Hong Kong (2001) | Gibraltar (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
17.73% (male 677,785; female 600,781) 15-64 years: 71.52% (male 2,554,329; female 2,602,662) 65 years and over: 10.75% (male 354,199; female 420,749) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 17.5% (male 2,499/female 2,388)
15-64 years: 66% (male 9,443/female 8,999) 65 years and over: 16.5% (male 2,059/female 2,540) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fresh vegetables; poultry | none |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 1 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total:
1,092 sq km land: 1,042 sq km water: 50 sq km |
total: 6.5 sq km
land: 6.5 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | six times the size of Washington, DC | about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
Background | 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 practiced in 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. | Strategically important, Gibraltar was reluctantly ceded to Great Britain by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht; the British garrison was formally declared a colony in 1830. In a referendum held in 1967, Gibraltarians voted overwhelmingly to remain a British dependency. Although the current 1969 Constitution for Gibraltar states that the British government will never allow the people of Gibraltar to pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes, a series of talks were held by the UK and Spain between 1997 and 2002 on establishing temporary joint sovereignty over Gibraltar. In response to these talks, the Gibraltarian Government set up a referendum in late 2002 in which a majority of the citizens voted overwhelmingly against any sharing of sovereignty with Spain. Since the referendum, tripartite talks have been held with Spain, the UK, and Gibraltar, and in September 2006 a three-way agreement was signed. Spain agreed to allow airlines other than British to serve Gibraltar, to speed up customs procedures, and to add more telephone lines into Gibraltar. Britain agreed to pay pensions to Spaniards who had been employed in Gibraltar before the border closed in 1969. Spain will be allowed to open a cultural institute from which the Spanish flag will fly. |
Birth rate | 11.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.74 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$20.8 billion expenditures: $24.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00) |
revenues: $307 million
expenditures: $284 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
Capital | - | name: Gibraltar
geographic coordinates: 39 11 N, 5 22 W time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall | Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers |
Coastline | 733 km | 12 km |
Constitution | Basic Law approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution" | 30 May 1969 |
Country name | 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 |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Gibraltar |
Currency | Hong Kong dollar (HKD) | - |
Death rate | 6.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.31 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $48.1 billion (1999) | $NA (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | special administrative region of China | overseas territory of the UK |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Consul General Michael KLOSSON consulate(s) general: 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong mailing address: PSC 464, Box 30, FPO AP 96522-0002 telephone: [852] 2523-9011 FAX: [852] 2845-1598 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | none | in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement; the government of Gibraltar insists on equal participation in talks between the UK and Spain; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar even greater autonomy |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $NA |
Economy - overview | Hong Kong has a bustling free market economy highly dependent on international trade. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Indeed, 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. Per capita GDP compares with the level in the four big countries of Western Europe. GDP growth averaged a strong 5% in 1989-97. The widespread Asian economic difficulties in 1998 hit this trade-dependent economy quite hard, with GDP down 5%. The economy is undergoing a rapid recovery, with growth of 10% in 2000 to be followed by projected growth of 5% in 2001. | Self-sufficient Gibraltar benefits from an extensive shipping trade, offshore banking, and its position as an international conference center. The British military presence has been sharply reduced and now contributes about 7% to the local economy, compared with 60% in 1984. The financial sector, tourism (almost 5 million visitors in 1998), shipping services fees, and duties on consumer goods also generate revenue. The financial sector, the shipping sector, and tourism each contribute 25%-30% of GDP. Telecommunications accounts for another 10%. In recent years, Gibraltar has seen major structural change from a public to a private sector economy, but changes in government spending still have a major impact on the level of employment. |
Electricity - consumption | 32.202 billion kWh (1999) | 98.69 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 633 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 7.05 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 27.726 billion kWh (1999) | 106.1 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
South China Sea 0 m highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Rock of Gibraltar 426 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution from rapid urbanization | limited natural freshwater resources: large concrete or natural rock water catchments collect rainwater (no longer used for drinking water) and adequate desalination plant |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate member) |
