Hong Kong (2005) | Japan (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 13.8% (male 498,771/female 454,252)
15-64 years: 73.5% (male 2,479,656/female 2,591,170) 65 years and over: 12.7% (male 404,308/female 470,529) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.5% (male 9,465,282; female 8,999,888)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 43,027,320; female 42,586,112) 65 years and over: 18% (male 9,664,112; female 13,231,914) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fresh vegetables, poultry, fish, pork | rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish |
Airports | 4 (2004 est.) | 173 (2001) |
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.) |
total: 141
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 37 1,524 to 2,437 m: 38 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 32 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 31 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 27 (2002) |
Area | total: 1,092 sq km
land: 1,042 sq km water: 50 sq km |
total: 377,835 sq km
land: 374,744 sq km water: 3,091 sq km note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto) |
Area - comparative | six times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than California |
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. | While retaining its time-honored culture, Japan rapidly absorbed Western technology during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After its devastating defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become the second most powerful economy in the world and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth. |
Birth rate | 7.23 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.03 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $26.6 billion
expenditures: $31.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.9 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues: $441 billion
expenditures: $718 billion, including capital expenditures (public works only) of about $84 billion |
Capital | - | Tokyo |
Climate | tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall | varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north |
Coastline | 733 km | 29,751 km |
Constitution | Basic Law, approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress, is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution" | 3 May 1947 |
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: Japan |
Currency | - | yen (JPY) |
Death rate | 5.98 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.53 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $66.94 billion (2004 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | special administrative region of China | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Consul General James B. CUNNINGHAM
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Howard H. BAKER, Jr.
embassy: 1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 mailing address: Unit 45004, Box 205, APO AP 96337-5004 telephone: [81] (03) 3224-5000 FAX: [81] (03) 3505-1862 consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | chief of mission: Ambassador Ryozo KATO
chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Hagatna (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands) |
Disputes - international | none | islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with South Korea; Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) claimed by China and Taiwan |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $9.1 billion (1999) (1999) |
Economy - overview | Hong Kong has a free market, entrepot economy, highly dependent on international trade. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Gross imports and exports (i.e., including reexports to and from third countries) 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 made manufacturing in China much more cost effective. Hong Kong's reexport business to and from China is a major driver of growth. Per capita GDP is comparable to that of the four big economies of Western Europe. GDP growth averaged a strong 5% from 1989 to 1997, but Hong Kong suffered two recessions in the past six years because of the Asian financial crisis in 1998 and the global downturn in 2001 and 2002. Although the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak also battered Hong Kong's economy, 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 and in 2004. | Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) have helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and third largest economy in the world after the US and China. One notable characteristic of the economy is the working together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The much smaller agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self-sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades overall real economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s largely because of the aftereffects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Government efforts to revive economic growth have met with little success and were further hampered in 2000-02 by the slowing of the US and Asian economies. The crowding of habitable land area and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic strength, with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working robots". Internal conflict over the proper means to reform the ailing banking system will continue in 2003. |
Electricity - consumption | 38.45 billion kWh (2003) | 943.71 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 3 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 10.4 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 35.51 billion kWh (2003) | 1.015 trillion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 61%
hydro: 9% nuclear: 29% other: 2% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m |
lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
