Explanatory
Notes on Main Statistical Indicators
Mid-year Population is
compiled using the “resident population” approach. The population estimate compiled under
the “resident population” approach is referred to as the Hong Kong Resident
Population, which comprises “Usual Residents” and “Mobile Residents”. “Usual
Residents” refer to two categories of people: (a) Hong Kong Permanent Residents
who have stayed in Hong Kong for at least 3 months during the 6 months before
or for at least 3 months during the 6 months after the reference time-point,
regardless of whether they are in Hong Kong at the reference time-point; and
(b) Hong Kong Non-permanent Residents who are in Hong Kong at the reference
time-point. As for “Mobile
Residents”, they are Hong Kong Permanent Residents who have stayed in Hong Kong
for at least 1 month but less than 3 months during the 6 months before or for
at least 1 month but less than 3 months during the 6 months after the reference
time-point, regardless of whether they are in Hong Kong at the reference
time-point. Under the new approach,
visitors are not part of the
Crude Birth Rate refers to
the number of live births in a given year per 1000 mid-year population of that
year.
Crude Death Rate refers to
the number of deaths in a given year per 1000 mid-year population of that year.
Infant Mortality Rate refers to
the number of deaths of age under one in a given year per 1000 live births in
that year.
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.
Expectation of Life at Birth refers to
the number of years of life that a person born in a given year is expected to
live if he/she was subject to the prevalent mortality conditions as reflected
by the set of age-sex specific mortality rates for that year.
Labour Force refers to
the land-based non-institutional population aged 15 and over who satisfy the
criteria for being classified as employed population or
unemployed population.
Labour Force Participation Rate refers to
the proportion of labour force in the total land-based non-institutional population aged 15 and
over.
Employed Persons refer to
those persons aged 15 and over who have been at work for pay or profit during
the 7 days before enumeration or have had formal job attachment. Unpaid family workers and persons who
were on leave/holiday during the 7 days before enumeration are included.
Unemployed Persons refer to
those persons aged 15 and over who (a) have not had a job and have not
performed any work for pay or profit during the 7 days before enumeration; and
(b) have been available for work during the 7 days before enumeration; and (c)
have sought work during the 30 days before enumeration. If a person aged 15 or over fulfils the
conditions (a) and (b) above but has not sought work during the 30 days before
enumeration because he/she believes that work is not available, he/she is still classified as
unemployed, being regarded as a so-called “discouraged worker”. Unemployed
population 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
have made arrangements to take up a new job or to start business on a
subsequent date; or were expecting to return to their original jobs.
Unemployment Rate refers to
the proportion of unemployed persons in the labour force.
Monthly Employment Earnings refer to
earnings from all jobs during the month before enumeration. For employees, they include wage and
salary, bonus, commission, tips, housing allowance, overtime allowance,
attendance allowance and other cash allowances. 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 an economy in
a specified period (typically a year or a quarter), before deducting the
consumption of fixed capital.
Per Capita GDP is
obtained by dividing the total GDP in a year by the population of that economy in
the same year.
Gross National Income (GNI) is a measure of the total income earned by residents
of an economy from engaging in various economic activities,
irrespective of whether the economic activities are carried out within the
economic territory of the economy or outside. In other words, in compiling GNI,
income earned by residents from engaging in various economic activities within
or outside the economic territory are included, whereas income earned by
non-residents from engaging in economic activities within the economic territory are excluded.
GNI is
computed as
follows:
GNI = GDP + Net external primary income flows
= GDP + Primary income earned by residents
from
outside the economic territory -
Primary income earned by non-residents
from
within the economic territory
Primary income comprises
investment income and compensation of employees (CE). Investment income includes direct
investment income (DII), portfolio investment income (PII) and other investment
income (OII) as well as income on reserve assets (RA).
Per capita GNI of an economy is obtained by dividing GNI in a year by
the population of that economy in the same year.
Balance of Payments (BoP) is a
statistical statement that systematically summarises, for a specific time
period (typically a year or a quarter), the economic transactions of an economy
with the rest of the world (i.e. between residents and non-residents). A
complete BoP account comprises two broad accounts : (a) the current account; and (b) the capital and
financial account.
Current account measures the
flows of goods, services, primary income and secondary income between residents
and non-residents.
Goods under
the BoP current account mainly cover general
merchandise, net exports of goods under merchanting
and non-monetary gold.
Services under
the BoP current account mainly cover transport
services, travel services, insurance and pension services, financial services,
manufacturing services and other services.
Primary
Income Account shows the amounts
receivable and payable abroad in return for providing/obtaining use of labour,
financial resources or natural resources to/from non-residents. The concepts and definitions of primary income under the current account of
the BoP are the same as those of the external primary income flow under GNI.
Secondary Income Account records current transfers
between residents and non-residents.
Current transfers are transactions in which real or financial resources
that are likely to be consumed immediately or shortly are provided without the
receipt of equivalent economic values in return. Current transfers are unilateral in
nature and are offsetting entries in the BoP account
for one-sided transactions. Examples include workers' remittances, donations,
official assistance and pensions.
Capital Account measures
external transactions in capital transfers, and the acquisition
and
disposal of non-produced, non-financial assets (such as trademarks and
brand names). Examples
of capital transfers include forgiveness of debts by creditors, and cash
transfers involving the acquisition or disposal of fixed assets.
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 by function (i.e. the purpose of the investment) 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 a significant degree of influence or an effective voice in the
management of an enterprise located in another economy. For statistical purpose, an effective
voice is taken as being equivalent to a holding of 10% or more of the voting
power in an enterprise.
Portfolio Investment
refers to
investment in non-resident equity securities and debt securities (e.g. bonds
and notes, money market instruments), other than that included in direct
investment or reserve assets.
Compared with direct investors, portfolio investors in equity securities
and debt securities of non-resident enterprises have no lasting interest or
influence in the management of the enterprises concerned. A holding of less than 10% of the voting
power in an enterprise is regarded as portfolio investment.
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 in their own right. Financial derivatives include
option-type contracts (e.g. warrants and options) and forward-type contracts
(e.g. futures, interest rate swaps, currency swaps, forward rate agreements,
forward foreign exchange contracts).
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. Other investment
includes non-marketable loans, currency and deposits, trade credits and
advances, and other assets / liabilities.
Reserve Assets are
external assets that are readily available to and controlled by the monetary
authority of an economy (which refers to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in
the case of Hong Kong) for meeting balance of payments financing needs, for
intervention in exchange markets to regulate the currency exchange rate of that
economy, and for other related purposes (such as maintaining confidence in the
currency and the economy, and serving as a basis for foreign borrowing).
International Investment Position (IIP) is
a balance sheet showing the stock of external financial assets and liabilities
of an economy at a particular time point. The difference between the external
financial assets and liabilities is the net IIP of the economy, which
represents either its net claim on or net liability to the rest of the
world. Being fully consistent with
the BoP financial account, IIP is also categorised 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 BoP account.
Net IIP is the
difference between total external financial assets and total external financial
liabilities.
Index of Industrial Production measures the
changes in local industrial output in real terms, i.e. changes in the volume
of local production after discounting the effect of price changes.
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.
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.
First Submission refers to
plans for a building project which are first submitted to the Building
Authority for approval.
Major Revision refers to
building plans which have been so extensively revised that they must be
fundamentally re-assessed.
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”.
Imports are goods which
have been produced or manufactured in places outside the jurisdiction of Hong
Kong and brought into Hong Kong for domestic use or for subsequent re-export as
well as
Domestic exports are the
natural produce of Hong Kong or products of a manufacturing process in
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. basis.
Exports to the Mainland of China for Outward Processing refer to
raw materials or semi-manufactures exported from or through Hong Kong to the
mainland of
Imports from the Mainland of China Related to Outward
Processing refer to
processed goods imported to Hong Kong 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 (excluding the Mainland of China) 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.
Direct Investment refers to
external investment in which an investor of an economy acquires a
lasting interest and a significant degree of influence or an effective voice in
the management of an enterprise located in another economy. For statistical purpose, an effective voice is
taken as being equivalent to a holding of 10% or more of the voting
power in an enterprise.
