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

20 sq km (1998 est.)

occasional typhoons

air and water pollution from rapid urbanization

more than 200 islands

7,089,705 (July 2010 est.)

0.476% (2010 est.)

7.45 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

6.91 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

4.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

1.04 children born/woman (2010 est.)

0.1% (2003 est.)

2,600 (2003 est.)

fewer than 200 (2003 est.)

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

eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%

Chinese (Cantonese) 89.2% (official), other Chinese dialects 6.4%, English 3.2% (official), other 1.2% (2001 census)

3.9% of GDP (2006)

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

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

based on English common law

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 800-member election committee for the chief executive drawn from broad sectoral groupings, central government bodies, and municipal organizations

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 in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood or ADPL [LIU Sung Lee]; Civic Party [Audrey EU Yuet-mee]; Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong or DAB [TAM Yiu Cheng]; Democratic Party [Albert HO Chun-yan]; League of Social Democrats [Raymond WONG Yuk-man]; Liberal Party [Miriam LAU Kin-yee]

Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China); Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong; Confederation of Trade Unions or CTU (pro-democracy) [LAU Chin-shek, president; 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 [Szeto WAH, chairman]; Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan); Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union [CHEUNG Man-kwong, 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), IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITUC, UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WFTU, WMO, WTO

none (special administrative region of China); Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington, New York, and San Francisco 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

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 helped it recover from the downturn more quickly than many observers anticipated. Hong Kong over the past few years has become increasingly integrated with China through trade, tourism, and financial links. 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 government is pursuing efforts to introduce additional use of RMB in Hong Kong financial markets. The mainland has long been Hong Kong's largest trading partner, accounting for about half of Hong Kong's exports by value. 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 17.7 million in 2009, 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. About 40% of the firms listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange are now mainland Chinese companies. These firms account for 60% of the Exchange's market capitalization and over 70% of turnover. 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. Hong Kong's natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. GDP growth averaged a strong 4% from 1989 to 2008. Hong Kong's GDP fell in 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis, but a recovery began in third quarter 2009. Hong Kong continues to link its currency closely to the US dollar, maintaining an arrangement established in 1983.

$301.6 billion (2009 est.)

$310.9 billion (2008 est.)

$303.6 billion (2007 est.)

$211.3 billion (2009 est.)

-3% (2009 est.)

2.4% (2008 est.)

6.4% (2007 est.)

$42,700 (2009 est.)

$44,300 (2008 est.)

$43,500 (2007 est.)

3.67 million (2009 est.)

5.3% (2009 est.)

3.6% (2008 est.)

NA%

53.3 (2007)

17.6% of GDP (2009 est.)

18.1% of GDP (2009 est.)

13.9% of GDP (2008 est.)

-0.5% (2009 est.)

4.3% (2008 est.)

0.5% (31 December 2009)

0.5% (31 December 2008)

5% (31 December 2009)

5% (31 December 2008)

$127.3 billion (31 December 2009)

$63.03 billion (31 December 2008)

$757.6 billion (31 December 2009)

$721 billion (31 December 2008)

$NA (31 December 2009)

$323.6 billion (31 December 2008)

$2.29 trillion (31 December 2009)

$1.32 trillion (31 December 2008)

$1.163 trillion (31 December 2007 est.)

fresh vegetables; poultry, pork; fish

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

-0.4% (2009 est.)

39.4 billion kWh (2009 est.)

42.1 billion kWh (2009 est.)

3.926 billion kWh (2009 est.)

11.7 billion kWh (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

310,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

160,000 bbl/day (2009)

440,000 bbl/day (2009)

0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

0 cu m (2009 est.)

2.83 billion cu m (2009 est.)

0 cu m (2009 est.)

2.83 billion cu m (2009 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

$28.34 billion (2009 est.)

$30.7 billion (2008)

$316.6 billion (2009 est.)

$362.1 billion (2008 est.)

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

China 51.2%, US 11.6%, Japan 4.4% (2009 est.)

$345.2 billion (2009 est.)

$387.9 billion (2008 est.)

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

China 46.4%, Japan 8.8%, Taiwan 6.5%, Singapore 6.5%, US 5.3% (2009 est.)

$257 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$182.5 billion (31 December 2008)

$655.1 billion (30 September 2009)

$659.2 billion (31 December 2008)

$873.8 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$811.1 billion (31 December 2008)

$808 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$757.2 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Hong Kong dollars (HKD) per US dollar - 7.75 (2009), 7.751 (2008), 7.802 (2007), 7.7678 (2006), 7.7773 (2005)

4.108 million (2008)

11.374 million (2008)

AM 6, FM 10, shortwave 0 (2009)

2 (2 TV networks, each broadcasting on 2 channels) (2009)

.hk

813,980 (2009)

4.124 million (2008)

2 (2009)

9 (2009)

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