highest point: Fujiyama 3,776 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution from rapid urbanization | air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Marine Dumping (associate member) | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 95%, other 5% | Japanese 99%, others 1% (Korean 511,262, Chinese 244,241, Brazilian 182,232, Filipino 89,851, other 237,914) (2000) |
Exchange rates | Hong Kong dollars per US dollar - 7.788 (2004), 7.7868 (2003), 7.7989 (2002), 7.7988 (2001), 7.7912 (2000) | yen per US dollar - 132.66 (January 2002), 121.53 (2001), 107.77 (2000), 113.91 (1999), 130.91 (1998), 120.99 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003)
head of government: Chief Executive Donald TSANG (since 24 June 2005) cabinet: Executive Council consists of seven non-official members and 14 official members elections: previous chief executive TUNG Chee-hwa was elected to second five-year term in March 2002 by 800-member election committee dominated by pro-Beijing forces, resignation accepted 12 March 2005; Donald TSANG acted as chief executive between 12 March 2005 and 25 May 2005; Henry TANG acted as chief executive between 25 May 2005 and 24 June 2005; last election 16 June 2005 to fill final two years of TUNG's term (next to be held in June 2007) |
chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)
head of government: Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI (since 24 April 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the Diet designates the prime minister; the constitution requires that the prime minister must command a parliamentary majority, therefore, following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister note: following the resignation of Prime Minister Yoshiro MORI, Junichiro KOIZUMI was elected as the new president of the majority Liberal Democratic Party, and soon thereafter designated by the Diet to become the next prime minister |
Exports | NA | $383.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones, printed material | motor vehicles, semiconductors, office machinery, chemicals |
Exports - partners | China 44%, US 17%, Japan 5.3% (2004) | US 30.1%, China 7.7%, South Korea 6.3%, Taiwan 6.0%, Hong Kong 5.8% (2001) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | red with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center | white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $3.55 trillion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.1%
industry: 11.3% services: 88.6% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 31% services: 68% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $34,200 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $28,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.9% (2004 est.) | -0.3% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 15 N, 114 10 E | 36 00 N, 138 00 E |
Geography - note | more than 200 islands | strategic location in northeast Asia |
Heliports | 2 (2004 est.) | 15 (2002) |
Highways | total: 1,831 km
paved: 1,831 km unpaved: 0 km (1999 est.) |
total: 1,152,207 km
paved: 863,003 km (including 6,114 km of expressways) unpaved: 289,204 km (1997 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 22% (1993) |
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 conduit for money laundering; rising indigenous use of synthetic drugs, especially among young people | - |
Imports | NA | $292.1 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials and semi-manufactures, consumer goods, capital goods, foodstuffs, fuel (most is re-exported) | machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles (2001) |
Imports - partners | China 43.5%, Japan 12.1%, Taiwan 7.3%, US 5.3%, Singapore 5.3%, South Korea 4.8% (2004) | US 18.1%, China 16.6%, South Korea 4.9%, Taiwan 4.1%, Indonesia 4.3% (2001 est.) |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1% (2004 est.) | -1.4% (2002 est.) |
Industries | textiles, clothing, tourism, banking, shipping, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks | among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals; textiles, processed foods |
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 (2005 est.) |
3.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.3% (2004 est.) | -0.9% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, AsDB, BIS, ICC, ICFTU, IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO, WToO (associate), WTO | AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 73 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1998 est.) | 26,790 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet) |
Labor force | 3.54 million (October 2004 est.) | 67.7 million (December 2000 ) |
Labor force - by occupation | manufacturing 7.5%, construction 2.9%, wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 43.7%, financing, insurance, and real estate 19.2%, transport and communications 7.9%, community and social services 18.5%
note: above data exclude public sector (2004 est.) |
services 70%, industry 25%, agriculture 5% (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: 12.13%
permanent crops: 1.01% other: 86.86% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Chinese (Cantonese), English; both are official | Japanese |
Legal system | based on English common law | modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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; other 1 |
bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (247 seats - formerly 252; one-half of the members elected every three years - 73 seats of which are elected from the 47 multi-seat prefectural districts and 48 of which are elected from a single nationwide list; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - 180 of which are elected from 11 regional blocks on a proportional representation basis and 300 of which are elected from 300 single-seat districts; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Councillors - last held 29 July 2001 (next to be held NA July 2004); House of Representatives - last held 25 June 2000 (next must be held by June 2004, but may occur sooner) election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDP 110, DPJ 59, Komeito 23, JCP 20, SDP 8, Liberal Party 8, Conservative Party 5, independents 14; note - the distribution of seats as of January 2002 is: LDP 115, DPJ 60, Komeito 24, JCP 20, SDP 8, Liberal Party 8, independents 6, others 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDP 233, DPJ 127, Komeito 31, Liberal Party 22, JCP 20, SDP 19, other 28; note - the distribution of seats as of January 2002 is: LDP 242, DPJ 126, Komeito 31, Liberal Party 22, JCP 20, SDP 19, NCP 7, other 13 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 81.5 years
