Background: Pursuant to the agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong will become a special administrative region of China on 1 July 1997. Under the terms of this agreement, China has promised that Hong Kong shall enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs.

Map reference: Asia, Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total area total: 1,040 km²
Land: 990 km²

Land boundaries: total 30 km, China 30 km

Coastline: 733 km

Maritime claims
Exclusive fishing zone: 3 nm
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

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 km² (1989)

Natural hazards: occasional typhoons

Geography
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK

Population: 5,548,754 (July 1994 est.)
Growth rate: -0.09% (1994 est.)

Nationality: noun:Chinese

Ethnic groups: Chinese 95%, other 5%

Languages: Chinese (Cantonese), English

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

Population growth rate: -0.09% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 12.16 births/1000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 5.85 deaths/1000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: -7.21 migrant(s)/1000 population (1994 est.)

Environment
Current issues: air and water pollution from rapid urbanization
International agreements: NA

Infant mortality rate: 5.8 deaths/1000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 80.09 years
Male: 76.67 years
Female: 83.71 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.37 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Literacy: age 15 and over having ever attended school (1971)
Total population: 77%
Male: 90%
Female: 64%

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Abbreviation:HK

Government type: dependent territory of the UK scheduled to revert to China in 1997

Capital: Victoria

Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK; the UK 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)

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 21 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
Head of government: Governor Chris PATTEN (since 9 July 1992); Chief Secretary Anson CHAN Fang On-Sang (since 29 November 1993)

Legislative branch: Headquarters of British Forces, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Police Force
Legislative Council: indirect elections last held 12 September 1991 and direct elections were held for the first time 15 September 1991 (next to be held in September 1995 when the number of directly-elected seats increases to 20); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total; 21 indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 18 directly elected, 18 appointed by governor, 3 ex officio members); indirect elections - number of seats by functional constituency NA; direct elections - UDHK 12, Meeting Point 3, ADPL 1, other 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

International organization participation: COCOM (cooperating), APEC, AsDB, CCC, ESCAP (associate), GATT, ICFTU, IMO (associate), INTERPOL (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), WCL, WMO

Diplomatic representation
From the us: none (dependent territory of the UK)
From the us chief of mission: Consul General Richard MUELLER
From the us consulate general: 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong
From the us mailing address: PSC 464, Box 30, Hong Kong, or FPO AP 96,522-0002
From the us telephone: [852] 523-9,011
From the us FAX: [852] 845-1598

Flag description: blue with the flag of the UK 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 UK) and a dragon (representing China) with another lion above the shield and a banner bearing the words HONG KONG below the shield

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 accounts for about 17% 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, and 5.2% in 1993. Unemployment, which has been declining since the mid-1980s, is now about 2%. A shortage of labor continues to put upward pressure on prices and the cost of living. Short-term prospects remain bright so long as major trading partners continue to be reasonably prosperous.

Real gdp growth rate: 5.2% (1993)

Real gdp per capita: $21,500 (1993 est.)

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

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

Industrial production growth rate: 2% (1993 est.)

Labor force: 2.8 million (1990)
By occupation manufacturing: 28.5%
By occupation wholesaleandretailtrade restaurants and hotels: 27.9%
By occupation services: 17.7%
By occupation financing insurance andrealestate: 9.2%
By occupation transport and communications: 4.5%
By occupation construction: 2.5%
By occupation other: 9.7% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 2.3% (1993 est.)

Budget: revenues:$19.2 billion

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Exports: $145.1 billion (including re-exports of $104.2 billion )(f.o.b., 1993 est.)
Commodities: clothing, textiles, yarn and fabric, footwear, electrical appliances, watches and clocks, toys
Partners: China 32%, US 23%, Germany 5%, Japan 5%, UK 3% (1993 est.)

Imports: $149.6 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
Commodities: foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum
Partners: China 36%, Japan 19%, Taiwan 9%, US 7% (1993 est.)

Debt external: none (1993)

Exchange rates: Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$ - 7.800 (1993), 7.741 (1992), 7.771 (1991), 7.790 (1990), 7.800 (1989; note - linked to the US dollar at the rate of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$ since 1985

Electricity
Capacity: 9,566,000 kW
Production: 29.4 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 4,980 kWh (1992)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: exchange rate conversion - $300 million, 0.5% of GDP (1989 est.), this represents one-fourth of the total cost of defending itself, the remainder being paid by the UK

Airports: 2
Usable: 2
With permanentsurface runways: 2
With runways over 3659 m: 0
With runways 2440-3659 m: 1
With runways 1220-2439 m: 0

Disputes international: none

Illicit drugs: a hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade; transshipment and major financial and money-laundering center