Compare Holy See (Vatican City) (2005) - Hong Kong (2004)

Compare Holy See (Vatican City) (2005) z Hong Kong (2004)

	Holy See (Vatican City) (2005)	Hong Kong (2004)

Administrative divisions	none	none (special administrative region of China)
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 14.2% (male 510,702; female 465,145) 15-64 years: 73.3% (male 2,461,914; female 2,560,382) 65 years and over: 12.5% (male 394,697; female 462,285) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	fresh vegetables, poultry, fish, pork
Airports	none (2004 est.)	4 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 0.44 sq km land: 0.44 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 1,092 sq km land: 1,042 sq km water: 50 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC	six times the size of Washington, DC
Background	Popes in their secular role ruled portions of the Italian peninsula for more than a thousand years until the mid 19th century, when many of the Papal States were seized by the newly united Kingdom of Italy. In 1870, the pope's holdings were further circumscribed when Rome itself was annexed. Disputes between a series of "prisoner" popes and Italy were resolved in 1929 by three Lateran Treaties, which established the independent state of Vatican City and granted Roman Catholicism special status in Italy. In 1984, a concordat between the Holy See and Italy modified certain of the earlier treaty provisions, including the primacy of Roman Catholicism as the Italian state religion. Present concerns of the Holy See include religious freedom, international development, the Middle East, terrorism, interreligious dialogue and reconciliation, and the application of church doctrine in an era of rapid change and globalization. About 1 billion people worldwide profess the Catholic faith.	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 China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China has promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong will enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years.
Birth rate	-	7.23 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $245.2 million expenditures: $260.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2002)	revenues: $26.17 billion expenditures: $32.64 billion, including capital expenditures of $5 billion (2003)
Capital	Vatican City	-
Climate	temperate; mild, rainy winters (September to mid-May) with hot, dry summers (May to September)	tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	733 km
Constitution	new Fundamental Law promulgated by Pope JOHN PAUL II on 26 November 2000, effective 22 February 2001 (replaces the first Fundamental Law of 1929)	Basic Law approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution"
Country name	conventional long form: The Holy See (State of the Vatican City) conventional short form: Holy See (Vatican City) local long form: Santa Sede (Stato della Citta del Vaticano) local short form: Santa Sede (Citta del Vaticano)	conventional long form: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region conventional short form: Hong Kong local long form: Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu local short form: Xianggang abbreviation: HK
Currency	-	Hong Kong dollar (HKD)
Death rate	-	5.98 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	-	$59.21 billion (2003 est.)
Dependency status	-	special administrative region of China
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant) embassy: Villa Domiziana, Via delle Terme Deciane 26, 00153 Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 66, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (06) 4674-3428 FAX: [39] (06) 575-8346	chief of mission: Consul General James KEITH consulate(s) general: 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong mailing address: PSC 461, Box 1, FPO AP 96521-0006 telephone: [852] 2523-9011 FAX: [852] 2524-0860
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Gabriel MONTALVO chancery: 3339 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-7121 FAX: [1] (202) 337-4036	none (special administrative region of China)
Disputes - international	none	none
Economic aid - recipient	none	-
Economy - overview	This unique, noncommercial economy is supported financially by an annual contribution from Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the world (known as Peter's Pence); by the sale of postage stamps, coins, medals, and tourist mementos; by fees for admission to museums; and by the sale of publications. Investments and real estate income also account for a sizable portion of revenue. The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome.	Hong Kong has a free market economy highly dependent on international trade. