Description: 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
Geography
Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China Geographic coordinates: 22 15 N, 114 10 E Map references: Southeast Asia Area: total area: 1,040 sq km land area: 990 sq km comparative area: six times the size of Washington, DC Land boundaries: total: 30 km border country: China 30 km Coastline: 733 km Maritime claims: territorial sea: 3 nm International disputes: none 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 lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m Natural resources: outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar Land use: arable land: 7% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 12% other: 79% Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989) Environment: current issues: air and water pollution from rapid urbanization natural hazards: occasional typhoons international agreements: NA Geographic note: more than 200 islands
People
Population: 6,305,413 (July 1996 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 19% (male 609,493; female 593,687) 15-64 years: 70% (male 2,312,141; female 2,094,156) 65 years and over: 11% (male 307,186; female 388,750) (July 1996 est.) Population growth rate: 1.77% (1996 est.) Birth rate: 10.5 births/1,000 population (1996 est.) Death rate: 5.23 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.) Net migration rate: 12.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female all ages: 1.05 male(s)/female (1996 est.) Infant mortality rate: 5.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 82.19 years male: 78.88 years female: 85.71 years (1996 est.) Total fertility rate: 1.3 children born/woman (1996 est.) Nationality: noun: Chinese adjective: Chinese Ethnic divisions: Chinese 95%, other 5% Religions: eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10% Languages: Chinese (Cantonese), English Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1995 est.) total population: 92.2% male: 96% female: 88.2%
Government
Name of country: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Hong Kong abbreviation: HK Data code: HK Type of government: dependent territory of the UK scheduled to revert to China on 1 July 1997 Capital: Victoria Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK) 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) National holiday: Liberation Day, 29 August (1945) Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice; new Basic Law approved in March 1990 in preparation for 1997 Legal system: based on English common law 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 professionals of electoral college and functional constituencies Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6 February 1952) is a hereditary monarch head of government: Governor and President of the Executive Council Christopher Francis PATTEN (since 9 July 1992) was appointed by the Queen; Chief Secretary Anson CHAN Fang On-Sang (since 29 November 1993) cabinet: Executive Council was appointed by the Governor Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council: indirect and direct elections last held 17 September 1995 (next to be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total, 30 indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 20 directly elected, 10 elected by election committee) 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 Other political or pressure groups: 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, CCC, ESCAP (associate), ICFTU, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), WCL, WMO, WTrO Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the UK) US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Consul General Richard W. MUELLER consulate general(s): 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong mailing address: PSC 464, Box 30, FPO AP 96522-0002 telephone: [852] 2523-9011 FAX: [852] 2845-1598 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
Economy
Economic 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 and construction account for about 18% 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, 5.5% in 1994, and 5.0% in 1995. Unemployment, which has been declining since the mid-1980s, edged up from 2% to 3.5% in 1995. Notwithstanding, a shortage of labor continues to put upward pressure on prices and the cost of living. Prospects for 1996 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. GDP: purchasing power parity - $152.4 billion (1995 est.) GDP real growth rate: 5% (1995 est.) GDP per capita: $27,500 (1995 est.) GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 0.2% industry: 18.4% services: 81.4% (1995 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.4% (1995) Labor force: 2,915,400 (1994) 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) Unemployment rate: 3.5% (1995 est.) Budget: revenues: $19 billion expenditures: $14.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $289 million (FY94/95) Industries: textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks Industrial production growth rate: 2% (1993 est.) Electricity: capacity: 8,930,000 kW production: 33 billion kWh consumption per capita: 4,628 kWh (1993) Agriculture: fresh vegetables; poultry Illicit drugs: a hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade; transshipment and money-laundering center; increasing indigenous amphetamine abuse Exports: $177.1 billion (including re-exports)(f.o.b., 1995 est.) commodities: clothing, textiles, yarn and fabric, footwear, electrical appliances, watches and clocks, toys partners: China 33%, US 22%, Germany 5%, Japan 5%, UK 3% (1993) Imports: $195.4 billion (c.i.f., 1995) commodities: foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum; a large share is re-exported partners: China 38%, Japan 17%, Taiwan 9%, US 7% (1993) External debt: none (1995) Economic aid: $NA Currency: 1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents Exchange rates: Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$ - 7.800 (1995), 7.800 (1994), 7.800 (1993), 7.741 (1992), 7.771 (1991); note - linked to the US dollar at the rate of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$ since 1985 Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Transportation
Railways: total: 35 km standard gauge: 35 km 1.435-m gauge Highways: total: 1,661 km paved: 1,661 km unpaved: 0 km (1994 est.) Ports: Hong Kong Merchant marine: total: 238 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 8,632,224 GRT/14,820,657 DWT ships by type: bulk 129, cargo 32, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 4, combination ore/oil 3, container 39, liquefied gas tanker 3, multifunction large load carrier 1, oil tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 5, short-sea passenger 1, vehicle carrier 3 note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 17 countries among which are UK 51, China 11, Belgium 8, South Africa 8, US 8, Japan 7, Bermuda 6, Switzerland 6, Germany 3, and Israel 3 (1995 est.) Airports: total: 2 with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.) note: new international airport to be commissioned in 1997/98 Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)
Communications
Telephones: 4.13 million (1995 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 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.)
Defense
Branches: Headquarters of British Forces, Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Police Force Manpower availability: males age 15-49: 1,895,535 males fit for military service: 1,442,072 males reach military age (18) annually: 46,248 (1996 est.) 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
Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK until 1 July 1997, when China will assume command
