Hong Kong

presidential limited democracy; a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China

chief of state: President of China XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013) head of government: Chief Executive John LEE Ka-chiu (since 1 July 2022) cabinet: Executive Council or ExCo appointed by the chief executive election/appointment process: president indirectly elected by National People's Congress for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); chief executive indirectly elected by the Election Committee and appointed by the PRC Government for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term) most recent election date: president: 10 March 2023 chief executive: 8 May 2022 election results: 2022: John LEE was the only candidate and won with over 99% of the vote by the Election Committee 2017 : Carrie LAM elected; Election Committee vote - Carrie LAM (non-partisan) 777, John TSANG (non-partisan) 365, WOO Kwok-hing (non-partisan) 21, 23 ballots rejected (1,186 votes cast) expected date of next election: president: March 2028 chief executive: 2027 note: electoral changes that Beijing imposed in March 2021 expanded the Election Committee to 1,500 members

legislature name: Legislative Council or LegCo legislative structure: unicameral number of seats: 90 electoral system: 20 members directly elected; 70 members indirectly elected scope of elections: full most recent election date: 7 December 2025 parties elected and seats per party: Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) 20, Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Unions (HKFTU) 8, Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA) 7, Liberal (LP) 4, New People's Party (NPP) 3, Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers (HKFEW) 2, Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions (HKFLU) 2, Professional Power (PP) 1, Roundtable (RT) 1, New Territories Association of Societies (NTAS) 1, Kowloon West New Dynamic (KWND) 1, Independents 40 expected date of next election: December 2029 note: all political candidates are evaluated by the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee (CERC), which was established in April 2022; CERC members are all appointed by the chief executive

highest court(s): Court of Final Appeal (consists of the chief justice, 3 permanent judges, and 20 non-permanent judges) judge selection and term of office: all judges appointed by the Hong Kong Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission, an independent body consisting of the Secretary for Justice, other judges, and judicial and legal professionals; permanent judges serve until normal retirement at age 65, but term can be extended; non-permanent judges appointed for renewable 3-year terms without age limit subordinate courts: High Court (consists of the Court of Appeal and Court of First Instance); District Courts (includes Family and Land Courts); magistrates' courts; specialized tribunals

history: several previous (governance documents while under British authority); latest drafted April 1988 to February 1989, approved March 1990, effective 1 July 1997 (Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China serves as the constitution) amendment process: proposed by the Standing Committee of the National People s Congress (NPC), the People s Republic of China State Council, or the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong; submittal of proposals to the NPC requires two-thirds majority vote by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, approval by two thirds of Hong Kong s deputies to the NPC, and approval by the Hong Kong chief executive; final passage requires approval by the NPC note: since 1990, China's National People's Congress has interpreted specific articles of the Basic Law

ADB, APEC, BIS, FATF, ICC (national committees), IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITUC (NGOs), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WMO, WTO

Hong Kong Police Force (specialized units include the Police Counterterrorism Response Unit, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau, the Special Duties Unit, the Airport Security Unit, and the VIP Protection Unit) China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Hong Kong Garrison is responsible for defense duties; the garrison includes elements of the PLA Army, PLA Navy, and PLA Air Force and are under the direct leadership of the Central Military Commission in Beijing and under administrative control of the adjacent Southern Theater Command (2025)

$497.88 billion (2024 est.) $485.541 billion (2023 est.) $470.42 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$66,200 (2024 est.) $64,400 (2023 est.) $64,000 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

2.5% (2024 est.) 3.2% (2023 est.) -3.7% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

1.7% (2024 est.) 2.1% (2023 est.) 1.9% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

0.1% of GDP (2016 est.)

$739.915 billion (2024 est.) $673.738 billion (2023 est.) $697.583 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$723.397 billion (2024 est.) $671.492 billion (2023 est.) $682.881 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

2.8% (2024 est.) 3% (2023 est.) 4.4% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $70.124 billion (2020 est.) expenditures: $105.849 billion (2020 est.)

trading and logistics, financial services, professional services, tourism, cultural and creative, clothing and textiles, shipping, electronics, toys, clocks and watches

pork, chicken, spinach, vegetables, pork offal, game meat, beef, fruits, onions, pork fat (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 7,305,556 (2025 est.) male: 3,367,222 female: 3,938,334

0.09% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 13.2% (male 505,718/female 459,956) 15-64 years: 64.8% (male 2,123,216/female 2,609,102) 65 years and over: 21.9% (2024 est.) (male 738,878/female 860,951)

7.45 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

8.16 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

1.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 84 years (2024 est.) male: 81.3 years female: 86.8 years

urban population: 100% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 0.58% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Chinese 91.6%, Filipino 2.7%, Indonesian 1.9%, other 3.7% (2021 est.)

Cantonese (official) 85.4%, English (official) 4.5%, Putonghua (official) 2.2%, other Chinese dialects 2.8%, other 2%, persons under 5 or mute 3.2% (2021 est.) major-language sample(s): 世界概况, 必須擁有的基本資料参考书 (Cantonese) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. note: data represent population by usual spoken language

Buddhist or Taoist 27.9%, Protestant 6.7%, Roman Catholic 5.3%, Muslim 4.2%, Hindu 1.4%, Sikh 0.2%, other or none 54.3% (2016 est.) note: many people practice Confucianism, regardless of their religion or not having a religious affiliation

outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar

USG identification: major precursor-chemical producer (2025)

tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts to eliminate trafficking compared with the previous reporting period, therefore Hong Kong remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/hong-kong/

refugees: 260 (2024 est.)

2 (2025)

total: 2,537 (2023) by type: bulk carrier 1,047, container ship 560, general cargo 144, oil tanker 394, other 392

total subscriptions: 27.1 million (2024 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 365 (2024 est.)

percent of population: 96% (2023 est.)