Hong Kong

Airports

total: 2 usable: 2 with permanent-surface runways: 2 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 0

Highways

total: 1,100 km paved: 794 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, earth 306 km

Merchant marine

201 ships (1,000 GRT or over), totaling 6,972,233 GRT/11,965,809 DWT, bulk 105, cargo 23, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk 2, combination ore/oil 6, container 29, liquefied gas 7, oil tanker 16, refrigerated cargo 7, short-sea passenger 1, vehicle carrier 2 note: a flag of convenience registry; ships registered in Hong Kong fly the UK flag, and an estimated 500 Hong Kong-owned ships are registered elsewhere

Ports

Hong Kong

Railroads

35 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, government owned

Telecommunications

modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services; 3,000,000 telephones; microwave transmission links and extensive optical fiber transmission network; broadcast stations - 6 AM, 6 FM, 4 TV; 1 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) repeater station and 1 British Forces Broadcasting Service repeater station; 2,500,000 radio receivers; 1,312,000 TV sets (1,224,000 color TV sets); satellite earth stations - 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT and 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT; 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

Affiliation

(territory of the US)

Branches

Headquarters of British Forces, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Police Force

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $300 million, 0.5% of GDP (1989 est.); this represents one-fourth of the total cost of defending itself, the remainder being paid by the UK

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,636,397; fit for military service 1,251,901; reach military age (18) annually 42,044 (1994 est.)

Note

defense is the responsibility of the UK

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 (FY94)

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: 9,566,000 kW production: 29.4 billion kWh consumption per capita: 4,980 kWh (1992)

Exchange rates

Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$ - 7.800 (1993), 7.741 (1992), 7.771 (1991), 7.790 (1990), 7.800 (1989); note - linked to the US dollar at the rate of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$ since 1985

Exports

$145.1 billion (including re-exports of $104.2 billion )(f.o.b., 1993 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

Imports

$149.6 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum 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)

9.5% (1993)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $119 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$21,500 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

5.2% (1993)

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, and 5.2% in 1993. 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. Short-term prospects remain bright so long as major trading partners continue to be reasonably prosperous.

Unemployment rate

2.3% (1993 est.)

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, on the southeast coast of China bordering the South China Sea

Map references

Asia, Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

exclusive fishing zone: 3 nm 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

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] 845-1598

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

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 Council

indirect elections last held 12 September 1991 and direct elections were held for the first time 15 September 1991 (next to be held in September 1995 when the number of directly-elected seats increases to 20); 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

Legislative branch

unicameral

Member of

COCOM (cooperating), 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; Meeting Point, Anthony CHEUNG Bing-leung, chairman; Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood, 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 note: in April 1994, the United Democrats of Hong Kong and Meeting Point merged to form the "Democratic Party;" the merger becomes effective in October 1994

Political parties and leaders

United Democrats of Hong Kong, 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 and Meeting Point merged to form the "Democratic Party;" the merger becomes 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 MUELLER consulate general: 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong mailing address: PSC 464, Box 30, Hong Kong, or FPO AP 96522-0002 telephone: [852] 523-9011

Birth rate

12.16 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate

5.85 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Chinese 95%, other 5%

Infant mortality rate

5.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 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: 80.09 years male: 76.67 years female: 83.71 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over having ever attended school (1971) total population: 77% male: 90% female: 64%

Nationality

noun: Chinese adjective: Chinese

Net migration rate

-7.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population

5,548,754 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

-0.09% (1994 est.)

Religions

eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%

Total fertility rate

1.37 children born/woman (1994 est.)