1995 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1995 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 1,040 sq km land area: 990 sq km comparative area: slightly less than six times the size of Washington, DC
Climate
tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall
Coastline
733 km
Environment
current issues: air and water pollution from rapid urbanization natural hazards: occasional typhoons international agreements: NA
International disputes
none
Irrigated land
20 sq km (1989)
Land boundaries
total 30 km, China 30 km
Land use
arable land: 7% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 12% other: 79%
Location
Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
Map references
Southeast Asia
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 3 nm
Natural resources
outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar
Note
more than 200 islands
Terrain
hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north
People and Society
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.)
Birth rate
12.02 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate
6.02 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Chinese 95%, other 5%
Infant mortality rate
5.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Labor force
2.8 million (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)
Languages
Chinese (Cantonese), English
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 80.18 years male: 76.78 years female: 83.78 years (1995 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over has ever attended school (1971) total population: 77% male: 90% female: 64%
Nationality
noun: Chinese adjective: Chinese
Net migration rate
-7.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Population
5,542,869 (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate
-0.12% (1995 est.)
Religions
eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%
Total fertility rate
1.39 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Government
Abbreviation
HK
Administrative divisions
none (dependent territory of the UK)
Capital
Victoria
Constitution
unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice; new Basic Law approved in March 1990 in preparation for 1997
Digraph
HK
Diplomatic representation in US
none (dependent territory of the UK)
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
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
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)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court
Legal system
based on English common law
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
Member of
APEC, AsDB, CCC, ESCAP (associate), GATT, ICFTU, IMO (associate), INTERPOL (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), WCL, WMO
Names
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Hong Kong
National holiday
Liberation Day, 29 August (1945)
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
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
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
Type
dependent territory of the UK scheduled to revert to China in 1997
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
Economy
Agriculture
minor role in the economy; local farmers produce 26% fresh vegetables, 27% live poultry; 8% of land area suitable for farming
Budget
revenues: $19.2 billion expenditures: $19.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY93/94)
Currency
1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents
Economic aid
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $152 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $923 million
Electricity
capacity: 8,930,000 kW production: 33 billion kWh consumption per capita: 4,628 kWh (1993)
Exchange rates
Hong Kong dollars (HK$) 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
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.)
External debt
none (1993)
Fiscal year
1 April - 31 March
Illicit drugs
a hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade; transshipment and major financial and money-laundering center; increasing indigenous amphetamine and cocaine abuse
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.)
Industrial production
growth rate 2% (1993 est.)
Industries
textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
8.5% (1994)
National product
GDP - purchasing power parity - $136.1 billion (1994 est.)
National product per capita
$24,530 (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate
5.5% (1994 est.)
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.
Unemployment rate
1.9% (1994 est.)
Communications
Radio
broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 6, shortwave 0 radios: 2.5 million
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
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)
Transportation
Airports
total: 3 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2
Highways
total: 1,100 km paved: 794 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, earth 306 km
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
Ports
Hong Kong
Railroads
total: 35 km standard gauge: 35 km 1.435-m gauge
Military and Security
Branches
Headquarters of British Forces, Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Police Force
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
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.)
Note
defense is the responsibility of the UK ________________________________________________________________________ HOWLAND ISLAND (territory of the US)