Hong Kong Standard Industrial Classification (HSIC)
The Hong Kong Standard Industrial Classification (HSIC) is the official framework for classifying economic activities in Hong Kong. HSIC, maintained by Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department, was first adopted in 1991 and undergone two revisions since then. The HSIC, which is an adaptation of the United Nation's ISIC, is currently structured into five classification levels, from broadly defined sections at the first level to finer subclasses at the fifth level reflecting Hong Kong's industrial structure. The HSIC is used extensively in Hong Kong across the public and private sectors.
Metadata
| Publisher type | National |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Jurisdictions | Hong Kong |
Versions
Hong Kong Standard Industrial Classification (HSIC) V2.0 (Current)
HSIC V2.0 has been in force in Hong Kong since 2009. It is modelled on the United Nation's International Standard Industrial Classification of all Economic Activities (ISIC) Rev. 4 which was released in 2008. While HSIC V2.0 and ISIC Rev. 4 are identical up to the 2-digit (though the titles of categories differ slightly) level, HSIC V2.0 has fewer 3-digit (Industry Group) industries and substantially more 4-digit (Industry Class) industries than ISIC Rev. 4. Most of the additional classes are in the Professional, scientific and technical activities and Manufacturing sections.
Changes between HSIC V1.1 and HSIC V2.0
Numerous changes were introduced in HSIC V2.0. In terms of structure, the four-level hierarchical structure of HSIC V1.1 was replaced with a five-level structure in HSIC V2.0. While the number of top-level groupings increased from nine in HSIC V1.1 to 21 in HSIC V.2.0, its coding also changed from single digit numbers to alphabets. At the other end of the system, the number of detailed industries also increased from 886 in HSIC V1.1 to 1006 in HSIC V2.0.
At the broad classification level of HSIC V2.0, following developments in ISIC Rev 4, new first-level industries created include the Section E (Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities) made up of environment-related activities located in the 1-digit industries of HSIC V1.1 for Manufacturing and Community, Social and Personal Services. Another prominent addition is the Section J (Information and Communications), a rapidly expanding sector in in Hong Kong at the time of the release of HSIC V2.0. This new section brought together activities from different 1-digit industries in HSIC V1.1. To reflect the depth of the services sector in Honk Kong the 1-digit industry in HSIC V1.1 for Financing, Insurance, Real Estate and Business Services was disaggregated into four separate sections in HSIC V2.0: Section K (Financial and insurance activities), Section L (Real estate activities), Section M (Professional, scientific and technical activities), and Section N (Administrative and support service activities). A similar treatment was given to the Community, social and personal services industry of HSIC V1.1 which was split into seven separate sections in HSIC V.2.0 among which are Section O (Public administration), Section P (Education) and Section Q (Human health and social work activities).
At the more detailed end of the hierarchy, while the overall number of 6-digit industries increased substantially in HSIC V2.0, sectors were differently affected. For example, reflecting structural changes in the Hong Kong economy with the relocation of manufacturing operations to the mainland of China, the number of 6-digit industries in the Manufacturing sector reduced from 372 in HSIC V1.1 to 244 in HSIC V2.0.
Structure of HSIC V2.0
HSIC V2.0 is structured into five levels, as follows:
Industry Section: 21 Industry Sections identified by alphabets from A to U. This is the broadest level in HSIC V2.0.
Industry Division: 88 Industry Divisions identified by 2-digit numeric codes (01-99).
Industry Group: 238 Industry Groups identified by 3-digit numeric codes (011-990).
Industry Class: 419 Industry Classes identified by 4-digit numeric codes (0110-9900).
Industry Sub-class: 1001 Industry Sub-classes identified by 6-digit numeric codes (011000-990000).
The table below shows the number of subcategories in each of the 21 sections of HSIC V2.0. Section G (Import/export, wholesale and retail trades) and section C (Manufacturing) are the two most detailed sectors in HSIC V2.0.