male: 78.81 years female: 84.41 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 80.91 years
male: 77.73 years female: 84.25 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 93.5% male: 96.9% female: 89.6% (2002) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1970 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China | Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM; between 3 NM and 12 NM in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait |
Merchant marine | total: 837 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 20,478,042 GRT/34,554,455 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 446, cargo 119, chemical tanker 44, combination ore/oil 2, container 105, liquefied gas 20, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 75, roll on/roll off 5, vehicle carrier 8 foreign-owned: 453 (Australia 1, Bahamas 1, Belgium 3, Canada 9, China 246, Denmark 3, France 5, Germany 13, Greece 19, India 1, Indonesia 1, Israel 1, Japan 51, Norway 16, Philippines 13, Singapore 17, South Korea 8, Taiwan 5, Thailand 4, UAE 1, United Kingdom 32, United States 3) registered in other countries: 373 (2005) |
total: 615 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 10,995,839 GRT/14,405,159 DWT
ships by type: bulk 133, cargo 48, chemical tanker 17, combination bulk 24, combination ore/oil 3, container 19, liquefied gas 50, passenger 9, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 189, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 48, short-sea passenger 6, vehicle carrier 54 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: China 1, Panama 1, Singapore 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of China | - |
Military branches | 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 | Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force), Japanese Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | Hong Kong garrison is funded by China; figures are NA | $40,774.3 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 29,644,498 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 25,637,387 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 765,817 (2002 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 | Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933) |
Nationality | noun: Chinese/Hong Konger
adjective: Chinese/Hong Kong |
noun: Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Japanese |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons | many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons |
Natural resources | outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar | negligible mineral resources, fish |
Net migration rate | 5.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 84 km; petroleum products 322 km; natural gas 1,800 km |
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 |
Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Yukio HATOYAMA, leader, Naoto KAN, secretary general]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Tetsuzo FUWA, chairman, Tadayeshi ICHIDA, secretary general]; Komeito [Takenori KANZAKI, president, Tetsuzo FUYUSHIBA, secretary general]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Junichiro KOIZUMI, president, Taku YAMASAKI, secretary general]; Liberal Party [Ichiro OZAWA, president, Hirohisa FUJII, secretary general]; New Conservative Party or NCP [Takeshi NODA, president, Toshihiro NIKAI, secretary general]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Takako DOI, chairperson, Mizuho FUKUSHIMA, secretary general] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 (pro-democracy); The Alliance [Bernard CHAN, exco member] | NA |
Population | 6,898,686 (July 2005 est.) | 126,974,628 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.65% (2005 est.) | 0.15% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Hong Kong | Akita, Amagasaki, Chiba, Hachinohe, Hakodate, Higashi-Harima, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kinuura, Kobe, Kushiro, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Sakai, Sakaide, Shimizu, Tokyo, Tomakomai |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 215 plus 370 repeaters, FM 89 plus 485 repeaters, shortwave 21 (2001) |
Radios | - | 120.5 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 23,654 km (15,895 km electrified)
standard gauge: 3,059 km 1.435-m gauge (entirely electrified) narrow gauge: 77 km 1.372-m gauge (entirely electrified); 20,491 km 1.067-m gauge (12,732 km electrified); 27 km 0.762-m gauge (entirely electrified) (2000) |
Religions | eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10% | observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 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 200,000 members of functional constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies | 20 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: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); submarine cables to China, Philippines, Russia, and US (via Guam) (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,801,300 (2003) | 60.381 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,241,400 (2003) | 63.88 million (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (2004) | 211 plus 7,341 repeaters
note: in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services (1999) |
Terrain | hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north | mostly rugged and mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 0.91 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.42 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.7% (2004 est.) | 5.4% (2002) |
Waterways | - | 1,770 km approximately
note: seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas |