Hong Kong

agricultural land:

5%;

• arable land 3.2%;
• permanent crops 0.9%;
• permanent pasture 0.9%

forest:

0%

other:

95% (2011 est.)

noun:

Chinese/Hong Konger

adjective:

Chinese/Hong Kong

at birth:

1.12 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.12 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.08 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.74 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.89 male(s)/female

total population:

0.87 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

conventional short form:

Hong Kong

local long form:

Heung Kong Takpit Hangching Ku (Eitel/Dyer-Ball); Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu (Hanyu Pinyin)

local short form:

Heung Kong (Eitel/Dyer-Ball); Xianggang (Hanyu Pinyin)

abbreviation:

HK

etymology:

probably an imprecise phonetic rendering of the Cantonese name meaning "fragrant harbor"

• 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

• several previous (governance documents while under British authority);
• latest drafted April 1988 to February 1989, approved March 1990, effective 1 July 1997 (Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China serves as the constitution);
• note - since 1990, the PRC National People's Congress has interpreted specific articles of the Basic Law (2016)

• 18 years of age in direct elections for half of the Legislative Council seats and all of the seats in 18 district councils;
• universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past 7 years;
• note - in indirect elections, suffrage is limited to about 220,000 members of functional constituencies for the other half of the legislature and a 1,200-member election committee for the chief executive drawn from broad sectoral groupings, central government bodies, municipal organizations, and elected Hong Kong officials

chief of state:

President of China XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013)

head of government:

Chief Executive Carrie LAM (since 1 July 2017)

cabinet:

Executive Council or ExCo appointed by the chief executive

elections/appointments:

• president indirectly elected by National People's Congress for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 5-17 March 2013 (next to be held in March 2018);
• chief executive indirectly elected by the Election Committee and appointed by the PRC Government for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 26 March 2017 (next to be held in 2022)

election results:

Carrie LAM elected chief executive; Election Committee vote - Carrie LAM 777, John TSANG 365, WOO Kwok-hing 21, invalid 23

note: the Legislative Council voted in June 2010 to expand the Election Committee to 1,200 members

description:

unicameral Legislative Council or LegCo (70 seats; 35 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote; 30 members indirectly elected by the approximately 220,000 members of various functional constituencies based on a variety of methods; five at large “super-seat” members directed elected by all of Hong Kong’s eligible voters who do not participate in a functional constituency; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

• last held on 4 September 2016;
• (next to be held in September 2020);
• note - by-election to be held on 11 March 2018 to fill 4 seats left vacant after 4 legislators were removed from office

election results:

• percent of vote by block - pro-democracy 36.0%;
• pro-Beijing 40.2%, localist 19.0%, other 4.8%;
• seats by block/party - pro-Beijing 40 (DAB 12, BPA 7, FTU 5, Liberal Party 4, NPP 3, other 9);
• pro-democracy 23 (Democratic Party 7, Civic Party 6, PP-LSD 2, Professional Commons 2, Labor 1, NWSC 1, PTU 1, other democrats 3), localists 6 (ALLin HK 2, CP-PPI-HKRO 1, Demosisto 1, Democracy Groundwork 1, other localist 1), non-aligned independent 1;
• note - 2 localists were barred from taking office in November 2016 and 4 pro-democracy legislators were removed in July 2017

highest court(s):

• Court of Final Appeal (consists of the chief justice, 3 permanent judges, and 20 non-permanent judges);
• note - a sitting bench consists of the chief justice and 3 permanent judges and 1 non-permanent judge

judge selection and term of office:

• all judges appointed by the Hong Kong Chief Executive upon the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission, an independent body consisting of the Secretary for Justice, other judges, and judicial and legal professionals;
• permanent judges appointed until normal retirement at age 65, but can be extended;
• non-permanent judges appointed for renewable 3-year terms without age limit

subordinate courts:

• High Court (consists of the Court of Appeal and Court of First Instance);
• District Courts (includes Family and Land Courts);
• magistrates' courts;
• specialized tribunals