Section | Title | Industry Divisions | Industry Groups | Industry Classes | Industry Sub-classes |
A | Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 3 | 10 | 12 | 12 |
B | Mining and quarrying | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
C | Manufacturing | 24 | 67 | 166 | 244 |
D | Electricity and gas supply | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
E | Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities | 4 | 6 | 9 | 9 |
F | Construction | 3 | 8 | 15 | 48 |
G | Import/export, wholesale and retail trades | 3 | 11 | 49 | 375 |
H | Transportation, storage, postal and courier services | 5 | 10 | 29 | 52 |
I | Accommodation and food service activities | 2 | 4 | 10 | 22 |
J | Information and communications | 6 | 11 | 22 | 24 |
K | Financial and insurance activities | 3 | 9 | 18 | 26 |
L | Real estate activities | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
M | Professional, scientific and technical activities | 7 | 17 | 34 | 34 |
N | Administrative and support service activities | 6 | 18 | 26 | 26 |
O | Public administration | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
P | Education | 1 | 5 | 10 | 33 |
Q | Human health and social work activities | 3 | 14 | 21 | 21 |
R | Arts, entertainment and recreation | 4 | 7 | 16 | 25 |
S | Other service activities | 3 | 9 | 26 | 30 |
T | Work activities within domestic households | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
U | Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Total | 88 | 221 | 483 | 1001 |
Resources
Hong Kong Standard Industrial Classification (HSIC) V1.1 (Legacy)
HSIC V1.1 was in force in Hong Kong from 2001 to 2008. It was aligned with the United Nation's ISIC Rev. 2 only at the 1-digit (Industry Sector) level. At all other levels, HSIC V1.1 contains substantially more detail: 84 second-level industries compared to 33 in ISIC Rev. 2, 404 third-level industries compared to 72 in ISIC Rev. 2, and 886 fourth-level industries compared to 160 in ISIC Rev. 2.
Changes Between HSIC V1.0 and HSIC V1.1
Following the rise of the information technology and telecommunications sector in Hong Kong, the HSIC V1.1 was released to provide a more refined classification framework in related industries. The vast majority of these refinements were at the most detailed level of the classification with the splitting of 6-digit Industries/Trades from HSIC V1.0 into two or more other categories in HSIC V1.1. For example, the Industry/Trade 384000 (Electronic parts and components, manufacturing) of HSIC V1.0 was split in HSIC V1.1 into 384001 (Electronic parts and components for computer and telecommunications equipment, manufacturing) and 384099 (Electronic parts and components, n.e.c., manufacturing). In a more detailed case, the Industry/Trade 731900 (Miscellaneous communications services, n.e.c.) of HSIC V1.0 was split into six categories in HSIC V1.1 including 732901 (Mobile communications services) and 732902 (Internet access services), among others. In total, 19 new 6-digit Industries/Trades were created in HSIC V1.1.
Structure of HSIC V1.1
HSIC V1.1 was structured into four levels, as follows:
Industry Sectors: Nine Industry Sectors identified a 1-digit numeric code.
Major Industry Groups: 84 Major Industry Groups identified by 3-digit numeric codes.
Industry Groups: 404 Industry Groups identified by 4-digit numeric codes.
Industries/Trades: 886 Industry Classes identified by 6-digit numeric codes.
Resources
Hong Kong Standard Industrial Classification (HSIC) V1.0 (Legacy)
HSIC V1.0 was in force in Hong Kong from 1990 to 2001. It was an update to an industrial classification system used by Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department since 1973. HSIC V1.0 was identical with the United Nation's ISIC Rev. 2 only at the 1-digit (Industry Sector) level. At all other levels, HSIC V1.0 contains substantially more detail: 83 second-level industries compared to 33 in ISIC Rev. 2, 403 third-level industries compared to 72 in ISIC Rev. 2, and 867 fourth-level industries compared to 160 in ISIC Rev. 2.
Structure of HSIC V1.0
HSIC V1.0 was structured into four levels, as follows:
Industry Sectors: Nine Industry Sectors identified a 1-digit numeric code.
Major Industry Groups: 83 Major Industry Groups identified by 3-digit numeric codes.
Industry Groups: 403 Industry Groups identified by 4-digit numeric codes.
Industries/Trades: 867 Industry Classes identified by 6-digit numeric codes.
Resources
Where is it used?
The HSIC is principally used by Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department. The HSIC, in addition to providing a basic stratification for sample selection of units in key national surveys, also serves as the main reference for industrial classification in Hong Kong for the collection, analysis and dissemination of statistics and indices by economic activities.
Other public agencies in Hong Kong use the HSIC for various statistical and analytical purposes. For example, the Intellectual Property Department has used the HSIC framework is used to examine the distribution of intellectual property rights in its various forms across industries in Hong Kong.
Like other industry classification systems, HSIC codes can be used by private businesses for a range of purposes, from finding potential business partners or competitors to market/industry segmentation.
The HSIC is also widely used in academic research shedding light on issues such as employment clusters in Hong Kong.