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$Unique_ID{COW01602}
$Pretitle{421}
$Title{Hong Kong
Statistical Profile of Hong Kong}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Central Intelligence Agency}
$Affiliation{United States Government}
$Subject{hong
kong
china
rate
council
uk
billion
km
members
years}
$Date{1990}
$Log{Map of Hong Kong*0160201.scf
Flag of Hong Kong*0160202.scf
}
Country: Hong Kong
Book: CIA World Factbook
Author: Central Intelligence Agency
Affiliation: United States Government
Date: 1990
[See Map of Hong Kong]
[See Flag of Hong Kong]
Statistical Profile of Hong Kong
Geography
Total area: 1,040 km2; land area: 990 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than six times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundary: 30 km with China
Coastline: 733 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation
Territorial sea: 3 nm
Disputes: scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region of China
in 1997
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: 7% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures;
12% forest and woodland; 79% other; includes 3% irrigated
Environment: more than 200 islands; occasional typhoons
People
Population: 5,709,330 (July 1989), growth rate 1.0% (1989)
Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1989)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1989)
Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1989)
Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1989)
Life expectancy at birth: 75 years male, 81 years female (1989)
Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (1989)
Nationality: adjective--Hong Kong
Ethnic divisions: 98% Chinese, 2% other
Religion: 90% eclectic mixture of local religions, 10% Christian
Language: Chinese (Cantonese), English
Literacy: 75%
Labor force: 2,640,000; 35.8% manufacturing; 22.7% wholesale and retail
trade, restaurants and hotel, 17.1% services, 7.5% construction, 8.4% transport
and communications, 6.1% financing, insurance, and real estate (1986)
Organized labor: 15% of labor force (1986)
Government
Long-form name: none; abbreviated HK
Type: colony of the UK; scheduled to revert to China in 1997
Capital: Victoria
Administrative divisions: none (colony of the UK)
Independence: none (colony 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
Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
Legal system: based on English common law
National holiday: Liberation Day, 29 August (1945)
Branches: governor assisted by advisory Executive Council, legislates
with advice and consent of 57-member Legislative Council; Executive Council
composed of governor, four ex officio senior officials, and 12 nominated
members; Legislative Council composed of governor, 10 official members,
20 appointed unofficial members, and 14 unofficial members elected indirectly by
functional constituencies and 12 indirectly elected by an electoral college;
Urban Council, consisting of 15 elected members and 15 appointed by governor,
responsible for health, recreation, and resettlement in urban areas; Regional
Council (established 1 April 1986), composed of 12 directly elected members,
nine indirectly elected, 12 appointed, and three ex officio, has similar
responsibilities in nonurban areas; independent judiciary
Leaders:
Chief of State Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1982);
Head of Government Governor Sir David Clive WILSON (since 9 April 1987);
Chief Secretary Sir David Robert FORD (since NA February 1987)
Suffrage: over 21 years for Urban Council, Regional Council, and District
Boards; limited to about 71,000 professionals of electoral college and
functional constituencies
Elections: on three-year cycle for Urban and Regional Councils; last
held March 1986; indirect elections for Legislative Council held every three
years starting in September 1985
Political parties: none
Communists: 5,000 (est.) cadres affiliated with Communist Party of China
Other political or pressure groups: Federation of Trade Unions (Communist
controlled), Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (Nationalist Chinese
dominated), Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Chinese General Chamber of
Commerce (Communist controlled), Federation of Hong Kong Industries, Chinese
Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Professional Teachers'
Union, and several small pro-democracy groups.
Member of: ADB, ESCAP (associate member), GATT, IMO, INTERPOL, Multifiber
Arrangement, WMO
Diplomatic representation: as a British colony, Hong Kong interests in
the US are represented by the UK;
US--Consul General Donald M. ANDERSON; Consulate General at
26 Garden Road, Hong Kong (mailing address is Box 30, Hong Kong, or
FPO San Francisco 96659-0002); telephone [852] (5) 239011
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 free-market economy and is autonomous in
financial affairs. Natural resources are limited and food and raw materials must
be imported. Manufacturing is the backbone of the economy, accounting
for more than 20% of GDP, employing 36% of the labor force, and exporting about
90% of output. In 1986 real GDP rose by 8.7%, a sharp rebound from the 0.6%
of 1985, largely because of increased exports. The unemployment rate, which has
been declining over the past four years, reached a new low of 2% in 1987. A
shortage of labor continues to put upward pressure on prices and the cost of
living.
GDP: $46.2 billion, per capita $8,260; real growth rate 13.6% (1987)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.5% (1987)
Unemployment rate: 1.8% (1987)
Budget: $5.7 billion (FY88)
Exports: $48.5 billion (f.o.b., 1987), including reexports of
$22.9 billion;
commodities--clothing, textile yarn and fabric, footwear, electrical
appliances, watches and clocks, toys;
partners--US 31%, China 14%, FRG 8%, UK 6%, Japan 5%
Imports: $48.5 billion (c.i.f., 1987);
commodities--foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials,
semimanufactures, petroleum;
partners--China 31%, Japan 20%, Taiwan 9%, US 8%
External debt: $9.6 billion (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate 16.4% (1987)
Electricity: 7,775,000 kW capacity; 22,000 million kWh produced,
3,890 kWh per capita (1988)
Industries: textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics, toys,
watches, clocks
Agriculture: minor role in the economy; rice, vegetables, dairy products;
less than 20% self-sufficient; shortages of rice, wheat, water
Aid: NA
Currency: Hong Kong dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$--7.800 (March 1989),
7.810 (1988), 7.760 (1987), 7.795 (1986), 7.811 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
Communications
Railroads: 35 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, government owned
Highways: 1,160 km total; 794 km paved, 306 km gravel, crushed stone,
or earth
Ports: Hong Kong
Merchant marine: 158 ships (1,000 GRT or over), totaling 5,005,332
GRT/8,500,466 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 1 short-sea passenger, 11 cargo,
8 refrigerated cargo, 16 container, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 15 petroleum,
oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 5 chemical tanker, 10 combination ore/oil,
6 liquefied gas, 82 bulk, 1 specialized bulk; note--ships registered in
Hong Kong fly