Hong Kong

Territory of China; until 1 july 1997 it was a dependent territory of the U.K.

Click on the map to see specific information

 
Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

Area

Total area: 1,040 sq km
Land area: 990 sq km
Comparative area: slightly less than six times the size of Washington, DC

Land Boundaries

Total 30 km, China 30 km

Coastline

733 km

Maritime Claims

Territorial sea: 3 nm

International Disputes

None

Climate

Tropical 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
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m

Natural Resources

Outstanding deepwater harbor
Feldspar

Land Use

Arable land: 7%
Permanent crops: 1%
Meadows and pastures: 1%
Forest and woodland: 12%
Other: 79%

Irrigated Land

20 sq km (1989)

Environment

Current issues: air and water pollution from rapid urbanization
Natural hazards: occasional typhoons
International agreements: NA

Note: More than 200 islands

PEOPLE

Population

6,305,413 (July 1996 est.)
5,542,869 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

19% (male 609,493; female 593,687) (July 1996 est.)
19% (male 549,734; female 499,460) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

70% (male 2,312,141; female 2,094,156) (July 1996 est.)
70% (male 2,016,684; female 1,866,540) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

11% (male 307,186; female 388,750) (July 1996 est.)
11% (male 279,060; female 331,391) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

1.77% (1996 est.)
-0.12% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

10.5 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
12.02 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

5.23 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
6.02 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

12.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
-7.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.05 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

5.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
5.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total population: 82.19 years (1996 est.), 80.18 years (1995 est.)
Male: 78.88 years (1996 est.), 76.78 years (1995 est.)
Female: 85.71 years (1996 est.), 83.78 years (1995 est.)

Total Fertility Rate

1.3 children born/woman (1996 est.)
1.39 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Noun: Chinese
Adjective: Chinese

Ethnic Divisions

Chinese 95%
Other 5%

Religions

Eclectic mixture of local religions 90%
Christian 10%

Languages

Chinese (Cantonese), English

Literacy

Age 15 and over that has ever attended school (1995 est.)

Total population: 92.2%
Male: 96%
Female: 88.2%

Labor Force

2,915,400 (1994)

By occupation:

Manufacturing 28.5%
Wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 27.9%
Services 17.7%
Financing, insurance, and real estate 9.2%
Transport and communications 4.5%
Construction 2.5%
Other 9.7% (1989)

GOVERNMENT

Names

Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Hong Kong

Abbreviation

Digraph

Type

Dependent territory of China; it was reverted from the U.K. on 1 july 1997

Capital

Victoria

Administrative Divisions

None (dependent territory of China)

Independence

None (dependent territory of China; the U.K. signed an agreement with China on 19 December 1984 to return Hong Kong to China on 1 July 1997; in the joint declaration, China promises to respect Hong Kong's existing social and economic systems and lifestyle)

National Holiday

Liberation Day, 29 August (1945); this may become a different day now

Constitution

Unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice; new Basic Law approved in March 1990 in preparation for 1997

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 100,000 professionals of electoral college and functional constituencies

Executive Branch

Chief of state: President JIANG Zemin; Vice President RONG Yiren; election last held 27 March 1993 (next to be held 1998); results - JIANG Zemin was nominally elected by the Eighth National People's Congress
Head of government: Premier LI Peng (Acting Premier since 24 November 1987, Premier since 9 April 1988) nominated by the president, decided by the National People's Congress; Vice Premiers ZHU Rongji (since 8 April 1991), ZOU Jiahua (since 8 April 1991), QIAN Qichen (since 29 March 1993), LI Lanqing (29 March 1993), WU Bangguo (since 17 March 1995), and JIANG Chunyun (since 17 March 1995) nominated by the president, decided by the National People's Congress
Cabinet: Executive Council; appointed by the governor

Legislative Branch

Unicameral

Legislative Council

Indirect and direct elections last held 17 September 1995 (next to be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total, 30 indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 20 directly elected, 10 elected by election committee) Democratic Party 21, Liberal Party 10, Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong 6, other parties and independents 23

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court

Political Parties and Leaders

Democratic Party, Martin LEE, chairman; Liberal Party, Allen LEE, chairman; Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, TSANG Yuk-shing, chairman; Hong Kong Democratic Foundation, Dr. Patrick SHIU Kin-ying, chairman

Other Political or Pressure Groups

Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL), Frederick FUNG Kin Kee, chairman; Liberal Democratic Federation, HU Fa-kuang, chairman; Federation of Trade Unions (pro-China), LEE Chark-tim, president; Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan); Confederation of Trade Unions (pro-democracy), LEE Cheuk-yan, chairman; Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China); Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong; Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union, CHEUNG Man-kwong, president; Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China, Szeto WAH, chairman

Member of

APEC, AsDB, CCC, ESCAP (associate), ICFTU, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), WCL, WMO, WTrO

