1985 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1985 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Area
1,064 km2; about one and one-third times the size of New York City; 14% arable, 10% forest, 76% other (mainly grass, shrub, steep hill country)
Branches
Governor assisted by advisory Executive Council, legislates with advice and consent of Legislative Council; Executive Council composed of governor, five senior officials, and 12 unofficial members; Legislative Council composed of governor, three ex-officio members, 16 official members, and 27 unofficial members; Urban Council, which alone includes elected representatives, responsible for health, recreation, and resettlement; independent judiciary
Capital
none
Coastline
733 km People
Communists
an estimated 2,000 cadres affiliated with Communist Party of China
Elections
every two years to select half of elected membership of Urban Council; other Urban Council members appointed by the Governor
Ethnic divisions
98% Chinese, 2% other
Government leader
Sir Edward YOUDE, Governor and Commander in Chief (since May 1982)
Labor force
(June 1984) 2.52 million; 37.3% manufacturing; 22.1% commerce; 18.4% services; 7.6% construction; 7.6% transport and communications; 5.4% financing, insurance, and real estate; 1.2% agriculture, fishing, mining, and quarrying; 0.4% other; unemployment (seasonally adjusted) 3.6%
Land boundaries
24 km Water
Language
Chinese (Cantonese), English
Legal system
English common law
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
3 nm
Literacy
75%
Member of
ADB, IMO, INTERPOL, Multiflber Arrangement, WMO
Nationality
adjective — Hong Kong
Official name
Hong Kong
Organized labor
15.2% of 1984 labor force Government
Other political or pressure groups
Federation of Trade Unions (Communist controlled), Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (Nationalist Chinese dominated), Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (Communist controlled), Federation of Hong Kong Industries, Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong
Political parties
no significant parties
Political subdivisions
Hong Kong, Kowloon, and New Territories
Population
5,491,000 (July 1985), average annual growth rate 1.6%
Religion
90% eclectic mixture of local religions, 10% Christian
Suffrage
limited to 200,000 to 300,000 professional or skilled persons
Type
British dependent territory; scheduled to revert to China in 1997