- |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 95%, other 5% | Spanish, Italian, English, Maltese, Portuguese, German, North Africans |
Exchange rates | Hong Kong dollars per US dollar - 7.7990 (January 2001), 7.7912 (2000), 7.7575 (1999), 7.7453 (1998), 7.7421 (1997), 7.7343 (1996); note - Hong Kong became a special administrative region of China on 1 July 1997; before then, the Hong Kong dollar was linked to the US dollar at the rate of about 7.8 Hong Kong dollars per US dollar | Gibraltar pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001)
note: the Gibraltar pound is at par with the British pound |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President of China JIANG Zemin (since 27 March 1993) head of government: Chief Executive TUNG Chee-hwa (since 1 July 1997) cabinet: Executive Council consists of three ex-officio members and 10 appointed members; ex-officio members are: Chief Secretary Anson CHAN (since 29 November 1993), Financial Secretary Donald TSANG (since 7 March 1995), and Secretary of Justice Elsie LEUNG (since 1 July 1997) elections: NA |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Sir Robert FULTON (since 27 October 2006)
head of government: Chief Minister Peter CARUANA (since 17 May 1996) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed from among the 15 elected members of the House of Assembly by the governor in consultation with the chief minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
Exports | $204 billion (including reexports; f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | clothing, textiles, footwear, electrical appliances, watches and clocks, toys | (principally reexports) petroleum 51%, manufactured goods 41%, other 8% |
Exports - partners | China 33%, US 24%, Japan 5%, UK 4%, Germany, Singapore (1999) | UK 30.8%, Spain 22.7%, Germany 13.7%, Turkmenistan 10.4%, Switzerland 8.3%, Italy 6.7% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | red with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center | two horizontal bands of white (top, double width) and red with a three-towered red castle in the center of the white band; hanging from the castle gate is a gold key centered in the red band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $181 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
0.1% industry: 14.3% services: 85.6% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $25,400 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 10% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 22 15 N, 114 10 E | 36 8 N, 5 21 W |
Geography - note | more than 200 islands | strategic location on Strait of Gibraltar that links the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea |
Heliports | 2 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
1,831 km paved: 1,831 km unpaved: 0 km (1997) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | a hub for Southeast Asian heroin and regional stimulants trade; transshipment and money-laundering center; increasing indigenous amphetamine abuse | - |
Imports | $215 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum; a large share is reexported | fuels, manufactured goods, and foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | China 44%, Japan 12%, US 7%, Taiwan 7%, South Korea, Singapore (1999) | Spain 23.4%, Russia 12.3%, Italy 12%, UK 9%, France 8.9%, Netherlands 6.8%, US 4.7% (2005) |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.1% (2000) | NA% |
Industries | textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks | tourism, banking and finance, ship repairing, tobacco |
Infant mortality rate | 5.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 5.06 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.7% (2000 est.) | 1.5% (1998) |
International organization participation | APEC, AsDB, BIS, CCC, ESCAP (associate), ICC, ICFTU, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), WCL, WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO | Interpol (subbureau), UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 17 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1997 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | The Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 3.39 million (2000 est.) | 12,690 (including non-Gibraltar laborers) (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 31.5%, community and social services 24%, financing, insurance, and real estate 14.5%, transport and communications 11.6%, manufacturing 7.7%, construction 2.6% (October 1999) | agriculture: negligible
industry: 40% services: 60% |
Land boundaries | total:
30 km border countries: China 30 km |
total: 1.2 km
border countries: Spain 1.2 km |
Land use | arable land:
6% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 20% other: 72% (1997 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | Chinese (Cantonese), English; both are official | English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese |
Legal system | based on English common law | English law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (60 seats; 30 indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 24 elected by popular vote, and 6 elected by an 800-member election committee; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 12, Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong 10, Liberal Party 7, Frontier Party 5, Hong Kong Progressive Alliance 4, New Century Forum 2, Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood 1, independents 19 |
unicameral House of Assembly (18 seats - 15 elected by popular vote, 1 appointed for the Speaker, and 2 ex officio members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 November 2003 (next to be held not later than February 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - GSD 58%, GSLP 41%; seats by party - GSD 8, GSLP 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
