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Communications

Airports [time series]

2 total; 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; none with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

16 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

1,484 km total; 794 km paved, 306 km gravel, crushed stone, or earth

Merchant marine [time series]

134 ships (1,000 GRT or over), totaling 4,690,770 GRT/8,091,177 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 1 short-sea passenger, 16 cargo, 5 refrigerated cargo, 16 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 9 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 chemical tanker, 6 combination ore/oil, 6 liquefied gas, 71 bulk; 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 [time series]

Hong Kong

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

35 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, government owned

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services; 3,000,000 telephones; microwave transmission links and extensive optical fiber transmission network; stations--6 AM, 6 FM, 4 TV; 1 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) relay station and 1 British Forces Broadcasting Service relay 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

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

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

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

$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 [time series]

males 15-49, 1,718,112; 1,328,230 fit for military service; 45,437 reach military age (18) annually

Note [time series]

defense is the responsibility of the UK

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

minor role in the economy; rice, vegetables, dairy products; less than 20% self-sufficient; shortages of rice, wheat, water

Budget [time series]

$8.8 billion (FY90)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Hong Kong dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents

Economic aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $152 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $910 million

Electricity [time series]

8,485,000 kW capacity; 25,000 million kWh produced, 4,340 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates [time series]

Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$--7.800 (March 1989), 7.810 (1988), 7.760 (1987), 7.795 (1986), 7.811 (1985); note--linked to the US dollar at the rate of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$ since 1985

Exports [time series]

$80.3 billion (f.o.b., 1990), including reexports of $51.2 billion; commodities--clothing, textile yarn and fabric, footwear, electrical appliances, watches and clocks, toys; partners--US 32%, China 19%, FRG 7%, UK 6%, Japan 6% (1989)

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$9.5 billion (December 1990 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

1 April-31 March

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$64.0 billion, per capita $11,000; real growth rate 2.5% (1990)

Illicit drugs [time series]

a hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade; transshipment and major financial and money-laundering center

Imports [time series]

$79.5 billion (c.i.f., 1990); commodities--foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum; partners--China 35%, Japan 17%, Taiwan 9%, US 8% (1989)

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 1.7% (1989)

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

9.8% (1990)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

Hong Kong has a 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 18% of GDP, employs 28% of the labor force, and exports about 90% of its output. Real GDP growth averaged a remarkable 8% in 1987-88, then slowed to 2.5-3.0% in 1989-90. Unemployment, which has been declining since the mid-1980s, is now less than 2%. A shortage of labor continues to put upward pressure on prices and the cost of living. Short-term prospects remain solid so long as major trading partners continue to be prosperous. The crackdown in China in 1989-90 casts a long shadow over the longer term economic outlook.

Unemployment rate [time series]

1.8% (1990)

Geography

Climate [time series]

tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall

Coastline [time series]

733 km Exclusive fishing zone: 3 nm; Territorial sea: 3 nm

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly less than six times the size of Washington, DC

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

more than 200 islands; occasional typhoons

Land boundaries (Land boundary) [time series]

30 km with China

Land use [time series]

arable land 7%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and woodland 12%; other 79%; includes irrigated 3%

Natural resources [time series]

outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar

Terrain [time series]

hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north

Area (Total area) [time series]

1,040 km2; land area: 990 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

none (dependent territory of the UK)

Capital [time series]

Victoria

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

5,000 (est.) cadres affiliated with Communist Party of China Federation of Trade Unions (pro-China), Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan), Confederation of Trade Unions (prodemocracy), 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, Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China

Constitution [time series]

unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice; new Basic Law approved in March 1990 in preparation for 1997

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

as a dependent territory of the UK, the interests of Hong Kong in the US are represented by the UK; US--Consul General Richard L. WILLIAMS; Consulate General at 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong (mailing address is Box 30, Hong Kong, or FPO San Francisco 96659-0002); telephone [852] (5) 845-1598

Executive branch [time series]

British monarch, governor, chief secretary of the Executive Council

Flag [time series]

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 [time series]

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 for 50 years after transition

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Head of Government--Governor Sir David Clive WILSON (since 9 April 1987); Chief Secretary Sir David Robert FORD (since NA February 1987) United Democrats of Hong Kong (UDHK), Martin LEE Chu-ming; Liberal Democratic Federation (LDF), HU Fa-kuang; Hong Kong Democratic Foundation (HKDF), Patrick SHIU Kin-ying; Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL), Frederick FUNG Kin-kee; Meeting Point, Anthony CHEUNG Bing-leung; Progressive Hong Kong Society (PHKS), Maria TAM Wai-chu

Legal system [time series]

based on English common law

Legislative branch [time series]

Legislative Council

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

none; abbreviated HK

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

AsDB, CCC, ESCAP (associate), GATT, ICFTU, IMO (associate), IOC, ISO (correspondent), WCL, WMO

National holiday [time series]

Liberation Day, 29 August (1945)

Suffrage [time series]

direct election--universal at age 21 as a permanent resident 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 Legislative Council--indirect elections last held 12 September 1991 and direct elections held 15 September 1991 (next to be held by September 1995); 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 2, ADPL 1, other 3; note--direct elections were held for the first time in September 1991

Government type (Type) [time series]

dependent territory of the UK; scheduled to revert to China in 1997

People

Birth rate [time series]

13 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate [time series]

5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

Chinese 98%, other 2%

Infant mortality rate [time series]

7 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force [time series]

2,800,000 (1990); 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 (Language) [time series]

Chinese (Cantonese), English

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

77 years male, 84 years female (1991)

Literacy [time series]

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

Nationality [time series]

adjective--Hong Kong

Net migration rate [time series]

- 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor [time series]

16% of labor force (1990)

Population [time series]

5,855,800 (July 1991), growth rate 0.6% (1991)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%

Total fertility rate [time series]

1.4 children born/woman (1991)