Hong Kong (2004) | Tokelau (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
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.) |
0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fresh vegetables, poultry, fish, pork | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats |
Airports | 4 (2003 est.) | none; lagoon landings are possible by amphibious aircraft (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: 1,092 sq km
land: 1,042 sq km water: 50 sq km |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | six times the size of Washington, DC | about 17 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 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. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | 7.23 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $26.17 billion
expenditures: $32.64 billion, including capital expenditures of $5 billion (2003) |
revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 (1987 est.) |
Capital | - | none; each atoll has its own administrative center |
Climate | tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 733 km | 101 km |
Constitution | Basic Law approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution" | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970 |
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: Tokelau |
Currency | Hong Kong dollar (HKD) | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 5.98 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $59.21 billion (2003 est.) | $0 |
Dependency status | special administrative region of China | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution and developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | from New Zealand about $4 million annually |
Economy - overview | 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. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | 37.12 billion kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 1.581 billion kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 10.36 billion kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production | 30.48 billion kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution from rapid urbanization | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Marine Dumping (associate member) | - |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 95%, other 5% | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Hong Kong dollars per US dollar - 7.7868 (2003), 7.7989 (2002), 7.7988 (2001), 7.7912 (2000), 7.7575 (1999) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.154 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999) |
Executive branch | 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 |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Neil WALTER (since NA 2002)
head of government: Aliki Faipule Kuresa NASAU (since 2004) note - position rotates annually among members of the cabinet cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders - one from each atoll - functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | NA (2001) | $98,000 f.o.b. (1983) |
Exports - commodities | electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | China 42.6%, US 18.7%, Japan 5.4% (2003) | New Zealand (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | red with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $213 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.5 million (1993 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.1%
industry: 12.1% services: 87.9% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $28,800 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1993 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.3% (2003 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 22 15 N, 114 10 E | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
Geography - note | more than 200 islands | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level |
Heliports | 2 (2003 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 1,831 km
paved: 1,831 km unpaved: 0 km (1999 est.) |
total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
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 (2001) | $323,000 c.i.f. (1983) |
Imports - commodities | electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum, plastics; a large share is reexported | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | China 43.5%, Japan 11.9%, Taiwan 6.9%, US 5.5%, Singapore 5%, South Korea 4.8% (2003) | New Zealand (2000) |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | -9.2% (2003 est.) | NA |
Industries | textiles, clothing, tourism, banking, shipping, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
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.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -2.6% (2003 est.) | NA |
International organization participation | APEC, AsDB, BIS, ICC, ICFTU, IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO, WToO (associate), WTO | UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 3.5 million (2003 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | 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: 30 km
regional border: China 30 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.05%
permanent crops: 1.01% other: 93.94% (2001) |
arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | Chinese (Cantonese), English; both are official | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | based on English common law | New Zealand and local statutes |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral General Fono (48 seats; 15 members from each of the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms and the 3 island village mayors [pulenuku]); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 81.39 years
male: 78.72 years female: 84.3 years (2004 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: 68 years female: 70 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 93.5% male: 96.9% female: 89.6% (2002) |
NA |
Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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.) |
none |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of China | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | 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 | 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 | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Chinese/Hong Konger
adjective: Chinese/Hong Kong |
noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 5.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Political parties and leaders | 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 |
none |
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) [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] | none |
Population | 6,855,125 (July 2004 est.) | 1,405 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.65% (2004 est.) | -0.01% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Hong Kong | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
Religions | eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10% | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
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.) |
NA |
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 200,000 members of functional constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies | 21 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: 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 |
general assessment: adequate
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,801,300 (2003) | 300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,241,400 (2003) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (2004) | - |
Terrain | hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 0.91 children born/woman (2004 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 7.9% (2003) | NA |