Map of Hong Kong | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

top of page


Background: Pursuant to the 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. Under the terms of this agreement, China has promised that under its "one country, two systems" formula its socialist economic system will not be practiced in Hong Kong, and that Hong Kong shall enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs.


top of page


Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

Geographic coordinates: 22 15 N, 114 10 E

Map reference: Southeast Asia

Area
Total: 1,092 km²
Land: 1,042 km²
Water: 50 km²
Comparative: six times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries
Total: 30 km
Border countries: (1) China 30 km

Coastline: 733 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea:3 nm

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

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

Natural resources: outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar

Land use
Arable land: 6%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 1%
Forests and woodland: 20%
Other: 72% (1997 est.)

Irrigated land: 20 km² (1997 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: occasional typhoons

Geography
Note: more than 200 islands


top of page


Population: 6,847,125 (July 1999 est.)
Growth rate: 1.9% (1999 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Chinese
Adjective: Chinese

Ethnic groups: Chinese 95%, other 5%

Languages: Chinese (Cantonese), English

Religions: eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 18% (male 644,982; female 598,188)
15-64 years: 71% (male 2,397,277; female 2,490,745)
65 years and over: 11% (male 323,949; female 391,984) (1999 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 1.9% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 12.9 births/1000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 5.96 deaths/1000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 12.07 migrant(s)/1000 population (1999 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: air and water pollution from rapid urbanization
International agreements party to: NA
International agreements signed but not ratified: NA

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 5.2 deaths/1000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78.91 years
Male: 76.15 years
Female: 81.85 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.39 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
Total population: 92.2%
Male: 96%
Female: 88.2% (1996 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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

Government type: NA

Capital: Victoria

Administrative divisions: none (special administrative region of China)

Dependent areas

Independence: none (special administrative region of China)

National holiday: National Day, 1-2 October; 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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

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 members of functional constituencies and an 800-member Election Commission drawn from broad regional groupings and other central government bodies

Executive branch
Chief of state: President of China JIANG Zemin (since 27 March 1993)
Head of government: Chief Executive TUNG Chee-hwa (since 1 July 1997)
Cabinet: Executive Council consists of three ex-officio members and 10 appointed members; ex-officio members are:Chief Secretary Anson CHAN (since 29 November 1993), Financial Secretary Donald TSANG (since 7 March 1995), and Secretary of Justice Elsie LEUNG (since 1 July 1997)
Elections: NA

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (60 seats; 30 indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 20 elected by popular vote, and 10 elected by an 800-member election committee; members serve four-year terms)
Elections: last held 25 May 1998 (next to be held NA 2002)
Election results: percent of vote by party_NA; seats by party_Democratic Party 13, Liberal Party 9, Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong 9, Hong Kong Progressive Alliance 5, Frontier Party 3, Citizens Party 1, independents 20

Judicial branch: The Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: APEC, AsDB, BIS, CCC, ESCAP (associate), ICFTU, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), WCL, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (special administrative region of China)
From the us chief of mission: Consul General Richard A. BOUCHER
From the us consulates general: 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong
From the us mailing address: PSC 464, Box 30, FPO AP 96,522-0002
From the us telephone: [852] 2,523-9,011
From the us FAX: [852] 2,845-1598

Flag description: red with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


top of page


Economy overview: Hong Kong has a bustling free market economy highly dependent on international trade. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Indeed, imports and exports, including reexports, each exceed GDP in dollar value. Even before Hong Kong reverted to Chinese administration on 1 July 1997 it had extensive trade and investment ties with China. Real GDP growth averaged a remarkable 8% in 1987-88 and a still strong 5% in 1989-97. The widespread Asian economic difficulties in 1998 hit this trade-dependent economy quite hard, with GDP down 5%.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: -5% (1998 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $25,100 (1998 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.1%
Industry: 15.9%
Services: 84% (1997 est.)

Agriculture products: fresh vegetables; poultry

Industries: textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks

Industrial production growth rate: -3.7% (1998)

Labor force: 3.216 million (1998 est.)
By occupation wholesaleandretailtrade restaurants and hotels: 31.9%
By occupation socialservices: 9.9%
By occupation manufacturing: 9.2%
By occupation financing insurance andrealestate: 13.1%
By occupation transport and communications: 5.7%
By occupation construction: 2.6%
By occupation other: 27.6% (October1998)

Unemployment rate: 5.5% (1998 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $30.1 billion
Expenditures: $26 billion, including capital expenditures of $289 million (FY97/98)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April_31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $188.08 billion (including reexports; f.o.b., 1997)
Commodities: clothing, textiles, yarn and fabric, footwear, electrical appliances, watches and clocks, toys
Partners: China 35%, US 22%, Japan 6%, Germany 4%, UK 4% (1997)

Imports: $208.63 billion (c.i.f., 1997)
Commodities: foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum; a large share is reexported
Partners: China 38%, Japan 14%, Taiwan 8%, US 8%, Singapore 5% (1997)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$ 7.74 (1997-99), 7.730 (1996), 7.800 (1995), 7.800 (1994; note_linked to the US dollar at the rate of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$


top of page


Electricity
Production: 27 billion kWh (1996)
Production by source fossil fuel: 100%
Production by source hydro: 0%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (1996)
Consumption: 28.598 billion kWh (1997)
Exports: 1.483 billion kWh (1996)
Imports: 5.875 billion kWh (1996)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


top of page


Telephones: 4.47 million (1998)

Telephone system: modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services
Domestic: microwave radio relay links and extensive fiber-optic network
International: satellite earth stations_3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean); coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China; access to 5 international submarine cables providing connections to ASEAN member nations, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


top of page


Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $NA
Percent of gdp: NA%

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


top of page


National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 3 (1998 est.)
With paved runways total: 3
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (1998 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1998 est.)

Pipelines

Railways
Total: 34 km
Standard gauge: 34 km 1.435-m gauge (all electrified) (1996 est.)

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 195 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,075,304 GRT/10,133,186 DWT
Ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 117, cargo 18, chemical tanker 2, combination bulk 2, container 40, liquefied gas tanker 1, multifunction large-load carrier 2, oil tanker 6, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1, vehicle carrier 3
Note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 13 countries among which are UK 16, South Africa 3, China 9, Japan 6, Bermuda 2, Germany 3, Canada 2, Cyprus 1, Belgium 1, and Norway 1 (1998 est.)

Ports and terminals


top of page


Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: a hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade; transshipment and money-laundering center; increasing indigenous amphetamine abuse