Hong Kong (2001) | Jamaica (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland
note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation |
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: 32.5% (male 459,968/female 444,963)
15-64 years: 60.1% (male 822,486/female 848,310) 65 years and over: 7.4% (male 91,856/female 112,549) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fresh vegetables; poultry | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 34 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 23
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 21 (2007) |
Area | total:
1,092 sq km land: 1,042 sq km water: 50 sq km |
total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | six times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
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. | The island - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino Indians, who had inhabited Jamaica for centuries, were gradually exterminated, replaced by African slaves. England seized the island in 1655 and a plantation economy - based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee - was established. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of whom became small farmers. Jamaica gradually obtained increasing independence from Britain, and in 1958 it joined other British Caribbean colonies in forming the Federation of the West Indies. Jamaica gained full independence when it withdrew from the Federation in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs affiliated with the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. The cycle of violence, drugs, and poverty has served to impoverish large sectors of the populace. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy. |
Birth rate | 11.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 20.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$20.8 billion expenditures: $24.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00) |
revenues: $3.214 billion
expenditures: $3.772 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | - | name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior |
Coastline | 733 km | 1,022 km |
Constitution | Basic Law approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution" | 6 August 1962 |
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: Jamaica |
Currency | Hong Kong dollar (HKD) | - |
Death rate | 6.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $48.1 billion (1999) | $6.926 billion (2006 est.) |
Dependency status | special administrative region of China | - |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON
embassy: 142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6 mailing address: P.O. Box 541, Kingston 5 telephone: [1] (876) 702-6000 FAX: [1] (876) 702-6348 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | chief of mission: Ambassador Gordon SHIRLEY
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $35.74 million (2005) |
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. | The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for more than 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Jamaica's economy, already saddled with a record of sluggish growth, was hit hard by Hurricane Ivan in late 2004, but has made a gradual recovery. The economy faces serious long-term problems: high but declining interest rates, increased foreign competition, exchange rate instability, a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a high debt burden - the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-to-late 1990s. Following a strategy begun in 2004, Jamaica has reduced its public debt to 133.3% of GDP. Inflation also had declined to 5.8% at the end of 2006. High unemployment exacerbates the serious crime problem, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. The government faces the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem that is hampering economic growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 32.202 billion kWh (1999) | 6.131 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 633 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 7.05 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 27.726 billion kWh (1999) | 6.985 billion kWh (2005) |
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: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution from rapid urbanization | heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate member) |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 95%, other 5% | black 91.2%, mixed 6.2%, other or unknown 2.6% (2001 census) |
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 | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002) |
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 General Kenneth O. HALL (since 15 February 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Bruce GOLDING (since 11 September 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister |
Exports | $204 billion (including reexports; f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | clothing, textiles, footwear, electrical appliances, watches and clocks, toys | alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels |
Exports - partners | China 33%, US 24%, Japan 5%, UK 4%, Germany, Singapore (1999) | US 30.2%, Canada 15.6%, China 15.2%, UK 10.3%, Netherlands 7%, Norway 4.6% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | red with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $181 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
0.1% industry: 14.3% services: 85.6% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 5.4%
industry: 33.8% services: 60.8% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $25,400 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 10% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 15 N, 114 10 E | 18 15 N, 77 30 W |
Geography - note | more than 200 islands | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal |
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%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 35.8% (2004) |
Illicit drugs | a hub for Southeast Asian heroin and regional stimulants trade; transshipment and money-laundering center; increasing indigenous amphetamine abuse | transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation and consumption of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions |
Imports | $215 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum; a large share is reexported | food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials |
Imports - partners | China 44%, Japan 12%, US 7%, Taiwan 7%, South Korea, Singapore (1999) | US 39.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.6%, Venezuela 9.5% (2006) |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | 6 August 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.1% (2000) | -2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks | tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications |
Infant mortality rate | 5.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 15.73 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.4 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.7% (2000 est.) | 8.6% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, AsDB, BIS, CCC, ESCAP (associate), ICC, ICFTU, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), WCL, WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 17 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1997 est.) | 250 sq km (2002) |
Judicial branch | The Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 3.39 million (2000 est.) | 1.249 million (2006 est.) |
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: 18.1%
industry: 17.3% services: 64.6% (2004) |
Land boundaries | total:
30 km border countries: China 30 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
6% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 20% other: 72% (1997 est.) |
arable land: 15.83%
permanent crops: 10.01% other: 74.16% (2005) |
Languages | Chinese (Cantonese), English; both are official | English, English patois |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated 8 seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 3 September 2007 (next to be held no later than October 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - JLP 50.1%, PNP 49.8%; seats by party - JLP 33, PNP 27 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
79.67 years male: 76.97 years female: 82.55 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.12 years
male: 71.43 years female: 74.9 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 92.2% male: 96% female: 88.2% (1996 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
3 NM |
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin |
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: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 161,700 GRT/241,663 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 2, carrier 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 12 (Denmark 1, Germany 1, Greece 8, Latvia 2) registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of China | - |
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 | Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA; note - separate budget for Hong Kong not established by China | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 0.6% (2006 est.) |
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 | Independence Day, 6 August (1962) |
Nationality | noun:
Chinese adjective: Chinese |
noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons | hurricanes (especially July to November) |
Natural resources | outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar | bauxite, gypsum, limestone |
Net migration rate | 7.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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 |
Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Portia SIMPSON-MILLER]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Michael WILLIAMS] |
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] | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) |
Population | 7,210,505 (July 2001 est.) | 2,780,132 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 14.8% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.3% (2001 est.) | 0.777% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Hong Kong | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 10, FM 13, 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% | Protestant 62.5% (Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, Pentecostal 9.5%, Other Church of God 8.3%, Baptist 7.2%, New Testament Church of God 6.3%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.3%, Anglican 3.6%, other Christian 7.7%), Roman Catholic 2.6%, other or unspecified 14.2%, none 20.9%, (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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.034 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.816 male(s)/female total population: 0.978 male(s)/female (2007 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 |
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: fully automatic domestic telephone network
domestic: the 1999 agreement to open the market for telecommunications services resulted in rapid growth in mobile-cellular telephone usage; mobile-cellular teledensity now exceeds 100 per 100 persons; the number of fixed-lines in use has been declining international: country code - 1-876; the Fibralink submarine cable network provides enhanced delivery of business and broadband traffic and is linked to the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) submarine cable in the Dominican Republic; the link to ARCOS-1 provides seamless connectivity to US, parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.839 million (1999) | 319,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3.7 million (December 1999) | 2.804 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (plus two repeaters) (1997) | 7 (1997) |
Terrain | hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 1.29 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.36 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.5% (2000 est.) | 11.3% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |