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 of the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China promised that, under its 'one country, two systems' formula, China's socialist economic system would not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong would enjoy a 'high degree of autonomy' in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the subsequent 50 years.

Geographic coordinates: 22 15 N, 114 10 E

Map reference: Southeast Asia

Area
Total: 1108 km²
Land: 1073 km²
Water: 35 km²
Rank: 183
Comparative: six times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries
Total: 33 km
Regional borders: China 33 km

Coastline: 733 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 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
Lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
Highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m

Natural resources: outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar

Land use
Agricultural land: 5% (2011 est.)
Forest: 0% (2011 est.)
Other: 95% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 10 km² (2012)

Natural hazards: occasional typhoons

Geography
Note: consists of a mainland area (the New Territories) and more than 200 islands

Population
Distribution: population fairly evenly distributed: 7,249,907 (July 2020 est.)
Rank: 103
Growth rate: 0.24% (2020 est.)
Growth rate rank: 177
Below poverty line: 19.9% (2016 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Chinese/Hong Konger
Adjective: Chinese/Hong Kong

Ethnic groups: Chinese 92%, Filipino 2.5%, Indonesian 2.1%, other 3.4% (2016 est.)

Languages: Cantonese (official) 88.9%, English (official) 4.3%, Mandarin (official) 1.9%, other Chinese dialects 3.1%, other 1.9% (2016 est.)

Religions: Buddhist or Taoist 27.9%, Protestant 6.7%, Roman Catholic 5.3%, Muslim 4.2%, Hindu 1.4%, Sikh 0.2%, other or none 54.3% (2016 est.)
Note: many people practice Confucianism, regardless of their religion or not having a religious affiliation

Age structure
0-14 years: 12.81% (male 490,477/female 437,971)
15-24 years: 8.81% (male 334,836/female 303,897)
25-54 years: 42.66% (male 1,328,529/female 1,763,970)
55-64 years: 17.24% (male 582,047/female 668,051)
65 years and over: 18.48% (male 625,453/female 714,676) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 44.7
Youth dependency ratio: 18.3
Elderly dependency ratio: 26.3
Potential support ratio: 3.8 (2020 est.)

Median age
Total: 45.6 years
Male: 44.2 years
Female: 46.5 years (2020 est.)
Rank: 7

Population growth rate: 0.24% (2020 est.)
Rank: 177

Birth rate: 8.4 births/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 216

Death rate: 7.9 deaths/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 95

Net migration rate: 1.7 migrant(s)/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 50

Population distribution: population fairly evenly distributed

Urbanization
Urban population: 100% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 0.82% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 7.548 million Hong Kong (2020)

Environment
Current issues: air and water pollution from rapid urbanization; urban waste pollution; industrial pollution
International agreements party to: Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate member)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.12 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.75 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 29.8 years (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 2.7 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 2.9 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 2.5 deaths/1000 live births (2020 est.)
Rank: 216

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 83.2 years
Male: 80.5 years
Female: 86.1 years (2020 est.)
Rank: 8

Total fertility rate: 1.21 children born/woman (2020 est.)
Rank: 224

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 66.7% (2017)

Drinking water source
Urban: -1% of population
Total: 0% of population (2017 est.)

Physicians density: 1.96 physicians/1000 population (2018)

Hospital bed density: 5.4 beds/1000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 3.6% of population
Total: 3.6% of population (2017)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate note: NA
People living with hivaids note: NA
Deaths note: NA

Education expenditures: 3.8% of GDP (2019)
Rank: 103

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 17 years
Male: 17 years
Female: 18 years (2019)

Country name
Conventional long form: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Conventional short form: Hong Kong
Local long form: Heung Kong Takpit Hangching Ku (Eitel/Dyer-Ball)
Local short form: Heung Kong (Eitel/Dyer-Ball)
Abbreviation: HK
Etymology: probably an imprecise phonetic rendering of the Cantonese name meaning fragrant harbor

Government type: presidential limited democracy; a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China

Administrative divisions: none (special administrative region of the People's Republic 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
History: several previous (governance documents while under British authority); latest drafted April 1988 to February 1989, approved March 1990, effective 1 July 1997 (Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China serves as the constitution); note - since 1990, Chinas National Peoples Congress has interpreted specific articles of the Basic Law
Amendments: proposed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the People’s Republic of China State Council, and the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong; submittal of proposals to the NPC requires two-thirds majority vote by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, approval by two thirds of Hong Kong’s deputies to the NPC, and approval by the Hong Kong chief executive; final passage requires approval by the NPC

Legal system: mixed legal system of common law based on the English model and Chinese customary law (in matters of family and land tenure)