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Imports and exports, including reexports, each exceed GDP in dollar value. Even before Hong Kong reverted to Chinese administration on 1 July 1997 it had extensive trade and investment ties with China. Hong Kong has been further integrating its economy with China because China's growing openness to the world economy has increased competitive pressure on Hong Kong's service industries, and Hong Kong's re-export business from China is a major driver of growth. Per capita GDP compares with the level in the four big economies of Western Europe. GDP growth averaged a strong 5% in 1989-1997, but Hong Kong suffered two recessions in the past 6 years because of the Asian financial crisis in 1998 and the global downturn of 2001-2002. The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak also battered Hong Kong's economy, but a boom in tourism from the mainland because of China's easing of travel restrictions, a return of consumer confidence, and a solid rise in exports resulted in the resumption of strong growth in late 2003.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	37.12 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh	1.581 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Italy	10.36 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	NA kWh	30.48 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: unnamed location 19 m highest point: unnamed location 75 m	lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m
Environment - current issues	NA	air and water pollution from rapid urbanization
Environment - international agreements	party to: none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution, Environmental Modification	party to: Marine Dumping (associate member)
Ethnic groups	Italians, Swiss, other	Chinese 95%, other 5%
Exchange rates	euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)	Hong Kong dollars per US dollar - 7.7868 (2003), 7.7989 (2002), 7.7988 (2001), 7.7912 (2000), 7.7575 (1999)
Executive branch	chief of state: Pope BENEDICT XVI (since 19 April 2005) head of government: Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo SODANO (since 1 December 1990) cabinet: Pontifical Commission appointed by the pope elections: pope elected for life by the College of Cardinals; election last held 19 April 2005 (next to be held after the death of the current pope); secretary of state appointed by the pope election results: Joseph RATZINGER elected Pope BENEDICT XVI	chief of state: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) head of government: Chief Executive TUNG Chee-hwa (since 1 July 1997) cabinet: Executive Council consists of seven non-official members and 14 official members; including Chief Secretary Donald TSANG Yam-kuen (since 1 May 2001), Financial Secretary Henry TANG (since 2 August 2003), and Secretary of Justice Elsie LEUNG (since 1 July 1997) elections: TUNG Chee-hwa was elected to a second term in March 2002 by an 800-member election committee dominated by pro-Beijing forces; the next election is scheduled to be held in 2007
Exports	0 kWh	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	-	electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones
Exports - partners	-	China 42.6%, US 18.7%, Japan 5.4% (2003)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 April - 31 March
Flag description	two vertical bands of yellow (hoist side) and white with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the papal miter centered in the white band	red with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $213 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 0.1% industry: 12.1% services: 87.9% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $28,800 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	3.3% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	41 54 N, 12 27 E	22 15 N, 114 10 E
Geography - note	urban; landlocked; enclave in Rome, Italy; world's smallest state; outside the Vatican City, 13 buildings in Rome and Castel Gandolfo (the pope's summer residence) enjoy extraterritorial rights	more than 200 islands
Heliports	-	2 (2003 est.)
Highways	none; all city streets	total: 1,831 km paved: 1,831 km unpaved: 0 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	-	Makes strenuous law enforcement efforts, but faces difficult challenges in controlling transit of heroin and methamphetamine to regional and world markets; modern banking system provides a conduit for money laundering; rising indigenous use of synthetic drugs, especially among young people
Imports	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Italy	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	-	electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum, plastics; a large share is reexported
Imports - partners	-	China 43.5%, Japan 11.9%, Taiwan 6.9%, US 5.5%, Singapore 5%, South Korea 4.8% (2003)
Independence	11 February 1929 (from Italy); note - the three treaties signed with Italy on 11 February 1929 acknowledged, among other things, the full sovereignty of the Vatican and established its territorial extent; however, the origin of the Papal States, which over the years have varied considerably in extent, may be traced back to the 8th century	none (special administrative region of China)
Industrial production growth rate	-	-9.2% (2003 est.)
