From stability to prosperity: Hong Kong's economy returns to global forefront

Social unrest since June 2019 during the "legislative amendment turmoil" in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) dealt a severe blow to local inbound tourism, consumption activities and investment sentiment in the second half of 2019, pushing the economy into recession.

The economy contracted by 1.7 percent for 2019, the first annual decline since the global financial crisis in 2009. Visitor arrivals rose 13.9 percent in the first half but plunged 39.1 percent in the second half, resulting in a 14.2 percent decrease for 2019. Retail sales declined 12.3 percent for 2019, the largest annual fall between 1998 and 2019.

The Hong Kong National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance were implemented in June 2020 and March 2024, respectively. They have restored HKSAR's stability, allowing the region to focus on economic growth and enhancing people's well-being, happiness and sense of security.

The HKSAR's GDP surged 18.7 percent from HK$ 2.68 trillion in 2020 to HK$ 3.18 trillion in 2024. Visitor arrivals in HKSAR recovered to 44.5 million in 2024, 11.36 times the 3.6 million in 2020. Median monthly earnings of full-time employees rose from HK$ 20,000 to HK$ 24,300, with an increase of 21.5 percent.

The 2019 social turmoil also resulted in lower global rankings in 2020 for HKSAR, with the region's world competitiveness ranking dropping to fifth place and economic performance ranking declining to 28th place in 2020.

The restored stability in HKSAR helped the region's ranking return to the global forefront in 2025. Its world competitiveness ranking has returned to the global top three for the first time since 2019. The region's economic performance ranking has been back to the sixth place.