.
The Comprehensive Social Security
Assistance (CSSA) Scheme (known as Public Assistance (PA) Scheme
before
The Social Security Allowance (SSA) Scheme (known as Special Needs Allowance (SNA)
Scheme before
The Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries
Compensation (CLEIC) Scheme
provides cash assistance for people injured or for dependants of those killed
in crimes of violence and law enforcement acts on a non-means-tested basis.
The Traffic Accident Victims Assistance
(TAVA) Scheme provides speedy cash assistance for people injured
or for dependants of those killed in road traffic accident. It is a
non-means-tested scheme which does not take into account the element of fault
in causing the accident. Payments cover only personal injury and death but not
damage to property.
Emergency relief
provides
meals or cash-in-lieu of meals and relief articles to victims of natural and other
disasters such as typhoon, flood, landslide, fire occurred over the territory.
Persons arrested
for crime are counted based on the number of
occasions on which the offenders are arrested, whether or not they are
prosecuted. If a person is arrested on two or more occasions, each occasion is
counted as a ‘separate’ person. If
a person is arrested on one occasion for several offences, the offence with the
maximum permissible penalty being the heaviest is chosen for statistical
purposes.