1998 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1998 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Area
total: 1,092 sq km land: 1,042 sq km water: 50 sq km
Area-comparative
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
Elevation extremes
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m
Environment-current issues
air and water pollution from rapid urbanization
Environment-international agreements
party to: NA signed, but not ratified: NA
Geographic coordinates
22 15 N, 114 10 E
Geography-note
more than 200 islands
Irrigated land
20 sq km (1993 est.)
Land boundaries
total: 30 km border countries: China 30 km
Land use
arable land: 6% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 22% other: 70% (1993 est.)
Location
Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
Map references
Southeast Asia
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 3 nm
Natural hazards
occasional typhoons
Natural resources
outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar
Terrain
hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north
People and Society
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.)
Birth rate
12.85 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate
5.87 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Ethnic groups
Chinese 95%, other 5%
Infant mortality rate
5.24 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Languages
Chinese (Cantonese), English
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 78.81 years male: 76.07 years female: 81.74 years (1998 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 92.2% male: 96% female: 88.2% (1996 est.)
Nationality
noun: Chinese adjective: Chinese
Net migration rate
15.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Population
6,706,965 (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate
2.24% (1998 est.)
Religions
eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%
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.)
Total fertility rate
1.36 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
none (special administrative region of China)
Constitution
Basic Law approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution"
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
Data code
HK
Dependency status
special administrative region of China
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
FAX
[852] 2845-1598
Flag description
red with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center
Government type
NA
Independence
none (special administrative region of China)
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
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
Legal system
based on English common law
Legislative branch
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
National capital
Victoria
National holiday
National Day, 1-2 October note: 1 July 1997 is celebrated as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day
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
Economy
Agriculture-products
fresh vegetables; poultry
Budget
revenues: $19 billion expenditures: $14.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $289 million (FY95/96 est.)
Currency
1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents
Debt-external
none (1996)
Economic aid
$NA
Economy-overview
Hong Kong has a bustling free market economy highly dependent on international trade. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Indeed, imports and exports, including reexports, each exceed GDP in dollar value. Real GDP growth averaged a remarkable 8% in 1987-88, slowed to 3.0% in 1989-90, and picked up to 4.2% in 1991, 5.0% in 1992, 5.2% in 1993, 5.5% in 1994, 4.8% in 1995, 4.7% in 1996, and an estimated 5.5% in 1997. A shortage of labor continues to put upward pressure on prices and the cost of living. Even before Hong Kong reverted to Chinese administration on 1 July 1997 it had extensive trade and investment ties with China.
Electricity-capacity
11.3 million kW (1996)
Electricity-consumption per capita
3,968 kWh (1995)
Electricity-production
28 billion kWh (1996)
Exchange rates
Hong Kong dollars (HK$) 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$
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)
Fiscal year
1 April-31 March Communications
GDP
purchasing power parity-$175.2 billion (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector
agriculture: 0.1% industry: 16.1% services: 83.8% (1996 est.)
GDP-per capita
purchasing power parity-$26,800 (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate
5.5% (1997 est.)
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)
Industrial production growth rate
-3.2% (1997 est.)
Industries
textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks
Inflation rate-consumer price index
5.1% (1997 est.)
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)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 6, FM 6, shortwave 0
Radios
3 million (1992 est.)
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
Telephones
4.37 million (1997 est.)
Television broadcast stations
4 (British Broadcasting Corporation repeater 1; British Forces Broadcasting Service repeater 1)
Televisions
1.75 million (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate
3.1% (1996 est.)
Transportation
Airports
3 (1998) Airports-with paved runways: total: 3 over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1998)
Heliports
1 (1997 est.)
Highways
total: 1,760 km paved: 1,760 km unpaved: 0 km (1996 est.) Ports and harbors: Hong Kong
Merchant marine
total: 182 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,644,279 GRT/9,287,704 DWT ships by type: bulk 104, cargo 23, combination bulk 2, container 42, liquefied gas tanker 1, multifunction large load carrier 2, oil tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1, vehicle carrier 3 note: 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.)
Railways
total: 34 km standard gauge: 34 km 1.435-m gauge (1996 est.) note: also has 43 km of metro with 38 stations
Military and Security
Military branches
the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has a low-profile presence in Hong Kong
Military expenditures-dollar figure
$NA
Military expenditures-percent of GDP
NA%
Military manpower-availability
males age 15-49: 1,908,604 (1998 est.) Military manpower-fit for military service: males: 1,442,870 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-military age
18 years of age
Military manpower-reaching military age annually
males: 45,276 (1998 est.)
Military-note
defense is the responsibility of China
Transnational Issues
Disputes-international
none
Illicit drugs
a hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade; transshipment and money-laundering center; increasing indigenous amphetamine abuse (territory of the US)