Hong Kong

Hong Kong Special Administrative RegionXianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu

NAIndependence none (special administrative region of China)

Hong Kong as the 1998 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 99 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

Position22 15 N, 114 10 E

Area1,092 sq km

LocationEastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

Populationas each edition published it

6.71 million July 1998 est. · 5.76m in 1990

Population growth% a year

2.24% 1998 est. · -0.06% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 37.5 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

78.81 years 1998 est. · 79.99 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.36 children per woman 1998 est. · 1.4 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

5.24 deaths per 1,000 live births 1998 est. · 6 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$26,800 1997 est. · $14,600 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

5.5% 1997 est. · 5.9% in 1993

Geography

Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

18 fields

Land useshare of 1,092 sq km

arable land 6%permanent pastures 1%forests and woodland 22%other 70% (1993 est.)permanent crops 1% in all · irrigated 20 sq km (1993 est.)

Area

1,092sq km

land: 1,042 sq kmwater: 50 sq kmsix times the size of Washington, DC

Coastline

733km

territorial sea: 3 nm

Highest point

958m

Tai Mo Shanlowest point: South China Sea 0 m

Land boundaries

30km

border countries: 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

Environment-international agreements

party to:: NA
signed, but not ratified:: NA

People

15 fields

Population

6,706,965

(July 1998 est.)growth rate: 2.24% (1998 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1998 est.)

Birth

12.85Death

5.87Net migration

15.41

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (1998 est.)78.81

76.07 · 81.74

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (1996 est.)92.2%

96% · 88.2%

MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school

Age structure

0-14 years:: 18% (male 637,808; female 591,900)
15-64 years:: 71% (male 2,360,878; female 2,425,291)
65 years and over:: 11% (male 312,033; female 379,055) (July 1998 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth:: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years:: 1.08 male(s)/female
15-64 years:: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over:: 0.82 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate

5.24 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Chinese
adjective:: Chinese

Religions

eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%

Government

NA; President of China JIANG Zemin (since 27 March 1993); Chief Executive TUNG Chee-hwa (since 1 July 1997)

21 fields

Legislature, 60 seatsone dot, one seat

Democratic Party 21Liberal Party 10Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong 6other parties and independents 23

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

Administrative divisions

none (special administrative region of China)

Independence

none (special administrative region of China)

National holiday

National Day, 1-2 October 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"

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 Commission drawn from broad regional groupings and other 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 NA 1995), and Secretary of Justice Elsie LEUNG (since NA 1997)
elections:: NA

a provisional legislature replaced the unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (60 seats; 30 indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 20 elected by popular vote, and 10 elected by election committee; members served four-year terms) on 1 July 1997

elections:: indirect and direct elections for the Legislative Council were last held on 17 September 1995;
elections for the first Special Administrative Region Legislative Council are scheduled to be held in May 1998
election results:: the following are results of the 1995 election of the Legislative Council - percent of vote by party-NA;
seats by party-Democratic Party 21, Liberal Party 10, Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong 6, other parties and independents 23

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

Democratic Party, Martin LEE, chairman;
Liberal Party, Allen LEE, chairman;
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, TSANG Yuk-shing, chairman;
Hong Kong Democratic Foundation, Dr. Patrick SHIU Kin-ying, chairman;
The Frontier, Emily LAN Wai-hang, chairwoman

Political pressure groups and leaders

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), LEE Cheuk-yan, 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

International organization participation

APEC, AsDB, BIS (pending member), CCC, ESCAP (associate), ICFTU, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), WCL, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US

none (special administrative region of China)

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission:: Consul General Richard A. BOUCHER
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

Economy

Hong Kong has a bustling free market economy highly | dependent on international trade.

28 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

-$175.2billion

purchasing power parity · (1997 est.)

GDP per capita, PPP

-$26,800

purchasing power parity · (1997 est.)

Real growth rate

5.5%

(1997 est.)industrial production growth: -3.2% (1997 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

5.1%

(1997 est.)

GDP-composition by sector(1996 est.)

agriculture 0.1%industry 16.1%services 83.8% (1996 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$19 billionExpenditures

$14.1 billion

expenditures including capital expenditures of $289 million (FY95/96 est.)

Fixed lines

4.37 million

(1997 est.)

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. 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, 5.5% in 1994, 4.8% in 1995, 4.7% in 1996, and an estimated 5.5% in 1997.

A shortage of labor continues to put upward pressure on prices and the cost of living. Even before Hong Kong reverted to Chinese administration on 1 July 1997 it had extensive trade and investment ties with China.

Labor force

total:: 3.183 million (1997)
by occupation:: wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 32.4%, social services 9.9%, manufacturing 9.9%, financing, insurance, and real estate 13.0%, transport and communications 5.7%, construction 2.6%, other 26.5% (June 1997)

Unemployment rate

3.1% (1996 est.)

Industries

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

Electricity-capacity

11.3 million kW (1996)

Electricity-production

28 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity-consumption per capita

3,968 kWh (1995)

Agriculture-products

fresh vegetables; poultry

Exports

total value:: $180.7 billion (including reexports; f.o.b., 1996)
commodities:: clothing, textiles, yarn and fabric, footwear, electrical appliances, watches and clocks, toys
partners:: China 34%, US 21%, Japan 7%, Germany 4%, UK 3% (1996)

Imports

total value:: $198.6 billion (c.i.f., 1996)
commodities:: foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum; a large share is reexported
partners:: China 37%, Japan 14%, Taiwan 8%, US 8%, Singapore 5% (1996)

Debt-external

none (1996)

Economic aid

$NA

Currency

1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates

Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$-7.74 (1997), 7.730 (1996), 7.800 (1995), 7.800 (1994), 7.800 (1993), 7.741 (1992);
note-linked to the US dollar at the rate of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March Communications

Telephone system

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 6, FM 6, shortwave 0

Radios

3 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations

4 (British Broadcasting Corporation repeater 1; British Forces Broadcasting Service repeater 1)

Televisions

1.75 million (1992 est.)

Transportation

7 fields

Merchant marine, 182 ships by typeships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,644,279 GRT/9,287,704 DWT

bulk 104cargo 23combination bulk 2container 42liquefied gas tanker 1multifunction large load carrier 2oil tanker 2refrigerated cargo 1roll-on/roll-off cargo 1short-sea passenger 1vehicle carrier 3note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 13 countries among which are UK 26, South Africa 9, China 9, Japan 8, Bermuda 3, Germany 3, Israel 2, Canada 2, Belgium 1, and Norway 1; Hong Kong owns an additional 459 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 17,179,262 DWT that operate under the registries of The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Liberia, Malta, Panama, Philippines, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, and Vanuatu (1997 est.)

Networkskm

Highways

1,760Railways

Highways: paved: 1,760 km · unpaved: 0 km (1996 est.) · Railways: standard gauge: 34 km 1.435-m gauge (1996 est.) note: also has 43 km of metro with 38 stations