Direct investment comprises equity and investment
fund shares and debt instruments.
Equity and investment fund shares include equity in branches, shares in
subsidiaries and associates, investment fund shares and reinvestment of
earnings (which refers to the investors’
share of earnings not distributed by branches, subsidiaries, associates or
investment funds). Debt
instruments mainly involve inter-company debt transactions. These include short-term and long-term
borrowing and lending of funds between parent companies and their branches,
subsidiaries and associates.
Inward Direct Investment refers to
direct investment by a
non-Hong Kong resident on 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
Loan Fund finances
loans and advances for such schemes as housing loans and education loans. The main sources of income are
appropriations from the General Revenue Account, loan repayments and interest
on loans.
Effective Exchange Rate Index (EERI) for the Hong Kong Dollar
(HKD) is an index which measures movements in the weighted average of the
exchange rate of the HKD against the currencies of major trading partners of
Exchange Rates Between the Hong Kong Dollar and Other Currencies refer to
the closing middle market telegraphic transfer rates or notes rates.
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. With the final phase of interest rate
deregulation came into effect on 3 July 2001, there is no restriction on
interest rate payable. As for
restricted licence banks, they can accept time deposits in amounts of not less
than HK$500,000 with any term of maturity. Deposit-taking companies can however
accept time deposits in amounts of not less than HK$100,000 with a term of
maturity of at least three months.
Both restricted licence banks and deposit-taking companies have 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 deposit
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 (RLBs) and deposit-taking companies (DTCs)
plus negotiable certificates of deposit issued by RLBs
and DTCs held by non-authorized institutions.
Hang Seng Index is
a freefloat-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index. The 15% cap on each
constituent weighting would be lowered to 10%. This change would be phased in over a
period of 12 months from 5 September 2014 after market close through five
rounds of index rebalancing. The 50
constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index are grouped
under four sub-indices, namely Commerce and Industry, Finance, Properties and
Utilities. These stocks account for
about 60 percent of the total market capitalization of all stocks listed on the Main Board of
the Stock
Exchange of Hong Kong.
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
measures the changes over time in the
price level of consumer goods and services generally purchased
by households. The year-on-year
rate of change in the CPI is widely used as an indicator of the inflation
affecting consumers. Different
CPI series are compiled 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
respectively. A Composite CPI is
compiled based on the overall expenditure pattern of all the above households
taken together to reflect the impact of consumer price changes on the household
sector as a whole. The expenditure
weight of each item is the share of the item in the total expenditure of
households. Derived from the
results of the Household Expenditure Survey, the set of expenditure weights is
updated once every five years to ensure that up-to-date expenditure patterns of
households in different expenditure ranges are used in the compilation of the
respective CPIs.
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.
Social Security Schemes aim to
provide for the basic and special needs of the members of the 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 Scheme provides a
safety net for those who cannot support themselves financially. It is designed to bring their income up
to a prescribed level to meet their basic needs. An applicant must satisfy the residence
requirements and pass both the income and assets tests.
The Social Security Allowance Scheme which includes Normal Disability
Allowance, Higher Disability Allowance, Old Age Allowance,
Old Age Living Allowance and Guangdong Scheme. Old Age Allowance and Disability
Allowance provides a monthly allowance to
The Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation
Scheme aims to
provide ex-gratia payments to persons
(or to their dependants in cases of death) who are injured as a result of a
crime of violence, or by a law enforcement officer using a weapon in the
execution of his duty. The
Scheme is non-means-tested.
The Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Scheme aims to
provide speedy financial assistance to road traffic accident victims (or to
their surviving dependants in cases of death) on a non-means
tested basis, regardless of the element of
fault leading to the occurrence of the accident. Payments are made for personal
injuries, while loss of or damage to property is not included.
Emergency Relief is
provided for victims of natural and other disasters such as fire, typhoon,
flood, rainstorm, landslide, house collapse, and also for evacuees of buildings
and premises considered to be dangerous under Closure Orders.