Hong Kong (special administrative region of China)

§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 practiced in 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 kmē
  land: 1,042 kmē
  water: 50 kmē

Area - comparative:
  six times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
  total: 30 km border countries: 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 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 kmē (1997 est.)

Natural hazards:
  occasional typhoons

Environment - current issues:
  air and water pollution from rapid urbanization

Environment - international agreements:
  party to: Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate
    member)

Geography - note:
  more than 200 islands

§3. Hong Kong People

Population:
  7,210,505 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 17.73% (male 677,785; female 600,781)
  15-64 years: 71.52% (male 2,554,329; female 2,602,662)
  65 years and over: 10.75% (male 354,199; female 420,749) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate:
  1.3% (2001 est.)

Birth rate:
  11.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate:
  6.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate:
  7.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
  total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  5.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 79.67 years male: 76.97 years
  female: 82.55 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  1.29 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  0.06% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  2,500 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  less than 100 (1999 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Chinese
  adjective: Chinese

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: 92.2%
  male: 96%
  female: 88.2% (1996 est.)

§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:
  NA

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 100,000 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 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, 24 elected by popular vote, and 6 elected by an
  800-member election committee; members serve four-year terms)
  elections: last held 10 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004)
  election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
    Democratic Party 12, Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong
    10, Liberal Party 7, Frontier Party 5, Hong Kong Progressive Alliance 4,
    New Century Forum 2, Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's
    Livelihood 1, independents 19

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

Political parties and leaders:
  Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood [Frederick FUNG Kin-kee,
  chairman]; Citizens Party [leader NA]; Democratic Alliance for the
  Betterment of Hong Kong [Jasper TSANG Yok-sing, chairman]; Democratic Party
  [Martin LEE Chu-ming, chairman]; Frontier Party [Emily LAU Wai-hing,
  chairwoman]; Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood
  [leader NA]; Hong Kong Progressive Alliance [Ambrose LAU Hon-chuen];
  Liberal Party [James TIEN Pei-chun, chairman]; New Century Forum [NQ
  Ching-fai, chairman]
  note: political blocs include: pro-democracy - Association for Democracy
    and People's Livelihood, Citizens Party, Democratic Party, Frontier
    Party; pro-Beijing - Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong,
    Hong Kong Progressive Alliance, Liberal Party, New Century Forum

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China); Chinese Manufacturers'
  Association of Hong Kong; Confederation of Trade Unions (pro-democracy)
  [LAU Chin-shek, president; LEE Cheuk-yan, general secretary]; Federation of
  Hong Kong Industries; Federation of Trade Unions (pro-China) [LEE
  Chark-tim, president]; 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];
  Liberal Democratic Federation [HU Fa-kuang, chairman]

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

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  none (special administrative region of China)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  chief of mission: Consul General Michael KLOSSON consulate(s) general: 26
    Garden Road, Hong Kong
  mailing address: PSC 464, Box 30, FPO AP 96522-0002
  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 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. Per capita GDP compares with the level in the
  four big countries of Western Europe. GDP growth averaged a strong 5% in
  1989-97. The widespread Asian economic difficulties in 1998 hit this
  trade-dependent economy quite hard, with GDP down 5%. The economy is
  undergoing a rapid recovery, with growth of 10% in 2000 to be followed by
  projected growth of 5% in 2001.

GDP:
  purchasing power parity - $181 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  10% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita:
  purchasing power parity - $25,400 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 0.1% industry: 14.3%
  services: 85.6% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line:
  NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  3.7% (2000 est.)

Labor force:
  3.39 million (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
  wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 31.5%, community and
  social services 24%, financing, insurance, and real estate 14.5%, transport
  and communications 11.6%, manufacturing 7.7%, construction 2.6% (October
  1999)

Unemployment rate:
  4.5% (2000 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $20.8 billion
  expenditures: $24.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
    (FY99/00)

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

Industrial production growth rate:
  2.1% (2000)

Electricity - production:
  27.726 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
  fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0%
  nuclear: 0%
  other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption:
  32.202 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:
  633 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:
  7.05 billion kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products:
  fresh vegetables; poultry

Exports:
  $204 billion (including reexports; f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  clothing, textiles, footwear, electrical appliances, watches and clocks,
  toys

Exports - partners:
  China 33%, US 24%, Japan 5%, UK 4%, Germany, Singapore (1999)

Imports:
  $215 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports - commodities:
  foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures,
  petroleum; a large share is reexported

Imports - partners:
  China 44%, Japan 12%, US 7%, Taiwan 7%, South Korea, Singapore (1999)

Debt - external:
  $48.1 billion (1999)

Currency:
  Hong Kong dollar (HKD)

Currency code:
  HKD

Exchange rates:
  Hong Kong dollars per US dollar - 7.7990 (January 2001), 7.7912 (2000),
  7.7575 (1999), 7.7453 (1998), 7.7421 (1997), 7.7343 (1996); note - Hong
  Kong became a special administrative region of China on 1 July 1997; before
  then, the Hong Kong dollar was linked to the US dollar at the rate of about
  7.8 Hong Kong dollars per US dollar

Fiscal year:
  1 April - 31 March

§6. Hong Kong Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  3.839 million (1999)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  3.7 million (December 1999)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: 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

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 7, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
  4.45 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
  4 (plus two repeaters) (1997)

Televisions:
  1.84 million (1997)

Internet country code:
  .hk

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
  17 (2000)

Internet users:
  1.85 million (2000)

§7. Hong Kong Transportation

Railways:
  total: 34 km
  standard gauge: 34 km 1.435-m gauge (all electrified) (1996 est.)

Highways:
  total: 1,831 km
  paved: 1,831 km
  unpaved: 0 km (1997)

Waterways:
  none

Ports and harbors:
  Hong Kong

Merchant marine:
  total: 354 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 10,330,662 GRT/17,227,315 DWT
  ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 208, cargo 36, chemical tanker 7,
    combination bulk 2, container 59, liquefied gas 6, multi-functional
    large-load carrier 2, petroleum tanker 26, refrigerated cargo 3,
    short-sea passenger 1, vehicle carrier 3
  note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of
    convenience: Bermuda 2, Belgium 1, Canada 2, China 9, Japan 3, Mongolia
    1, Norway 1, South Africa 1, UK 7 (2000 est.)

Airports:
  3 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 3 over 3,047 m: 2
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Heliports:
  2 (2000 est.)

§8. Hong Kong Military

Military branches:
  Hong Kong garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) including
  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 manpower - military age:
  18 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,020,937 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
  males age 15-49: 1,520,531 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
  males: 47,139 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $NA; note - separate budget for Hong Kong not established by China

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  NA%

Military - note:
  defense is the responsibility of China

§9. Hong Kong Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  none

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