The Government announced today (June 15) the coverage and statistics of Hong Kong's "Total Domestic Expenditure on Innovation Activities".
 
     Under the 15th Five-Year Plan, the country has clearly supported Hong Kong's development into an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre. Promoting I&T development has been one of the key policy areas of the current-term Government. To more comprehensively reflect the development trends and future strategic directions of Hong Kong's I&T sector, the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau (ITIB), with reference to statistical methodologies adopted by other economies and after consulting the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), has announced the coverage and statistics of "Total Domestic Expenditure on Innovation Activities". "Total Domestic Expenditure on Innovation Activities" covers Gross Domestic Expenditure on Research and Development (R&D), which includes basic and applied research; and expenditure on enterprises' application development and other related innovation activities (such as product design, software development, process validation, pilot testing, product testing, and applications for intellectual property registration). According to the latest figures from the C&SD, Hong Kong's "Total Domestic Expenditure on Innovation Activities" amounted to $51.714 billion in 2024, representing an increase of 9.0 per cent over 2023, with its ratio to Gross Domestic Product at 1.63 per cent.
　　 
　　The Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, said, "Both the 14th and 15th Five-Year Plans of the country clearly support Hong Kong's development into an international I&T centre. The 2025 Policy Address has set out a clearer vision and roadmap for I&T development. While the Government continues to increase investment in I&T, it also actively encourages enterprises to serve as the main drivers of innovation, jointly promoting the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation. At present, building on the research capabilities of existing universities, Hong Kong's I&T sector has basically formed a development framework underpinned by three major I&T parks and five major R&D institutions. In the next five years, the Government will align closely with the key technology areas prioritised by the country, strengthen research capabilities, and further encourage enterprises to invest in innovation activities, so as to empower economic transformation through technology, develop new quality productive forces, and realise the vision of developing Hong Kong into an international I&T centre."
　　 　　 
　　A spokesman for the C&SD said, "The C&SD will continue to keep abreast of relevant international guidelines and provide professional statistical advice to the ITIB and other stakeholders, with a view to compiling appropriate statistics that reflect the latest situation of innovation activities in Hong Kong."

Ends/Monday, June 15, 2026
Issued at HKT 17:30

NNNN