Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system would not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years.

Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

22 15 N, 114 10 E

Southeast Asia

six times the size of Washington, DC

733 km

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

hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north

outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar

NA; note - included in the total for China (2008)

occasional typhoons

air and water pollution from rapid urbanization

composed of more than 200 islands

Chinese 95%, Filipino 1.6%, Indonesian 1.3%, other 2.1% (2006 census)

Cantonese (official) 90.8%, English (official) 2.8%, Putonghua (Mandarin) 0.9%, other Chinese dialects 4.4%, other 1.1% (2006 census)

eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%

7,122,508 (July 2011 est.)

0.448% (2011 est.)

7.49 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

7.07 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

4.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

1.07 children born/woman (2011 est.)

0.1% (2003 est.)

2,600 (2003 est.)

fewer than 200 (2003 est.)

4.5% of GDP (2009)

special administrative region of China

limited democracy

none (special administrative region of China)

none (special administrative region of China)

National Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949); note - 1 July 1997 is celebrated as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day

The Basic Law, approved March 1990 by China's National People's Congress, is Hong Kong's charter

mixed legal system of common law based on the English model and Chinese customary law (in matters of family and land tenure)

direct election - 18 years of age for half the legislature and a majority of seats in 18 district councils; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years

indirect election - limited to about 220,000 members of functional constituencies for the other half of the legislature and an 1,200-member election committee for the chief executive drawn from broad sectoral groupings, central government bodies, municipal organizations, and elected Hong Kong officials

unicameral Legislative Council or LegCo (60 seats; 30 members indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 30 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms)

Court of Final Appeal, High Court (Court of Appeal and the Court of the First Instance), district courts, magistrates' courts, and other special courts

Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China); Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong; Confederation of Trade Unions or CTU (pro-democracy) [LEE Cheuk-yan, general secretary]; Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Federation of Trade Unions or FTU (pro-China) [CHENG Yiu-tong, executive councilor]; Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China [LEE Cheuk-yan, chairman]; Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan); Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union [FUNG Wai-wah, president]; Neighborhood and Workers' Service Center or NWSC [LEUNG Yiu-chung, LegCo member] (pro-democracy); Civic Act-up [Cyd HO Sau-lan, LegCo member] (pro-democracy)

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

none (special administrative region of China); Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) carries out normal liaison and communication with the US Government and other US entities

red with a stylized, white, five-petal Bauhinia flower in the center; each petal contains a small, red, five-pointed star in its middle; the red color is the same as that on the Chinese flag and represents the motherland; the fragrant Bauhinia - developed in Hong Kong the late 19th century - has come to symbolize the region; the five stars echo those on the flag of China

orchid tree flower

Hong Kong has a free market economy highly dependent on international trade and finance - the value of goods and services trade, including the sizable share of re-exports, is about four times GDP. Hong Kong's open economy left it exposed to the global economic slowdown, but its increasing integration with China, through trade, tourism, and financial links, helped it recover more quickly than many observers anticipated. The Hong Kong government is promoting the Special Administrative Region (SAR) as the site for Chinese renminbi (RMB) internationalization. Hong Kong residents are allowed to establish RMB-denominated savings accounts; RMB-denominated corporate and Chinese government bonds have been issued in Hong Kong; and RMB trade settlement is allowed. The territory far exceeded the RMB conversion quota set by Beijing for trade settlements in 2010 due to the growth of earnings from exports to the mainland. RMB deposits grew to roughly 4.6% of total system deposits in Hong Kong by the end of 2010, an increase of over 392% since the beginning of the year. The government is pursuing efforts to introduce additional use of RMB in Hong Kong financial markets and is seeking to expand the RMB quota for 2011. The mainland has long been Hong Kong's largest trading partner, accounting for about half of Hong Kong's exports by value. Hong Kong's natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. As a result of China's easing of travel restrictions, the number of mainland tourists to the territory has surged from 4.5 million in 2001 to 22.5 million in 2010, outnumbering visitors from all other countries combined. Hong Kong has also established itself as the premier stock market for Chinese firms seeking to list abroad. In 2010 mainland Chinese companies constituted about 19% of the firms listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and accounted for 62% of the Exchange's market capitalization. During the past decade, as Hong Kong's manufacturing industry moved to the mainland, its service industry has grown rapidly and in 2009 accounted for more than 90% of the territory's GDP. GDP growth averaged a strong 3.8% from 1989 to 2010. Hong Kong's GDP fell in 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis, but a recovery began in third quarter 2009, and the economy grew nearly 6.8% in 2010. The Hong Kong government adopted several temporary fiscal policy support measures in response to the crisis that it may discontinue if strong growth is sustained. Credit expansion and tight housing supply conditions caused Hong Kong property prices to rise rapidly in 2010, and some lower income segments of the population are increasingly unable to afford adequate housing. Hong Kong continues to link its currency closely to the US dollar, maintaining an arrangement established in 1983.

