In policy-related discussions, numerical facts are often expressed in big numbers which make them difficult to understand. For example:
The Hong Kong government had a revenue surplus of $63.4 billion HKD in the 2011-12 fiscal year. [1]
But how much is 63.4 billion HKD?
To a layman, 63.4 billion, being an astronomical figure, only means BIG and the size of 63.4 billion is never fully comprehended. To enable them to appreciate the size of the number, all that's needed is a little extra information. Knowing that the population of Hong Kong in 2011 is 7.1 million [2], the revenue surplus can now be expressed in personal terms:
To a layman, 63.4 billion, being an astronomical figure, only means BIG and the size of 63.4 billion is never fully comprehended. To enable them to appreciate the size of the number, all that's needed is a little extra information. Knowing that the population of Hong Kong in 2011 is 7.1 million [2], the revenue surplus can now be expressed in personal terms:
The Hong Kong government had a revenue surplus of $63.4 billion HKD in the 2011-12 fiscal year, which is equivalent to $9000 HKD per person.
The size of the revenue surplus immediately becomes comprehensible when its equivalent personal unit is provided. Any person living in Hong Kong would be immediately know that the surplus is just under 1 month of salary for the root class and one can buy 2 iPhone 4S with that amount of money [3].
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