A new round of the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) will be launched in September 2024 to collect up-to-date information on the expenditure patterns of households in Hong Kong. The HES data are important inputs for updating the expenditure weights of consumer goods and services used for compiling the Consumer Price Indices (CPIs).
The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) conducts an HES once every 5 years. The survey will be conducted for a whole year in order to take into account seasonal variations in consumer spending during different periods of the year.
A sample of living quarters will be selected for the survey under a scientifically designed sampling scheme. The one-year survey period is broken down into 26 cycles, with each cycle comprising two weeks. Each household in the sample will be invited to take part in one cycle. The questionnaires used in the HES include a 2-week expenditure diary form for each household member to record his/her daily expenditures.
Prior to the conduct of the main survey, a pre-test will be carried out during May to July 2024 to test the survey design, work flows and various aspects of survey operations.
About 2-3 weeks before commencement of each survey cycle, letters will be issued to the sampled living quarters inviting the households therein to participate in the survey. The households can:
The 2024/25 HES is conducted under Part IIIA of the Census and Statistics Ordinance (Cap. 316). Data collected in the survey regarding individual persons and households will be kept strictly confidential and will not be released to any unauthorised parties, including Government departments. Such data will only be used for compiling statistics from which particulars of individual households cannot be identified.
Major results of the 2024/25 HES and the rebased CPIs will be released to the public in around mid-2026. For statistics on household expenditures, please visit https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/scode290.html.
For enquiries about the 2024/25 HES, please contact the Household Expenditure Survey Section of the C&SD at telephone number 2551 6500 or email address hesurvey@censtatd.gov.hk.