Hong Kong (2005) | Sierra Leone (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
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:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326) 15-64 years: 52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155) 65 years and over: 3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fresh vegetables, poultry, fish, pork | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 4 (2004 est.) | 11 (2000 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.) |
total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 1,092 sq km
land: 1,042 sq km water: 50 sq km |
total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
Area - comparative | six times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
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. | Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army. |
Birth rate | 7.23 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $26.6 billion
expenditures: $31.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.9 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | - | Freetown |
Climate | tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 733 km | 402 km |
Constitution | Basic Law, approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress, is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution" | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
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:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
Currency | - | leone (SLL) |
Death rate | 5.98 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $66.94 billion (2004 est.) | $1.28 billion (1999) |
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 Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr. embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | chief of mission:
Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
Disputes - international | none | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $203.7 million (1995) |
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. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. |
Electricity - consumption | 38.45 billion kWh (2003) | 223.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 3 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 10.4 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 35.51 billion kWh (2003) | 240 million kWh (1999) |
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:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution from rapid urbanization | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Marine Dumping (associate member) | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 95%, other 5% | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
Exchange rates | Hong Kong dollars per US dollar - 7.788 (2004), 7.7868 (2003), 7.7989 (2002), 7.7988 (2001), 7.7912 (2000) | leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996) |
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:
President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5% |
Exports | NA | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones, printed material | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
Exports - partners | China 44%, US 17%, Japan 5.3% (2004) | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.1%
industry: 11.3% services: 88.6% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $34,200 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.9% (2004 est.) | 4.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 15 N, 114 10 E | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
Geography - note | more than 200 islands | - |
Heliports | 2 (2004 est.) | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 1,831 km
paved: 1,831 km unpaved: 0 km (1999 est.) |
total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
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 | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials and semi-manufactures, consumer goods, capital goods, foodstuffs, fuel (most is re-exported) | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
Imports - partners | China 43.5%, Japan 12.1%, Taiwan 7.3%, US 5.3%, Singapore 5.3%, South Korea 4.8% (2004) | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Industries | textiles, clothing, tourism, banking, shipping, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining |
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.) |
146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.3% (2004 est.) | 15% (2000 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 | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1998 est.) | 290 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
Labor force | 3.54 million (October 2004 est.) | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
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.) |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 30 km
regional border: China 30 km |
total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.05%
permanent crops: 1.01% other: 93.94% (2001) |
arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Chinese (Cantonese), English; both are official | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
unicameral House of Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 81.5 years
male: 78.81 years female: 84.41 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 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 English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm | territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
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:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 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 | Army |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | Hong Kong garrison is funded by China; figures are NA | $46 million (FY96/97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 2% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
563,631 (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, 27 April (1961) |
Nationality | noun: Chinese/Hong Konger
adjective: Chinese/Hong Kong |
noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
Natural resources | outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
Net migration rate | 5.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning |
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 |
All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader] |
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] | Trade Unions and Student Unions |
Population | 6,898,686 (July 2005 est.) | 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 68% (1989 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.65% (2005 est.) | 3.61% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Hong Kong | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | - | 1.12 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge |
Religions | eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10% | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
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:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 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 | 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: 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:
marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: national microwave radio relay trunk system, made unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,801,300 (2003) | 17,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,241,400 (2003) | 650 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (2004) | 2 (1999) |
Terrain | hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 0.91 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.7% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) |