$325.8 billion (2010 est.)

$305 billion (2009 est.)

$313.3 billion (2008 est.)

$225 billion (2010 est.)

6.8% (2010 est.)

-2.7% (2009 est.)

2.3% (2008 est.)

$45,900 (2010 est.)

$43,200 (2009 est.)

$44,600 (2008 est.)

3.676 million (2010 est.)

4.3% (2010 est.)

5.2% (2009 est.)

NA%

53.3 (2007)

21.5% of GDP (2010 est.)

20.2% of GDP (2010 est.)

2.9% of GDP (2010 est.)

17.8% of GDP (2010 est.)

37.6% of GDP (2009 est.)

2.3% (2010 est.)

0.6% (2009 est.)

0.5% (31 December 2010 est.)

0.5% (31 December 2009 est.)

5% (31 December 2010 est.)

5% (31 December 2009 est.)

$82.18 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$75.45 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$914.9 billion (31 December 2009)

$846.5 billion (31 December 2008)

$445.8 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$351 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$2.711 trillion (31 December 2010)

$2.292 trillion (31 December 2009)

$1.329 trillion (31 December 2008 est.)

fresh vegetables; poultry, pork; fish

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

3.5% (2010 est.)

38.23 billion kWh (2010 est.)

42.64 billion kWh (2010 est.)

2.23 billion kWh (2010 est.)

12.26 billion kWh (2010 est.)

0 bbl/day (2010 est.)

333,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)

22,670 bbl/day (2009 est.)

428,200 bbl/day (2010)

0 bbl (1 January 2011 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

4.02 billion cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

4.02 billion cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2011 est.)

$14.8 billion (2010 est.)

$17.96 billion (2009 est.)

$394 billion (2010 est.)

$321.8 billion (2009)

electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones, printed material

China 52.7%, US 11%, Japan 4.2% (2010 est.)

$437 billion (2010 est.)

$348.7 billion (2009 est.)

raw materials and semi-manufactures, consumer goods, capital goods, foodstuffs, fuel (most is reexported)

China 45.1%, Japan 9.6%, Taiwan 7.6%, Singapore 4.8%, US 4.7% (2010)

$268.7 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$255.8 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$903.2 billion (30 June 2011 est.)

$750.8 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.098 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

$936.4 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$948.5 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$832.1 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Hong Kong dollars (HKD) per US dollar -

7.78 (2010)

7.75 (2009)

7.751 (2008)

7.802 (2007)

7.7678 (2006)

4.345 million (2010)

13.416 million (2010)

2 commercial terrestrial television networks each with multiple stations; multi-channel satellite and cable TV systems are available; 3 radio networks, one of which is government-funded, operate about 15 radio stations (2010)

.hk

817,701 (2010)

4.873 million (2009)

2 (2010)

9 (2010)

Hong Kong

no regular indigenous military forces; Hong Kong garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes elements of the PLA Ground Forces, 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 (2009)

NA

defense is the responsibility of China

none

despite strenuous law enforcement efforts, faces difficult challenges in controlling transit of heroin and methamphetamine to regional and world markets; modern banking system provides conduit for money laundering; rising indigenous use of synthetic drugs, especially among young people