Industries	printing; production of coins, medals, postage stamps; a small amount of mosaics and staff uniforms; worldwide banking and financial activities	textiles, clothing, tourism, banking, shipping, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 2.97 deaths/1,000 live births male: 3.16 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	-2.6% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	CE (observer), IAEA, ICFTU, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM (guest), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, UN (observer), UNCTAD, UNHCR, UPU, WIPO, WToO (observer), WTO (observer)	APEC, AsDB, BIS, ICC, ICFTU, IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO, WToO (associate), WTO
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	20 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	there are three tribunals responsible for civil and criminal matters within Vatican City; three other tribunals rule on issues pertaining to the Holy See note: judicial duties were established by the Motu Proprio of Pius XII on 1 May 1946	Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Labor force	NA	3.5 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	essentially services with a small amount of industry; note - dignitaries, priests, nuns, guards, and 3,000 lay workers live outside the Vatican	manufacturing 8.2%, construction 2.9%, wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 43.5%, financing, insurance, and real estate 19.5%, transport and communications 7.8%, community and social services 17.8% (Note: above data exclude public sector) (2002 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 3.2 km border countries: Italy 3.2 km	total: 30 km regional border: China 30 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (urban area) (2001)	arable land: 5.05% permanent crops: 1.01% other: 93.94% (2001)
Languages	Italian, Latin, French, various other languages	Chinese (Cantonese), English; both are official
Legal system	based on Code of Canon Law and revisions to it	based on English common law
Legislative branch	unicameral Pontifical Commission	unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (60 seats; in 2004 30 seats indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 30 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 12 September 2004 (next to be held in September 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - pro-democracy group 62%; seats by party - (pro-Beijing 34) DAB 12, Liberal Party 10, independents 11, FTU 1; (pro-democracy 25) independents 11, Democratic Party 9, CTU 2, ADPL 1, Frontier Party 1, NWSC 1
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 81.39 years male: 78.72 years female: 84.3 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: NA total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100%	definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 93.5% male: 96.9% female: 89.6% (2002)
Location	Southern Europe, an enclave of Rome (Italy)	Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
Map references	Europe	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 3 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 663 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 20,478,042 GRT/34,554,455 DWT by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 364, cargo 78, chemical tanker 23, combination bulk 2, combination ore/oil 3, container 97, liquefied gas 20, multi-functional large load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 60, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea/passenger 1, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 4 foreign-owned: Australia 2, Belgium 1, British Virgin Islands 1, China 178, Cyprus 1, Denmark 3, France 2, Germany 14, Greece 4, India 9, Indonesia 2, Japan 22, South Korea 2, Malaysia 3, Monaco 9, Norway 16, Panama 4, Philippines 17, Singapore 22, Taiwan 3, Thailand 1, United Kingdom 22, United States 1 registered in other countries: 569 (2004 est.)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Italy; ceremonial and limited security duties performed by Pontifical Swiss Guard	defense is the responsibility of China
Military branches	Pontifical Swiss Guard (Corpo della Guardia Svizzera Pontificia)	no regular indigenous military forces; Hong Kong garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) including 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
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	Hong Kong garrison is funded by China; figures are NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	NA (FY02)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 1,878,574 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 1,404,705 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 41,821 (2004 est.)
National holiday	Coronation Day of Pope BENEDICT XVI, 24 April (2005)	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
Nationality	noun: none adjective: none	noun: Chinese/Hong Konger adjective: Chinese/Hong Kong
Natural hazards	NA	occasional typhoons
Natural resources	none	outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar
Net migration rate	-	5.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Political parties and leaders	none	Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood or ADPL [Frederick FUNG Kin-kee, chairman]; Citizens Party [Alex CHAN Kai-chung]; Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong or DAB [MA Lik, chairman]; Democratic Party [LEE Wing-tat, chairman]; Frontier Party [Emily LAU Wai-hing, chairwoman]; Liberal Party [James TIEN Pei-chun, chairman] note: political blocs include: pro-democracy - Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood, Democratic Party, Frontier Party; pro-Beijing - Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Progressive Alliance, Liberal Party
Political pressure groups and leaders	none (exclusive of influence exercised by church officers)	Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China); Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong; Confederation of Trade Unions (pro-democracy) [LAU Chin-shek, president; LEE Cheuk-yan, general secretary]; Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Federation of Trade Unions (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]; The Alliance [Bernard CHAN, exco member]
Population	921 (July 2005 est.)	6,855,125 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	NA
Population growth rate	0.01% (2005 est.)	0.65% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Hong Kong
Radio broadcast stations	AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 2 (1998)	AM 5, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2004)
Religions	Roman Catholic	eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.09 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	limited to cardinals less than 80 years old	direct election 18 years of age; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years; indirect election limited to about 200,000 members of functional constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies
Telephone system	general assessment: automatic exchange domestic: tied into Italian system international: country code - 39; uses Italian system	general assessment: modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services domestic: microwave radio relay links and extensive fiber-optic network international: country code - 852; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean); coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China; access to 5 international submarine cables providing connections to ASEAN member nations, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	3,801,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	7,241,400 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1996)	4 (2004)
Terrain	low hill	hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north
Total fertility rate	-	0.91 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	7.9% (2003)

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