A strong showing for Hong Kong in 2005.

Back in April 2005, when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated how much Hong Kong's GDP would grow in 2005, the IMF calculated that GDP would have grown 4 percent by the time official statistics for 2005 were reported.

On December 25, 2005, the People's Daily Online (Beijing) website reported that Hong Kong GDP grew 7.3 percent during the first three quarters of 2005. Citing a consensus of "various research organizations" the website said that GDP would end the year at approximately 7 percent, 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent higher than predictions at the beginning of the year.

Hong Kong is doing well. And its consumers likewise are doing well.

Market: Asia Pacific does not track per capita income for Hong Kong as a separate market. But if we did Hong Kong's per-capita income (US$33,940, an IMF estimate for 2006) would be the highest per-capita income in the Asia Pacific region (see page 5 under "Purchasing Power") beating out such important economies as Japan, Australia, Singapore and Taiwan.

Ranked against the 15 original members of the European Union, Hong Kong's per capita income would come in fifth, after Luxembourg at US$70,044, Ireland at US$44,082, Denmark at us$36,083, and Austria at us$24,423.

Consumer spending, along with strong exports, is credited as the reason for Hong Kong's strong showing in 2005. Citing major banks in Hong Kong, People's Daily said that expectations for 2006 were that the economy would slow somewhat with GDP settling at a growth rate somewhere between 4.5 percent and 5 percent for the year.

The strong economy created jobs. Since 2003, 220,000 jobs were added. Many of the new hires were for jobs in the "lower-skilled" category, meaning that a significant portion of Hong Kong's population could begin climbing the ladder to consumer status where discretionary income adds to consumer spending overall. Unemployment for 2006: 4.9 percent.

Inflation also has been kind to Hong Kong's consumers. For the six years preceding 2005 the growth of inflation actually declined. In 2005, it was 1 percent.

FURTHER DIVERSIFICATION OF THE ECONOMY WILL INCREASE PROSPERITY

The population growth rate for Hong Kong is below the regional average, due in part to a birth rate of 7 per thousand inhabitants, which is lower than the average of 12 per thousand for East Asia. Job creation has kept up with growth of the labor force in recent years, and it is likely that the situation will improve even further in 2006. Unemployment is running about 5.7 percent (IMF 2005), and this continues to buoy consumer confidence.

Hong Kong's population reached 7-million people mid-2005, which amounted to just a small fraction East Asia's 1.5-billion inhabitants. According to data released by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), Hong Kong's population will reach 8-million 2025. Also, according to that source, Hong Kong is going to have a population of 9-million people in 2050.

The PRB revealed that 100 percent of Hong Kong's population lived in its urban area during 2005. The country's population density is 16,753 people per square mile. Hong Kong is approximately 100 square miles bigger than New York City, and Hong Kong has just over one million fewer people. The CIA's World Factbook, indicates that 14 percent of Hong Kong's population was birth to 14 years old in 2005, while 74 percent was 15 to 64 years old, and 12 percent of the populace was 65 years of age and over.

CIA statistics revealed that the country's population growth rate was 0.85 percent in 2005 and the According to the United Nations Population Division, in the year 2050, 14 percent of Hong Kong's population will be birth to 14 years old, while 52 percent will be aged 15 to 59, and 34 percent of the populace will be 60 years of age and over.