Citizenship: see China

Suffrage: 18 years of age in direct elections for half of the Legislative Council seats and all of the seats in 18 district councils; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past 7 years; note - in indirect elections, suffrage is limited to about 220,000 members of functional constituencies for the other half of the legislature and a 1,200-member election committee for the chief executive drawn from broad sectoral groupings, central government bodies, municipal organizations, and elected Hong Kong officials

Executive branch
Chief of state: President of China XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013) 
Head of government:  Chief Executive Carrie LAM (since 1 July 2017)
Cabinet:  Executive Council or ExCo appointed by the chief executive 
Electionsappointments: president indirectly elected by National Peoples Congress for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 17 March 2018 (next to be held in March 2023); chief executive indirectly elected by the Election Committee and appointed by the PRC Government for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 26 March 2017 (next to be held in 2022)
Election results: Carrie LAM elected chief executive; Election Committee vote - Carrie LAM 777, John TSANG 365, WOO Kwok-hing 21, invalid 23
Note: the Legislative Council voted in June 2010 to expand the Election Committee to 1,200 members

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Legislative Council or LegCo (70 seats; 35 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote; 30 members indirectly elected by the approximately 220,000 members of various functional constituencies based on a variety of methods; 5 at large super-seat members directly elected by all of Hong Kong’s eligible voters who do not participate in a functional constituency; members serve 4-year terms)
Elections: last held on 4 September 2016; (scheduled for September 2020, but delayed until 2021); note - byelection held on 11 March and 25 November 2018 to fill 5 seats left vacant after 5 legislators were removed from office
Election results:

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Court of Final Appeal (consists of the chief justice, 3 permanent judges, and 20 non-permanent judges); note - a sitting bench consists of the chief justice, 3 permanent judges, and 1 non-permanent judge
Judge selection and term of office: all judges appointed by the Hong Kong Chief Executive upon the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission, an independent body consisting of the Secretary for Justice, other judges, and judicial and legal professionals; permanent judges serve until normal retirement at age 65, but term can be extended; non-permanent judges appointed for renewable 3-year terms without age limit
Subordinate courts: High Court (consists of the Court of Appeal and Court of First Instance); District Courts (includes Family and Land Courts); magistrates courts; specialized tribunals

Political parties and leaders: parties: ALLinHK (alliance of 6 localist groups)Business and Professional Alliance or BPA [LO Wai-kwok]Civic Party [Alvin YEUNG]Civic Passion or CP [CHENG Chung-tai] (part of Civic Passion-Proletariat Political Institute-Hong Kong Resurgence Order alliance or CP-PPI-HKRO that dissolved after the 2016 election)Democracy Groundwork [LAU Siu-lai]Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong or DAB [Starry LEE Wai-king]Democratic Party [WU Chi-wai]Demosisto [Ivan LAM] (announced cessation of all operations, 30 June 2020)Federation of Trade Unions or FTU [Stanley NG Chau-pei]Labor Party [Steven KWOK Wing-kin]League of Social Democrats or LSD [Avery NG Man-yuen]Liberal Party [Felix CHUNG Kwok-pan]Neighborhood and Workers Service Center or NWSC [LEUNG Yui-chung]New People's Party or NPP [Regina IP Lau Su-yee]People Power or PP [Raymond CHAN]Youngspiration [Sixtus 'Baggio' LEUNG Chung-hang]other: Professional Commons [Charles Peter MOK] (think tank)Professional Teachers Union or PTU
Note: political blocks include: pro-democracy - Civic Party, Democratic Party, Labor Party, LSD, NWSC, PP, Professional Commons, PTU; pro-Beijing - DAB, FTU, Liberal Party, NPP, BPA; localist - ALLinHK, CP, Democracy Groundwork, Demosisto; there is no political party ordinance, so there are no registered political parties; politically active groups register as societies or companies

International organization participation: ADB, APEC, BIS, FATF, ICC (national committees), IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITUC (NGOs), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: none (Special Administrative Region of China); Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) carries out normal liaison activities and communication with the US Government and other US entities; Eddie MAK, JP (since 3 July 2018) is the Hong Kong Commissioner to the US Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; address: 1520 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20,036; telephone: [1] 202 331-8,947; FAX: [1] 202 331-8,958
In the us HKETO offices: New York, San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Consul General Hanscom SMITH (since July 2019); note - also accredited to Macau
From the us telephone: [852] 2,523-9,011
From the us embassy:
From the us mailing address: Unit 8,000, Box 1, DPO AP 96,521-0006
From the us FAX: [852] 2,845-1598
From the us consulate: 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong

Flag description: red with a stylized, white, five-petal Bauhinia flower in the center; each petal contains a small, red, five-pointed star in its middle; the red color is the same as that on the Chinese flag and represents the motherland; the fragrant Bauhinia - developed in Hong Kong the late 19th century - has come to symbolize the region; the five stars echo those on the flag of China

