Hong Kong
(special administrative region of China)                                                      return to Global Supply Chain Main Page

Hong Kong

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Background: Pursuant to the agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on 1 July 1997. Under the terms of this agreement, China has promised that under its "one country, two systems" formula its socialist economic system will not be practiced in Hong Kong, and that Hong Kong shall enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs.

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Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

Geographic coordinates: 22 15 N, 114 10 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
total: 1,092 sq km
land: 1,042 sq km
water: 50 sq km

Area—comparative: six times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
total: 30 km
border countries: China 30 km

Coastline: 733 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 3 nm

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

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m

Natural resources: outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar

Land use:
arable land: 6%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 1%
forests and woodland: 20%
other: 72% (1997 est.)

Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1997 est.)

Natural hazards: occasional typhoons

Environment—current issues: air and water pollution from rapid urbanization

Environment—international agreements:
party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA

Geography—note: more than 200 islands

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Population: 6,847,125 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18% (male 644,982; female 598,188)
15-64 years: 71% (male 2,397,277; female 2,490,745)
65 years and over: 11% (male 323,949; female 391,984) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.9% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 12.9 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 5.96 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 12.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 5.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.91 years
male: 76.15 years
female: 81.85 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.39 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese

Ethnic groups: Chinese 95%, other 5%

Religions: eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%

Languages: Chinese (Cantonese), English

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 92.2%
male: 96%
female: 88.2% (1996 est.)

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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

Government type: NA

Capital: Victoria

Administrative divisions: none (special administrative region of China)

Independence: none (special administrative region of China)

National holiday: National Day, 1-2 October; note—1 July 1997 is celebrated as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day

Constitution: Basic Law approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution"

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 members of functional constituencies and an 800-member Election Commission drawn from broad regional groupings and other central government bodies

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 7 March 1995), and Secretary of Justice Elsie LEUNG (since 1 July 1997)
elections: NA

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (60 seats; 30 indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 20 elected by popular vote, and 10 elected by an 800-member election committee; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 May 1998 (next to be held NA 2002)
election results: percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—Democratic Party 13, Liberal Party 9, Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong 9, Hong Kong Progressive Alliance 5, Frontier Party 3, Citizens Party 1, independents 20

Judicial branch: The Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party [Martin LEE, chairman]; Liberal Party [leader NA]; Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong [TSANG Yuk-shing, chairman]; Hong Kong Democratic Foundation [Dr. Patrick SHIU Kin-ying, chairman]; Frontier Party [Emily LAN Wai-hang, chairwoman]; Hong Kong Progressive Alliance [leader NA]; Citizens Party [leader NA]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood or 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, BIS, 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
FAX: [852] 2845-1598

Flag description: red with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center

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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. Even before Hong Kong reverted to Chinese administration on 1 July 1997 it had extensive trade and investment ties with China. Real GDP growth averaged a remarkable 8% in 1987-88 and a still strong 5% in 1989-97. The widespread Asian economic difficulties in 1998 hit this trade-dependent economy quite hard, with GDP down 5%.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$168.1 billion (1998 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: -5% (1998 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$25,100 (1998 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 0.1%
industry: 15.9%
services: 84% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.9% (1998 est.)

Labor force: 3.216 million (1998 est.)

Labor force—by occupation: wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 31.9%, social services 9.9%, manufacturing 9.2%, financing, insurance, and real estate 13.1%, transport and communications 5.7%, construction 2.6%, other 27.6% (October 1998)

Unemployment rate: 5.5% (1998 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $30.1 billion
expenditures: $26 billion, including capital expenditures of $289 million (FY97/98)

Industries: textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks

Industrial production growth rate: -3.7% (1998)

Electricity—production: 27 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)

Electricity—consumption: 28.598 billion kWh (1997)

Electricity—exports: 1.483 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—imports: 5.875 billion kWh (1996)

Agriculture—products: fresh vegetables; poultry

Exports: $188.08 billion (including reexports; f.o.b., 1997)

Exports—commodities: clothing, textiles, yarn and fabric, footwear, electrical appliances, watches and clocks, toys

Exports—partners: China 35%, US 22%, Japan 6%, Germany 4%, UK 4% (1997)

Imports: $208.63 billion (c.i.f., 1997)

Imports—commodities: foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum; a large share is reexported

Imports—partners: China 38%, Japan 14%, Taiwan 8%, US 8%, Singapore 5% (1997)

Debt—external: none (1996)

Economic aid—recipient: none

Currency: 1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$—7.74 (1997-99), 7.730 (1996), 7.800 (1995), 7.800 (1994); note—linked to the US dollar at the rate of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$

Fiscal year: 1 April—31 March

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Telephones: 4.47 million (1998)

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 (in addition, there are two repeaters) (1997)

Televisions: 1.75 million (1992 est.)

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Railways:
total: 34 km
standard gauge: 34 km 1.435-m gauge (all electrified) (1996 est.)

Highways:
total: 1,831 km
paved: 1,831 km
unpaved: 0 km (1997)

Ports and harbors: Hong Kong

Merchant marine:
total: 195 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,075,304 GRT/10,133,186 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 117, cargo 18, chemical tanker 2, combination bulk 2, container 40, liquefied gas tanker 1, multifunction large-load carrier 2, oil tanker 6, 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 16, South Africa 3, China 9, Japan 6, Bermuda 2, Germany 3, Canada 2, Cyprus 1, Belgium 1, and Norway 1 (1998 est.)

Airports: 3 (1998 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1998 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1998 est.)

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Military branches: Hong Kong garrison of the PLA including elements of the PLA Army, the PLA Navy and PLA Air Force; these forces are under the direct leadership of the Central Military Commission in Beijing and under administrative control of the adjacent Guangzhou Military Region

Military manpower—military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 1,924,304 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 1,452,110 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 45,656 (1999 est.)

Military expenditures—dollar figure: $NA

Military expenditures—percent of GDP: NA%

Military—note: defense is the responsibility of China

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Disputes—international: none

Illicit drugs: a hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade; transshipment and money-laundering center; increasing indigenous amphetamine abuse