79.67 years male: 76.97 years female: 82.55 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 79.8 years
male: 76.92 years female: 82.83 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 92.2% male: 96% female: 88.2% (1996 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: above 80% male: NA female: NA |
Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China | Southwestern Europe, bordering the Strait of Gibraltar, which links the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southern coast of Spain |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
3 NM |
territorial sea: 3 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
354 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 10,330,662 GRT/17,227,315 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 208, cargo 36, chemical tanker 7, combination bulk 2, container 59, liquefied gas 6, multi-functional large-load carrier 2, petroleum tanker 26, refrigerated cargo 3, short-sea passenger 1, vehicle carrier 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Bermuda 2, Belgium 1, Canada 2, China 9, Japan 3, Mongolia 1, Norway 1, South Africa 1, UK 7 (2000 est.) |
total: 180 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,129,379 GRT/1,437,754 DWT
by type: barge carrier 3, bulk carrier 1, cargo 105, chemical tanker 26, container 26, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 11, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 165 (Belgium 2, Cyprus 1, Denmark 1, Finland 3, France 1, Germany 108, Greece 7, Iceland 1, Ireland 1, Italy 6, Latvia 2, Netherlands 5, Norway 18, Sweden 5, UK 4) (2006) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of China | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the last British regular infantry forces left Gibraltar in 1992, replaced by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment |
Military branches | 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 | Royal Gibraltar Regiment |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA; note - separate budget for Hong Kong not established by China | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,020,937 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,520,531 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
47,139 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | 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 | National Day, 10 September (1967); note - day of the national referendum to decide whether to remain with the UK or go with Spain |
Nationality | noun:
Chinese adjective: Chinese |
noun: Gibraltarian(s)
adjective: Gibraltar |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons | NA |
Natural resources | outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar | none |
Net migration rate | 7.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood [Frederick FUNG Kin-kee, chairman]; Citizens Party [leader NA]; Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong [Jasper TSANG Yok-sing, chairman]; Democratic Party [Martin LEE Chu-ming, chairman]; Frontier Party [Emily LAU Wai-hing, chairwoman]; Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood [leader NA]; Hong Kong Progressive Alliance [Ambrose LAU Hon-chuen]; Liberal Party [James TIEN Pei-chun, chairman]; New Century Forum [NQ Ching-fai, chairman]
note: political blocs include: pro-democracy - Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood, Citizens Party, Democratic Party, Frontier Party; pro-Beijing - Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Progressive Alliance, Liberal Party, New Century Forum |
Gibraltar Liberal Party [Joseph GARCIA]; Gibraltar Social Democrats or GSD [Peter CARUANA]; Gibraltar Socialist Labor Party or GSLP [Joseph John BOSSANO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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) [LEE Chark-tim, president]; 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]; Liberal Democratic Federation [HU Fa-kuang, chairman] | Chamber of Commerce; Gibraltar Representatives Organization; Women's Association |
Population | 7,210,505 (July 2001 est.) | 27,928 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.3% (2001 est.) | 0.14% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Hong Kong | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 4.45 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
34 km standard gauge: 34 km 1.435-m gauge (all electrified) (1996 est.) |
- |
Religions | eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10% | Roman Catholic 78.1%, Church of England 7%, other Christian 3.2%, Muslim 4%, Jewish 2.1%, Hindu 1.8%, other or unspecified 0.9%, none 2.9% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 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 100,000 members of functional constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies | 18 years of age; universal, plus other British citizens who have been residents six months or more |
Telephone system | general assessment:
modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services domestic: microwave radio relay links and extensive fiber-optic network international: 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 |
general assessment: adequate, automatic domestic system and adequate international facilities
domestic: automatic exchange facilities international: country code - 350; radiotelephone; microwave radio relay; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.839 million (1999) | 24,512 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3.7 million (December 1999) | 9,797 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (plus two repeaters) (1997) | 1 (plus three low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north | a narrow coastal lowland borders the Rock of Gibraltar |
Total fertility rate | 1.29 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.65 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.5% (2000 est.) | 2% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |