Hong Kong

dependent territory of the UK scheduled to revert to China inIndependence none (dependent territory of the UK

Hong Kong as the 1995 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 82 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 sq km

LocationEastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

Populationas each edition published it

5.54 million July 1995 est. · 5.76m in 1990

Population growth% a year

-0.12% 1995 est. · -0.06% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 37.5 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

80.18 years 1995 est. · 79.99 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.39 children per woman 1995 est. · 1.4 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

5.8 deaths per 1,000 live births 1995 est. · 6 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$24,530 1994 est. · $14,600 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

5.5% 1994 est. · 5.9% in 1993

Geography

Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

14 fields

Land useshare of 1,040 sq km

arable land 7%meadows and pastures 1%forest and woodland 12%other 79%permanent crops 1% in all · irrigated 20 sq km (1989)

Area

1,040sq km

land area: 990 sq kmcomparative area: slightly less than six times the size of Washington, DC

Coastline

733km

territorial sea: 3 nm

Land boundaries

30km

total · China 30 km

Location

Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

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

Environment

current issues:: air and water pollution from rapid urbanization
natural hazards:: occasional typhoons
international agreements:: NA

People

15 fields

Population

5,542,869

(July 1995 est.)growth rate: -0.12% (1995 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1995 est.)

Birth

12.02Death

6.02Net migration

-7.22

Male · female(1995 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years80.18

76.78 · 83.78

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy77%

90% · 64%

MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over has ever attended school (1971)

Labor force

2.8million

(1990)

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)

Age structure

0-14 years:: 19% (female 499,460; male 549,734)
15-64 years:: 70% (female 1,866,540; male 2,016,684)
65 years and over:: 11% (female 331,391; male 279,060) (July 1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate

5.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.39 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Chinese
adjective:: Chinese

Ethnic divisions

Chinese 95%, other 5%

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; Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Governor Chris PATTEN (since 9 July 1992)

22 fields

Names

conventional long form:: none
conventional short form:: Hong Kong

Abbreviation

Digraph

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)
cabinet:: Executive Council; appointed by the governor

Legislative branch

unicameral

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 17 September 1995 when the number of directly-elected seats increases to 50);
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

Political parties and leaders

Democratic Party, Martin LEE, chairman;
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, TSANG Yuk-shing, chairman;
Hong Kong Democratic Foundation, Dr. Patrick SHIU Kin-ying, chairman

note: in April 1994, the United Democrats of Hong Kong (UDHK) and Meeting Point merged to form the Democratic Party; the merger became effective in October 1994

Other political or pressure groups

Liberal Party, Allen LEE, chairman;
Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL), Frederick FUNG Kin Kee, chairman;
Liberal Democratic Federation, HU Fa-kuang, chairman;
Federation of Trade Unions (pro-China), LEE Chark-tim, president;
Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan);
Confederation of Trade Unions (pro-democracy), LAU Chin-shek, chairman;
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, CHEUNG Man-kwong, president;
Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China, Szeto WAH, chairman

Member of

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

Diplomatic representation in US

none (dependent territory of the UK)

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission:: Consul General Richard W. MUELLER
consulate(s) general:: 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong
mailing address:: PSC 464, Box 30, Hong Kong, or FPO AP 96522-0002
telephone:: [852] 523-9011

FAX

[852] 845-4845

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

$24,530

(1994 est.)

Real growth rate

5.5%

(1994 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate 2% (1993 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

8.5%

(1994)

Unemployment rate

1.9%

(1994 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$19.2 billionExpenditures

$19.7 billion

expenditures including capital expenditures of $NA (FY93/94)

Installed generating capacity, 8,930,000 kW

Electricity production

33 billionElectricity consumption per capita

4,628 (1993)

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, 5.2% in 1993, and 5.5% in 1994.

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. Prospects for 1995-96 remain bright so long as major trading partners continue to be reasonably prosperous and so long as investors feel China will support free market practices after the takeover in 1997.

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $136.1 billion (1994 est.)

Exports

$168.7 billion (including re-exports of $121.0 billion )(f.o.b., 1994 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

$160 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)

commodities:: foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum; a large share is re-exported
partners:: China 36%, Japan 19%, Taiwan 9%, US 7% (1993 est.)

External debt

none (1993)

Industries

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

Agriculture

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

Illicit drugs

a hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade;
transshipment and major financial and money-laundering center;
increasing indigenous amphetamine and cocaine abuse

Economic aid

recipient: 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 (1994), 7.800 (1993), 7.741 (1992), 7.771 (1991), 7.790 (1990);
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

Transportation

5 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 3 in all

over 3,047 m

under 914 m

PavedUnpaved

Networkskm

Highways

1,100Railroads

Highways: paved: 794 km · unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, earth 306 km · Railroads: standard gauge: 35 km 1.435-m gauge

Railroads

total:: 35 km
standard gauge:: 35 km 1.435-m gauge

Highways

total:: 1,100 km
paved:: 794 km
unpaved:: gravel, crushed stone, earth 306 km

Ports

Hong Kong

Merchant marine

total:: 217 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,657,749 GRT/13,181,496 DWT
ships by type:: bulk 116, cargo 29, chemical tanker 2, combination bulk 2, combination ore/oil 6, container 28, liquefied gas tanker 5, oil tanker 18, refrigerated cargo 7, short-sea passenger 1, vehicle carrier 3

note: a flag of convenience registry; includes 15 countries among which are UK with 53 ships, China 15, Bermuda 7, Japan 6, Belgium 3, Germany 3, Greece 3, Canada 2, Netherlands 2, Singapore 2

Communications

3 fields

Telephone system

3,000,000 telephones; modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services

local:: NA
intercity:: microwave transmission links and extensive optical fiber transmission network
international:: 3 INTELSAT (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) earth stations;
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

Radio

broadcast stations:: AM 6, FM 6, shortwave 0
radios:: 2.5 million

Television

broadcast stations:: 4 (British Broadcasting Corporation repeater 1; British Forces Broadcasting Service repeater 1)
televisions:: 1.312 million (1,224,000 color TV sets)

Defense Forces

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

4 fields

Branches

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

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,634,559;
males fit for military service 1,245,905;
males reach military age (18) annually 40,996 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $207 million, 0.2% of GDP (FY92/93);
this represents 65% of the total cost of defending the colony, the remainder being paid by the UK

Note

defense is the responsibility of the UK HOWLAND ISLAND (territory of the US)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Hong Kong.” The World Factbook 1995. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/hong-kong/1995.

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