National symbols: orchid tree flower; national colors: red, white

National anthem
Note: as a Special Administrative Region of China, 'Yiyongjun Jinxingqu' is the official anthem (see China)

Real gdp purchasing power parity
Real:
Real note: data are in 2010 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 202

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2010 dollars
Rank: 43

Gross national saving:
Rank: 47

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 67% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 9.9% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 21.8% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0.4% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 188% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -187.1% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.1% (2017 est.)
Industry: 7.6% (2017 est.)
Services: 92.3% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: fresh vegetables and fruit; poultry, pork; fish

Industries: trading and logistics, financial services, professional services, tourism, cultural and creative, clothing and textiles, shipping, electronics, toys, clocks and watches

Industrial production growth rate: 1.7% (2017 est.)
Rank: 139

Labor force: 3.627 million (2020 est.)
Rank: 98
By occupation agriculture: 3.8% (2013 est.)
By occupation industry: 2% (2016 est.)
By occupation services: 54.5% (2016 est.)
By occupation industry and services: 12.5% (2013 est.)
By occupation agriculturefishingforestrymining: 10.1% (2013)
By occupation manufacturing: 17.1% (2013 est.)
By occupation note: above data exclude public sector

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 37

Population below poverty line: 19.9% (2016 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1.8%
Note: NA (2016)
Highest 10: 38.1%

Budget
Revenues: 79.34 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 61.64 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: 5.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 6

Taxes and other revenues: 23.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 128

Public debt:
Rank: 208

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 141

Current account balance:
Rank: 15

Exports:
Rank: 13
Partners: China 55%, US 8.6% (2018 est.)
Commodities: electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, watches and clocks, toys, 'jewelry, goldsmiths' and silversmiths' wares, and other articles of precious or semi-precious materials'; Hong Kong plays an important role as entrepot to the Chinese mainland; in 2017, 58% of Hong Kong’s re-exports originated in mainland China, and 54% were destined for the Chinese mainland

Imports:
Rank: 12
Commodities: raw materials and semi-manufactures, consumer goods, capital goods, foodstuffs, fuel (most is reexported)
Partners: China 46.3%, Singapore 6.4%, South Korea 5.9%, Japan 5.5%, US 4.9% (2018 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 7

Debt external:
Rank: 18

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100% (2020)
Production: 35.97 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 60
Consumption: 41.84 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 54
Exports: 1.205 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 55
Imports: 11.62 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 21
Installed generating capacity: 12.63 million kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 55
Generation sources fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 9
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 108
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 178
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 192

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 150
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 138
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 142
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 146

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 158
Products consumption: 403,100 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 38
Products exports: 13,570 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 76
Products imports: 402,100 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 22

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 147
Consumption: 3.37 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 69
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 122
Imports: 3.37 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 43
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2016 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 148

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 102.5 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 43

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 3,942,605
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 54.51 (2019 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 35
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 20,868,827
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 288.53 (2019 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 59

Broadcast media: 4 commercial terrestrial TV networks each with multiple stations; multi-channel satellite and cable TV systems available; 3 licensed broadcasters of terrestrial radio, one of which is government funded, operate about 12 radio stations; note - 4 digital radio broadcasters operated in Hong Kong from 2010 to 2017, but all digital radio services were terminated in September 2017 due to weak market demand (2019)

Internet
Country code: .hk
Users total: 6,450,167
Users percent of population: 89.42% (July 2018 est.)
Users rank: 75

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 2,714,679
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 38 (2018 est.)
Rank: 45

Military and security forces: no regular indigenous military forces; Hong Kong Police Force; Hong Kong garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes elements of the PLA Army, PLA Navy, and PLA Air Force; these forces are under the direct leadership of the Central Military Commission in Beijing and under administrative control of the adjacent Southern Theater Command (2019)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 12
Note: mt-km (2018)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 275
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 47,101,822 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 12,676,720,000

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: B-H (2016)

Airports: 2 (2013)
Rank: 199
With paved runways total: 2 (2019)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1

Heliports: 9 (2013)

Roadways
Total: 2,107 km (2017)
Paved: 2,107 km (2017)
Rank: 170

Merchant marine
Total: 2,701
By type: bulk carrier 1,164, container ship 540, general cargo 201, oil tanker 377, other 419 (2019)
Rank: 10

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Hong Kong
Container port: Hong Kong (20,770,000) (2017)

Disputes international: Hong Kong plans to reduce its 2,800-hectare Frontier Closed Area (FCA) to 400 hectares by 2015; the FCA was established in 1951 as a buffer zone between Hong Kong and mainland China to prevent illegal migration from and the smuggling of goods

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