Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in Hong Kong

Hong Kong: Wage bill as a percentage of GDP was 4.6% in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
4.6%
Change on year
up 2.9%
World rank
160th
of 191 countries
All-time high
5.5%
in 2003
All-time low
4.0%
in 2018
Years of data
19
2002–2020

Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in Hong Kong, 2002–2020

02462002201120202002: 5.42003: 5.52004: 4.92005: 4.42006: 4.32007: 4.12008: 4.22009: 4.22010: 42011: 4.12012: 4.22013: 4.22014: 4.12015: 4.12016: 4.22017: 42018: 42019: 4.52020: 4.6

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

In 2020, wage bill as a percentage of gdp in Hong Kong stood at 4.6%.

The figure is up 2.9% on the previous year and up 14.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, wage bill as a percentage of gdp in Hong Kong peaked at 5.5% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 4.0%, in 2018.

That places Hong Kong 160th out of 191 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.

Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in Hong Kong, year by year

Annual values for Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in Hong Kong, 2002 to 2020.
Year Value Change
2002 5.4%
2003 5.5% +0.5%
2004 4.9% -11.1%
2005 4.4% -8.7%
2006 4.3% -4.2%
2007 4.1% -4.4%
2008 4.2% +2.1%
2009 4.2% +2.4%
2010 4.0% -5.1%
2011 4.1% +1.1%
2012 4.2% +2.6%
2013 4.2% -0.6%
2014 4.1% -0.4%
2015 4.1% -0.9%
2016 4.2% +1.8%
2017 4.0% -3.4%
2018 4.0% -0.4%
2019 4.5% +11.7%
2020 4.6% +2.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 4.6% 4.1% 5.5% 8
2010s 4.1% 4.0% 4.5% 10
2020s 4.6% 4.6% 4.6% 1

Countries ranked near Hong Kong

  1. 157 Gambia 4.8% compare
  2. 158 Trinidad and Tobago 4.7% compare
  3. 159 Egypt 4.7% compare
  4. 161 Uruguay 4.5% compare
  5. 162 Tanzania, United Republic of 4.4% compare
  6. 163 Benin 4.4% compare

See the full ranking of 191 places →

More reference data data for Hong Kong

All data for Hong Kong →

Frequently asked questions

What is wage bill as a percentage of gdp in Hong Kong?
Wage bill as a percentage of gdp in Hong Kong was 4.6% in 2020, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest wage bill as a percentage of gdp recorded in Hong Kong?
The highest recorded value was 5.5% in 2003.
What is the lowest wage bill as a percentage of gdp recorded in Hong Kong?
The lowest recorded value was 4.0% in 2018.
How does Hong Kong rank for wage bill as a percentage of gdp?
Hong Kong ranks 160th out of 191 countries with data for 2020.
Is wage bill as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Hong Kong?
Over the last ten years it is up 14.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Hong Kong data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Wage bill as a percentage of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in Hong Kong. Statizoid. Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/wage-bill-as-a-percentage-of-gdp/hong-kong-sar-china/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/wage-bill-as-a-percentage-of-gdp/hong-kong-sar-china/">Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in Hong Kong</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Wage bill as a percentage of GDP
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
191 places, 4,127 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed