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This page was last updated on 13 December, 2007
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| Introduction | Hong Kong | Top of Page

Background: | Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China has promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong will enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years.

| Geography | Hong Kong | Top of Page

Location: | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
Geographic coordinates: | 22 15 N, 114 10 E
Map references: | Southeast Asia
Area: | total: 1,092 sq km land: 1,042 sq km water: 50 sq km
Area - comparative: | six times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: | total: 30 km regional border: China 30 km
Coastline: | 733 km
Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 3 nm
Climate: | subtropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall
Terrain: | hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m
Natural resources: | outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar
Land use: | arable land: 5.05% permanent crops: 1.01% other: 93.94% (2001)
Irrigated land: | 20 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: | occasional typhoons
Environment - current issues: | air and water pollution from rapid urbanization
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate member)
Geography - note: | more than 200 islands

| People | Hong Kong | Top of Page

Population: | 6,980,412 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 13% (male 476,089/female 434,326) 15-64 years: 74% (male 2,515,518/female 2,652,660) 65 years and over: 12.9% (male 419,479/female 482,340) (2007 est.)
Median age: | total: 41.2 years male: 40.9 years female: 41.4 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate: | 0.561% (2007 est.)
Birth rate: | 7.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate: | 6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate: | 4.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.096 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.948 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 2.94 deaths/1,000 live births male: 3.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 81.68 years male: 78.99 years female: 84.6 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 0.98 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.1% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 2,600 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | less than 200 (2003 est.)
Nationality: | noun: Chinese/Hong Konger adjective: Chinese/Hong Kong
Ethnic groups: | Chinese 94.9%, Filipino 2.1%, other 3% (2001 census)
Religions: | eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%
Languages: | Chinese (Cantonese) 89.2% (official), other Chinese dialects 6.4%, English 3.2% (official), other 1.2% (2001 census)
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 93.5% male: 96.9% female: 89.6% (2002)

| Government | Hong Kong | Top of Page

Country name: | conventional long form: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region conventional short form: Hong Kong local long form: Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu local short form: Xianggang abbreviation: HK
Dependency status: | special administrative region of China
Government type: | limited democracy
Administrative divisions: | none (special administrative region of China)
Independence: | none (special administrative region of China)
National holiday: | National Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949); note - 1 July 1997 is celebrated as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day
Constitution: | Basic Law, approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress, is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution"
Legal system: | based on English common law
Suffrage: | direct election 18 years of age; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years; indirect election limited to about 200,000 members of functional constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies
Executive branch: | chief of state: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) head of government: Chief Executive Donald TSANG (since 24 June 2005) cabinet: Executive Council consists of 14 official members and 15 non-official members elections: chief executive elected for five-year term by 800-member electoral committee; last held on 25 March 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: Donald TSANG elected chief executive receiving 84.1% of the vote; Alan LEONG received 15.9%
Legislative branch: | unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (60 seats; in 2004 30 seats indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 30 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 12 September 2004 (next to be held in September 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - pro-democracy 63%, pro-Beijing 37%; seats by party - (pro-Beijing 34) DAB 12, Liberal Party 10, FTU 1, independents 11; (pro-democracy 25) Democratic Party 9, CTU 2, ADPL 1, Frontier Party 1, NWSC 1, independents 11; non-voting LEGCO president 1
Judicial branch: | Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Political parties and leaders: | Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood or ADPL [Frederick FUNG Kin-kee]; Citizens Party [Alex CHAN Kai-chung]; Civic Party [KUAN Hsin-chi]; Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong or DAB [MA Lik]; Democratic Party [Albert HO]; Frontier Party [Emily LAU Wai-hing]; Liberal Party [James TIEN Pei-chun] note: political blocs include: pro-democracy - ADPL, Democratic Party, Frontier Party; pro-Beijing - DAB, Liberal Party
Political pressure groups and leaders: | Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China); Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong; Confederation of Trade Unions or CTU (pro-democracy) [LAU Chin-shek, president; LEE Cheuk-yan, general secretary]; Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Federation of Trade Unions or FTU (pro-China) [CHENG Yiu-tong, executive councilor]; Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China [Szeto WAH, chairman]; Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan); Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union [CHEUNG Man-kwong, president]; Neighborhood and Workers' Service Center or NWSC (pro-democracy); The Alliance [Bernard CHAN, exco member]
International organization participation: | APEC, AsDB, BIS, ICC, IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITUC, UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | none (special administrative region of China)
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Consul General James B. CUNNINGHAM consulate(s) general: 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong mailing address: PSC 461, Box 1, FPO AP 96521-0006 telephone: [852] 2523-9011 FAX: [852] 2845-1598
Flag description: | red with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center

| Economy | Hong Kong | Top of Page

Economy - overview: | Hong Kong has a free market economy highly dependent on international trade. The territory has become more closely linked to mainland China over the past few years. Even before Hong Kong reverted to Chinese administration on 1 July 1997, it had extensive trade and investment ties with China. Hong Kong's service industry over the past decade has grown rapidly as its manufacturing industry has moved to the mainland. Hong Kong also has stepped up its efforts to gain approval to offer more mainland financial services in a bid to remain competitive with China's growing financial centers. Hong Kong's natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Gross imports and exports (including reexports to and from third countries) each exceed GDP in dollar value. Per capita GDP exceeds that of the four big economies of Western Europe. GDP growth averaged a strong 5% from 1989 to 2006, but Hong Kong suffered two recessions in the past eight years because of the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98 and the global downturn in 2001-02. Although the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 also battered Hong Kong's economy, a solid rise in exports, a boom in tourism from the mainland because of China's easing of travel restrictions, and a return of consumer confidence resulted in the resumption of strong growth from late 2003 through 2006. Moreover, several large initial public offerings of Chinese companies on the Hong Kong stock exchange since late 2005 have helped to boost Hong Kong's status as a financial hub and have contributed to the improved performance of the market in late 2006.
GDP (purchasing power parity): | $259.1 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): | $188.8 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 6.9% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $37,300 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 0.1% industry: 8.6% services: 91.3% (2006 est.)
Labor force: | 3.583 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: | manufacturing 7.5%, construction 2.9%, wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 43.9%, financing, insurance, and real estate 19.6%, transport and communications 7.1%, community and social services 18.8% note: above data exclude public sector (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate: | 4.9% (2006 est.)
Population below poverty line: | NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 52.3 (2001)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 2% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): | 21.8% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $35.18 billion expenditures: $32.18 billion (2006 est.)
Public debt: | 13.3% of GDP (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products: | fresh vegetables; poultry, pork; fish
Industries: | textiles, clothing, tourism, banking, shipping, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks
Industrial production growth rate: | 4% (2006 est.)
Electricity - production: | 36.14 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption: | 37.74 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports: | 4.498 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports: | 11 billion kWh (2005)
Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 285,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports: | 26,090 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports: | 344,200 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves: | 0 bbl (1 January 2006)
Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 2.944 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports: | 2.944 billion cu m (2005)
Current account balance: | $20.59 billion (2006 est.)
Exports: | $317.6 billion f.o.b., including reexports (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities: | electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones, printed material
Exports - partners: | China 47%, US 15.1%, Japan 4.9% (2006)
Imports: | $331.7 billion (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities: | raw materials and semi-manufactures, consumer goods, capital goods, foodstuffs, fuel (most is re-exported)
Imports - partners: | China 45.9%, Japan 10.3%, Taiwan 7.5%, Singapore 6.3%, US 4.8%, South Korea 4.6% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $133.2 billion (2006 est.)
Debt - external: | $72.79 billion (2006 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $769.1 billion (2006 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: | $689 billion (2006 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares: | $1.006 trillion (2005)
Currency (code): | Hong Kong dollar (HKD)
Exchange rates: | Hong Kong dollars per US dollar - 7.7678 (2006), 7.7773 (2005), 7.788 (2004), 7.7868 (2003), 7.7989 (2002)
Fiscal year: | 1 April - 31 March

| Communications | Hong Kong | Top of Page

Telephones - main lines in use: | 3.85 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 9.356 million (2006)
Telephone system: | general assessment: modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services domestic: microwave radio relay links and extensive fiber-optic network international: country code - 852; multiple international submarine cables provide connections to Asia, US, Australia, the Middle East, and Western Europe; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean); coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China
Radio broadcast stations: | AM 5, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2004)
Television broadcast stations: | 55 (2 TV networks, each broadcasting on 2 channels) (2006)
Internet country code: | .hk
Internet hosts: | 812,137 (2007)
Internet users: | 3.77 million (2006)

| Transportation | Hong Kong | Top of Page

Airports: | 2 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 2 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Heliports: | 5 (2007)
Roadways: | total: 1,955 km paved: 1,955 km (2005)
Merchant marine: | total: 1,009 ships (1000 GRT or over) 34,556,075 GRT/57,423,309 DWT by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 499, cargo 135, chemical tanker 51, combination ore/oil 3, container 173, liquefied gas 24, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 91, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 8, vehicle carrier 8 foreign-owned: 617 (Belgium 4, Canada 39, China 309, Denmark 12, France 1, Germany 10, Greece 30, Indonesia 7, Japan 78, South Korea 6, Lebanon 1, Norway 30, Pakistan 1, Philippines 10, Portugal 1, Singapore 11, Syria 1, Taiwan 11, UAE 1, UK 32, US 22) registered in other countries: 275 (Bahamas 3, Belize 5, Bermuda 4, Cambodia 11, China 6, Cyprus 2, Honduras 1, India 1, Liberia 21, Malaysia 14, Malta 1, Marshall Islands 4, Mongolia 1, Norway 5, Panama 137, Philippines 2, Seychelles 1, Singapore 37, St Vincent and The Grenadines 7, Tuvalu 10, UK 2, unknown 7) (2007)
Ports and terminals: | Hong Kong

| Military | Hong Kong | Top of Page

Military branches: | no regular indigenous military forces; Hong Kong garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes elements of Ground Forces, Navy, and Air Force; these forces are under the direct leadership of the Central Military Commission in Beijing and under administrative control of the adjacent Guangzhou Military Region
Military service age and obligation: | 18 years of age (2004)
Manpower available for military service: | males age 18-49: 1,743,972 females age 18-49: 1,904,967 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: | males age 18-49: 1,403,088 females age 18-49: 1,527,278 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually: | males age 18-49: 40,343 females age 18-49: 38,234 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | NA
Military - note: | defense is the responsibility of China

| Transnational Issues | Hong Kong | Top of Page

Disputes - international: | none
Illicit drugs: | despite strenuous law enforcement efforts, faces difficult challenges in controlling transit of heroin and methamphetamine to regional and world markets; modern banking system provides conduit for money laundering; rising indigenous use of synthetic drugs, especially among young people

This page was last updated on 13 December, 2007