Hong Kong

dependent territory of the UK scheduled to revert to China in 1997Independence none (dependent territory of the UK

Hong Kong as the 1993 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 79 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalVictoria
Area1,040 km2
LocationEast Asia, on the southeast coast of China bordering the South China Sea
1993

Every edition of Hong Kong

Populationas each edition published it
5.55 million July 1993 est. · 5.76m in 1990
Population growth% a year
-0.06% 1993 est. · 0.09% in 2025
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 37.5 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
79.99 years 1993 est. · 84 yrs in 2025
Fertility ratechildren per woman
1.34 children per woman 1993 est. · 1.4 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
5.9 deaths per 1,000 live births 1993 est. · 6 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$14,600 1992 est. · $66,200 in 2025
GDP real growth% a year
5.9% 1992 · 2.5% in 2025

Geography

East Asia, on the southeast coast of China bordering the South China Sea

13 fields

Land useshare of 1,040 km2

arable land 7%meadows and pastures 1%forest and woodland 12%other 79%permanent crops 1% in all · irrigated 20 km2 (1989)
Area
1,040km2
land area: 990 km2comparative area: slightly less than six times the size of Washington, DC
Coastline
733km
exclusive fishing zone: 3 nmterritorial sea: 3 nm
Land boundaries
30km
total · China 30 km

Location

East Asia, on the southeast coast of China bordering the South China Sea

Map references

Asia, Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

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

Environment

more than 200 islands; occasional typhoons

People

14 fields
Population
5,552,965
(July 1993 est.)growth rate: -0.06% (1993 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1993 est.)

Birth
12.27Death
5.68Net migration
-7.2

Male · female(1993 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years79.99
76.55 · 83.64
TotalMale · femaleLiteracy77%
90% · 64%
MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over can read and write (1971)
Labor force
2.8million
(1990)
More
by occupation: manufacturing 28.5%, wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 27.9%, services 17.7%, financing, insurance, and real estate 9.2%, transport and communications 4.5%, construction 2.5%, other 9.7% (1989)

Infant mortality rate

5.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.34 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Nationality

noun:
Chinese
adjective:
Chinese

Ethnic divisions

Chinese 98%, other 2%

Religions

eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%

Languages

Chinese (Cantonese), English

Government

Dependent territory of the UK scheduled to revert to China in 1997

22 fields

Names

conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Hong Kong

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)

Constitution

  • unwritten;
  • partly statutes, partly common law and practice;
  • new Basic Law approved in March 1990 in preparation for 1997

National holiday

Liberation Day, 29 August (1945)

Political parties and leaders

  • United Democrats of Hong Kong, Martin LEE, chairman;
  • Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong;
  • Hong Kong Democratic Foundation

Other political or pressure groups

  • Cooperative Resources Center, Allen LEE, chairman;
  • Meeting Point, Anthony CHEUNG, chairman;
  • Association of Democracy and People's Livelihood, Frederick FUNG Kin Kee, chairman;
  • Liberal Democratic Federation, HEUNG Yee Kuk;
  • Federation of Trade Unions (pro-China);
  • Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan);
  • Confederation of Trade Unions (prodemocracy);
  • Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce;
  • Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China);
  • Federation of Hong Kong Industries;
  • Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong;
  • Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union;
  • Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China

Suffrage

direct election 21 years of age; universal as a permanent resident 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

Elections

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

Executive branch

British monarch, governor, chief secretary of the Executive Council

Legislative branch

unicameral Legislative Council

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Leaders

Chief of State:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
Head of Government:
Governor Chris PATTEN (since NA July 1992); Chief Secretary Sir David Robert FORD (since NA February 1987)

Member of

APEC, AsDB, CCC, ESCAP (associate), GATT, ICFTU, IMO (associate), INTERPOL (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), WCL, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US

as a dependent territory of the UK, the interests of Hong Kong in the US are represented by the UK

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission:
Consul General Richard L. WILLIAMS
embassy:
Consulate General at 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong
mailing address:
Box 30, Hong Kong, or FPO AP 96522-0002
telephone:
[852] 239-011

Flag

  • 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

Hong Kong has a bustling free market economy with few tariffs or nontariff | barriers.

19 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$14,600
(1992 est.)
Real growth rate
5.9%
(1992)industrial production growth: growth rate NA%
Unemployment rate
2%
(1992 est.)

Budget

Revenues
$17.4 billionExpenditures
$14.7 billion
expenditures, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92)

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 18% of GDP, employs 28% of the labor force, and exports about 90% of its output. 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 and 5.9% in 1992.

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.

National product

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $86 billion (1992 est.)

Exports

$118 billion, including reexports of $85.1 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)

commodities:
clothing, textiles, yarn and fabric, footwear, electrical appliances, watches and clocks, toys
partners:
US 29%, China 21%, Germany 8%, UK 6%, Japan 5% (1990)

Imports

$120 billion (c.i.f., 1992 est.)

commodities:
foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum
partners:
China 37%, Japan 16%, Taiwan 9%, US 8% (1990)

External debt

$9.5 billion (December 1990 est.)

Electricity

9,566,000 kW capacity; 29,400 million kWh produced, 4,980 kWh per capita (1992)

Industries

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

Agriculture

  • minor role in the economy;
  • rice, vegetables, dairy products;
  • less than 20% self-sufficient;
  • shortages of rice, wheat, water

Illicit drugs

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

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $152 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $923 million

Currency

1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates

  • Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$ - 7.800 (1992), 7.771 (1991), 7.790 (1990), 7.800 (1989), 7.810 (1988), 7.760 (1987);
  • note - linked to the US dollar at the rate of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$ since 1985

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

Communications

6 fields

Merchant marine, 176 ships by type

passenger 1short-sea passenger 1cargo 20refrigerated cargo 6container 29oil tanker 15chemical tanker 3combination ore/oil 6liquefied gas 5bulk 88combination bulk; note - a flag of convenience registry; ships registered in Hong Kong fly the UK flag, and an estimated 500 Hong Kong-owned ships are registered elsewhere 2176 ships (1,000 GRT or over), totaling 5,870,007 GRT/10,006,390 DWT

Networkskm

Highways
1,100Railroads
35
Highways: ; 794 km paved, 306 km gravel, crushed stone, or earth · Railroads: , government owned

Railroads

35 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, government owned

Highways

1,100 km total; 794 km paved, 306 km gravel, crushed stone, or earth

Ports

Hong Kong

Airports

total:
2
useable:
2
with permanent-surface runways:
2
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
1
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
0

Telecommunications

  • modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services;
  • 3,000,000 telephones;
  • microwave transmission links and extensive optical fiber transmission network;
  • broadcast stations - 6 AM, 6 FM, 4 TV;
  • 1 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) repeater station and 1 British Forces Broadcasting Service repeater station;
  • 2,500,000 radio receivers;
  • 1,312,000 TV sets (1,224,000 color TV sets);
  • satellite earth stations - 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT and 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT;
  • coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China;
  • links to 5 international submarine cables providing access to ASEAN member nations, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe

Defense Forces

Headquarters of British Forces, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Hong Kong | Auxiliary Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Police Force

5 fields

Branches

Headquarters of British Forces, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Police Force

Manpower availability

  • males age 15-49 1,635,516;
  • fit for military service 1,256,057;
  • reach military age (18) annually 43,128 (1993 est.)

Defense expenditures

  • 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

Note

defense is the responsibility of the UK

Affiliation

(territory of the US)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Hong Kong.” The World Factbook 1993. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/hong-kong/1993.

How to cite ← 1992 edition 1994 edition →