• ALLinHK (alliance of 6 localist groups)
• Business and Professional Alliance or BPA [Andrew LEUNG Kwan-yuen]
• Civic Party [Alan LEONG Kah-kit]
• Civic Passion or CP [CHENG Chung-tai] (part of Civic Passion-Proletariat Political Institute-Hong Kong Resurgence Order alliance or CP-PPI-HKRO that dissolved after the 2016 election)
• Democracy Groundwork [LAU Siu-lai]
• Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong or DAB [Starry LEE Wai-king]
• Democratic Party [WU Chi-wai]
• Demosisto [Nathan LAW]
• Federation of Trade Unions or FTU [Stanley NG Chau-pei]
• Labor Party [Acting Chairman CHIU Shi-shun]
• League of Social Democrats or LSD [Avery NG Man-yuen]
• Liberal Party [Felix CHUNG Kwok-pan]
• Neighborhood and Workers Service Center or NWSC [LEUNG Yui-chung]
• New People's Party or NPP [Regina IP Lau Su-yee]
• People Power or PP [Erica YUEN Mi-ming]
• Youngspiration [Sixtus "Baggio" LEUNG Chung-hang]
• Professional Commons (think tank) [Charles Peter MOK]
• Professional Teachers Union or PTU

note: political blocks include: pro-democracy - Civic Party, Democratic Party, Labor Party, LSD, NWSC, PP, Professional Commons, PTU; pro-Beijing - DAB, FTU, Liberal Party, NPP, BPA;

localist - ALLinHK, CP, Democracy Groundwork, Demosisto; there is no political party ordinance, so there are no registered political parties; politically active groups register as societies or companies

• Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China)
• Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong
• Civic Act-up (pro-democracy)
• Federation of Hong Kong Industries
• Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China [Albert HO] (pro-China)
• Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council or HKTUC (pro-democracy)
• Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce or HKGCC
• Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union or HKPTU [FUNG Wai-wah]

• none (Special Administrative Region of China);
• Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) carries out normal liaison activities and communication with the US Government and other US entities

commissioner:

Clement C.M. LEUNG

office:

1520 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone:

[1] 202 331-8947

FAX:

[1] 202 331-8958

HKETO offices:

New York, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Consul General Kurt W. TONG (since 27 August 2016); note - also accredited to Macau

consulate(s) general:

26 Garden Road, Hong Kong

mailing address:

Unit 8000, Box 1, DPO AP 96521-0006

telephone:

[852] 2523-9011

FAX:

[852] 2845-1598

• red with a stylized, white, five-petal Bauhinia flower in the center;
• each petal contains a small, red, five-pointed star in its middle;
• the red color is the same as that on the Chinese flag and represents the motherland;
• the fragrant Bauhinia - developed in Hong Kong the late 19th century - has come to symbolize the region;
• the five stars echo those on the flag of China

• fresh vegetables and fruit;
• poultry, pork;
• fish

manufacturing:

3.8%

construction:

2.8%

wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels:

53.3%

financing, insurance, and real estate:

12.5%

transport and communications:

10.1%

community and social services:

17.1%

note: above data exclude public sector (2013 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

general assessment:

modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services

domestic:

microwave radio relay links and extensive fiber-optic network

international:

• country code - 852;
• multiple international submarine cables provide connections to Asia, US, Australia, the Middle East, and Western Europe;
• satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean);
• coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China (2015)

• 2 commercial terrestrial TV networks each with multiple stations;
• multi-channel satellite and cable TV systems available;
• 3 radio networks, one of which is government funded, operate about 15 radio stations (2012)

number of registered air carriers:

7 (registered in China); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 253 (registered in China)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

41,867,157

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

11.294 billion mt-km (2015)

total:

2,100 km

paved:

2,100 km (2015)

country comparison to the world: 174

• no regular indigenous military forces;
• Hong Kong garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes elements of the PLA Army, 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 Southern Command (2016)

• Hong Kong plans to reduce its 2,800-hectare Frontier Closed Area (FCA) to 400 hectares by 2015;
• the FCA was established in 1951 as a buffer zone between Hong Kong and mainland China to prevent illegal migration from and the smuggling of goods

• despite strenuous law enforcement efforts, 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