Flag

A new flag is used for Hong Kong since 1 july 1997 when China regained the territory.
Until that date the flag was blue with the flag of the U.K. in the upper hoist-side quadrant with the Hong Kong coat of arms on a white disk centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms contains a shield (bearing two junks below a crown) held by a lion (representing the U.K.) and a dragon (representing China) with another lion above the shield and a banner bearing the words HONG KONG below the shield
view the old hk-flag

ECONOMY

Overview

Hong Kong has a bustling free market economy with few tariffs or nontariff barriers. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Manufacturing and construction account for about 18% of GDP. Goods and services exports account for about 50% of GDP. Real GDP growth averaged a remarkable 8% in 1987-88, slowed to 3.0% in 1989-90, and picked up to 4.2% in 1991, 5.0% in 1992, 5.2% in 1993, 5.5% in 1994, and 5.0% in 1995. Unemployment, which has been declining since the mid-1980s, edged up from 2% to 3.5% in 1995. Notwithstanding, a shortage of labor continues to put upward pressure on prices and the cost of living. Prospects for 1996 remain bright so long as major trading partners continue to be reasonably prosperous and so long as investors feel China will continue to support free market practices in 1998.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $152.4 billion (1995 est.); $136.1 billion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

5% (1995 est.)
5.5% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$27,500 (1995 est.)
$24,530 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

8.4% (1995)
8.5% (1994)

Unemployment Rate

3.5% (1995 est.)
1.9% (1994 est.)

Budget

Revenues: $19 billion (FY94/95); $19.2 billion (FY 93/94)
Expenditures: $14.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $289 million (FY94/95); $19.7 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (FY93/94)

Exports

$177.1 billion (including re-exports)(f.o.b., 1995 est.)
$168.7 billion (including re-exports of $121.0 billion )(f.o.b., 1994 est.)

Commodities:

Clothing
Textiles
Yarn and fabric
Footwear
Electrical appliances
Watches and clocks
Toys

Partners:

China 33%
U.S. 22%
Germany 5%
Japan 5%
U.K. 3% (1993)

Imports

$195.4 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
$160 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)

Commodities:

Foodstuffs
Transport equipment
Raw materials
Semimanufactures
Petroleum; a large share is re-exported

Partners:

China 38%
Japan 17%
Taiwan 9%
U.S. 7% (1993)

External Debt

None (1995)

Industrial Production

Growth rate 2% (1993 est.)

Electricity

Capacity: 8,930,000 kW
Production: 33 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 4,628 kWh (1993)

Industries

Textiles
Clothing
Tourism
Electronics
Plastics
Toys
Watches
Clocks

Agriculture

Minor role in the economy; local farmers produce 26% fresh vegetables, 27% live poultry; 8% of land area suitable for farming

Illicit Drugs

A hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade; transshipment and major financial and money-laundering center; increasing indigenous amphetamine and cocaine abuse

Economic Aid

Recipient: U.S. commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $152 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $923 million

Currency

1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents

Exchange Rates

Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$ - 7.800 (1995), 7.800 (1994), 7.800 (1993), 7.741 (1992), 7.771 (1991), 7.790 (1990); note - linked to the U.S. dollar at the rate of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$ since 1985

Fiscal Year

1 April - 31 March

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Total: 35 km
Standard gauge: 35 km 1.435-m gauge

Highways

Total: 1,661 km
Paved: 1,661 km
Unpaved: 0 km

Ports

Hong Kong

Merchant Marine

Total: 238 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 8,632,224 GRT/14,820,657 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 129, cargo 32, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 4, combination ore/oil 3, container 39, liquefied gas tanker 3, multifunction large load carrier 1, oil tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 5, short-sea passenger 1, vehicle carrier 3

Note: A flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 17 countries among which are UK 51, China 11, Belgium 8, South Africa,/A> 8, US 8, Japan 7, Bermuda 6, Switzerland 6, Germany 3, and Israel 3 (1995 est.)

Airports

Total: 2
With paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

4.13 million telephones (1995 est.); modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services

Local: NA
Intercity: microwave transmission links and extensive optical fiber transmission network
International: 3 INTELSAT (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) earth stations; coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China; links to 5 international submarine cables providing access to ASEAN member nations, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe

Radio

Broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 6, shortwave 0
Radios: 3 million (1992 est.)

Television

Broadcast stations: 4 (British Broadcasting Corporation repeater 1; British Forces Broadcasting Service repeater 1)
Televisions: 1.75 million (1992 est.)

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Hong Kong Police Force; new branches will be built up by the Chinese regime

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 1,895,535; males fit for military service 1,442,072; males reach military age (18) annually 46,248 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $207 million, 0.2% of GDP (FY92/93)

Note: Defense is the responsibility of China

History
World Atlas

Last modified: 8 december 1997

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