HONG KONG
Geography People Government Economy Transportation Communications Defense Forces
HONG KONG
(dependent territory of the UK)
@Hong Kong:Geography
Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
Map references: Southeast Asia
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HONG KONG - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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Kowloon 2,400,000 22.20N,114.10E 852- GMT+8
VICTORIA 1,400,000 22.16N,114.09E 852- GMT+8
Aberdeen N/A 22.15N,114.09E 852- GMT+8
Kwun Tong N/A 22.19N,114.12E 852- GMT+8
New Kowloon N/A 22.20N,114.10E 852- GMT+8
Tsuen Wan N/A 22.22N,114.07E 852- GMT+8
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Area:
total area: 1,040 sq km
land area: 990 sq km
comparative area: slightly less than six times the size of Washington,
DC
Land boundaries: total 30 km, 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
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
Note: more than 200 islands
@Hong Kong:People
Population: 5,542,869 (July 1995 est.)
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.)
Population growth rate: -0.12% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 12.02 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.02 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -7.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 80.18 years
male: 76.78 years
female: 83.78 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.39 children born/woman (1995 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 (1971)
total population: 77%
male: 90%
female: 64%
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)
@Hong Kong:Government
Names:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Hong Kong
Abbreviation: HK
Digraph: HK
Type: dependent territory of the UK scheduled to revert to China in
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 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
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
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
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
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
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
Member of: APEC, AsDB, CCC, ESCAP (associate), GATT, ICFTU, IMO
(associate), INTERPOL (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), WCL, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the UK)
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
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
Economy
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.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $136.1 billion (1994
est.)
National product real growth rate: 5.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $24,530 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.5% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 1.9% (1994 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $19.2 billion
expenditures: $19.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(FY93/94)
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.)
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.)
External debt: none (1993)
Industrial production: growth rate 2% (1993 est.)
Electricity:
capacity: 8,930,000 kW
production: 33 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 4,628 kWh (1993)
Industries: textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics, toys,
watches, clocks
Agriculture: minor role in the economy; local farmers produce 26%
fresh vegetables, 27% live poultry; 8% of land area suitable for
farming
Illicit drugs: a hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade; transshipment
and major financial and money-laundering center; increasing indigenous
amphetamine and cocaine abuse
Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $152 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-89), $923 million
Currency: 1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents
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
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Hong Kong:Transportation
Railroads:
total: 35 km
standard gauge: 35 km 1.435-m gauge
Highways:
total: 1,100 km
paved: 794 km
unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, earth 306 km
Ports: Hong Kong
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
Airports:
total: 3
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 2
@Hong Kong:Communications
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
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 6, shortwave 0
radios: 2.5 million
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)
@Hong Kong:Defense Forces
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 1,634,559; males fit for
military service 1,245,905; males reach military age (18) annually
40,996 (1995 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
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
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