Hong Kong

§1. Hong Kong Introduction

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.

§2. Hong Kong Geography

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 km²
  land: 1,042 km²
  water: 50 km²

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 km² (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)

Geography - note:
  more than 200 islands

§3. Hong Kong People

Population:
  6,940,432 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 13.5% (male 488,607/female 445,593)
  15-64 years: 73.7% (male 2,495,679/female 2,620,336)
  65 years and over: 12.8% (male 413,031/female 477,186) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 40.7 years
  male: 40.4 years
  female: 40.9 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  0.59% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  7.29 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  6.29 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  4.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
  total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 2.95 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 3.13 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 2.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 81.59 years
  male: 78.9 years
  female: 84.5 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  0.95 children born/woman (2006 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 95%, other 5%

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

Languages:
  Chinese (Cantonese), English; both are official

Literacy:
  definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
  total population: 93.5%
  male: 96.9%
  female: 89.6% (2002)

§4. Hong Kong Government

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: previous chief executive TUNG Chee-hwa was elected to second
    five-year term in March 2002 by 800-member election committee dominated
    by pro-Beijing forces, resignation accepted 12 March 2005; Donald TSANG
    acted as chief executive between 12 March 2005 and 25 May 2005; Henry
    TANG acted as chief executive between 25 May 2005 and 24 June 2005; TSANG
    was elected on 16 June 2005 to fill final two years of TUNG's term (next
    election to be held in March 2007)

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 group 62%; seats
    by party - (pro-Beijing 34) DAB 12, Liberal Party 10, independents 11,
    FTU 1; (pro-democracy 25) independents 11, Democratic Party 9, CTU 2,
    ADPL 1, Frontier Party 1, NWSC 1; 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, chairman]; Citizens Party [Alex CHAN Kai-chung]; Democratic
  Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong or DAB [MA Lik,
  chairman]; Democratic Party [LEE Wing-tat, chairman]; Frontier Party [Emily
  LAU Wai-hing, chairwoman]; Liberal Party [James TIEN Pei-chun, chairman]
  note: political blocs include: pro-democracy - ADPL, Democratic Party,
    Frontier Party; pro-Beijing - DAB, Liberal Party

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  Article 45 Concern Group (pro-democracy); 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, ICFTU, IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), IOC, ISO
  (correspondent), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO, WToO (associate), 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

§5. Hong Kong Economy

Economy - overview:
  Hong Kong has a free market, entrepot economy, highly dependent on
  international trade. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw
  materials must be imported. Gross imports and exports (i.e., including
  reexports to and from third countries) 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. Hong Kong has been
  further integrating its economy with China because China's growing openness
  to the world economy has made manufacturing in China much more cost
  effective. Hong Kong's reexport business to and from China is a major
  driver of growth. Per capita GDP is comparable to that of the four big
  economies of Western Europe. GDP growth averaged a strong 5% from 1989 to
  2005, but Hong Kong suffered two recessions in the past eight years because
  of the Asian financial crisis in 1997-1998 and the global downturn in 2001-
  2002. 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 2005.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $258.1 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $179.4 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  6.9% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $37,400 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 0.1%
  industry: 10%
  services: 89.9% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
  3.61 million (October 2005)

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:
  5.8% (December 2005)

Population below poverty line:
  NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: NA%
  highest 10%: NA%

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
  43.4 (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  1.2% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
  21.2% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $31.31 billion
  expenditures: $32.3 billion; including capital expenditures of $5.9 billion
    (2005 est.)

Public debt:
  1.8% of GDP (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products:
  fresh vegetables; poultry, pork; fish

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

Industrial production growth rate:
  1% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:
  37.3 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - consumption:
  39.22 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
  3.086 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
  9.84 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production:
  0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
  293,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
  NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
  NA m³

Natural gas - consumption:
  692.2 million m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
  0 m³ (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
  71.15 million m³ (2004 est.)

Current account balance:
  $23.85 billion (2005 est.)

Exports:
  $286.3 billion f.o.b., including reexports (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches
  and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones, printed material

Exports - partners:
  China 44%, US 16.9%, Japan 5.3% (2004)

Imports:
  $291.6 billion (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  raw materials and semi-manufactures, consumer goods, capital goods,
  foodstuffs, fuel (most is re-exported)

Imports - partners:
  China 43.5%, Japan 12.1%, Taiwan 7.3%, US 5.3%, Singapore 5.3%, South Korea
  4.8% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
  $122.3 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
  $416.5 billion (30 June 2005 est.)

Currency (code):
  Hong Kong dollar (HKD)

Exchange rates:
  Hong Kong dollars per US dollar - 7.7773 (2005), 7.788 (2004), 7.7868
  (2003), 7.7989 (2002), 7.7988 (2001)

Fiscal year:
  1 April - 31 March

§6. Hong Kong Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  3,763,300 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  8.214 million (2004)

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; 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

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 5, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2004)

Television broadcast stations:
  4 (2004)

Internet country code:
  .hk

Internet hosts:
  859,926 (2005)

Internet users:
  4,878,713 (2005)

§7. Hong Kong Transportation

Airports:
  3 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 3
  over 3,047 m: 1
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
  under 914 m: 1 (2005)

Heliports:
  3 (2005)

Roadways:
  total: 1,831 km
  paved: 1,831 km (1999)

Merchant marine:
  total: 895 ships (1000 GRT or over) 29,662,934 GRT/50,199,048 DWT
  by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 485, cargo 122, chemical tanker 39,
    combination ore/oil 6, container 122, liquefied gas 21, passenger 6,
    passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 72, roll on/roll off 2, specialized
    tanker 4, vehicle carrier 8
  foreign-owned: 534 (Belgium 3, Canada 23, China 259, Denmark 6, France 3,
    Germany 7, Greece 28, Indonesia 3, Japan 64, South Korea 12, Monaco 1,
    Norway 22, Philippines 15, Singapore 25, Taiwan 8, UAE 1, UK 35, US 19)
  registered in other countries: 407 (The Bahamas 7, Belgium 1, Belize 8,
    Bermuda 6, Cambodia 10, China 7, Cyprus 1, French Southern and Antarctic
    Lands 3, Honduras 2, India 1, Isle of Man 1, Liberia 40, Malaysia 14,
    Malta 2, Marshall Islands 8, Norway 50, Panama 168, Philippines 2, Saint
    Vincent and the Grenadines 6, Singapore 53, Taiwan 3, Tuvalu 7, Venezuela
    1, unknown 6) (2005)

Ports and terminals:
  Hong Kong

§8. Hong Kong Military

Military branches:
  no regular indigenous military forces; Hong Kong garrison of China's
  People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes elements of the PLA Ground Forces,
  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 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 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 18-49: 1,403,088 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
  males: 40,343 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  Hong Kong garrison is funded by China; figures are NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  NA

Military - note:
  defense is the responsibility of China

§9. Hong Kong Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  none

Illicit drugs:
  makes strenuous law enforcement efforts, but 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


<Factbook 2006>
