Hong Kong (2005) | Swaziland (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
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: 40.7% (male 233,169/female 229,103)
15-64 years: 55.8% (male 303,260/female 330,460) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 16,071/female 24,271) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fresh vegetables, poultry, fish, pork | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
Airports | 4 (2004 est.) | 18 (2006) |
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
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2006) |
Area | total: 1,092 sq km
land: 1,042 sq km water: 50 sq km |
total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | six times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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. | Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted in 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s pressured the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy. Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known rates of HIV/AIDS infection. |
Birth rate | 7.23 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 27.41 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $26.6 billion
expenditures: $31.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.9 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues: $805.6 million
expenditures: $957.1 million; including capital expenditures of $147 million (2005 est.) |
Capital | - | name: Mbabane
geographic coordinates: 26 18 S, 31 06 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Lobamba (royal and legislative capital) |
Climate | tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall | varies from tropical to near temperate |
Coastline | 733 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | Basic Law, approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress, is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution" | the first constitution was signed into law in July 2005 and is scheduled to be implemented in January 2006 |
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: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland local long form: Umbuso weSwatini local short form: eSwatini |
Death rate | 5.98 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 29.74 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $66.94 billion (2004 est.) | $357 million (2003 est.) |
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 Lewis LUCKE
embassy: Central Bank Building, Mahlokahla Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | chief of mission: Ambassador Ephraim Mandla HLOPHE
chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002 FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $104 million (2001) |
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. | In this small, landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population. The manufacturing sector has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp remain important foreign exchange earners. Mining has declined in importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives about nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends nearly two-thirds of its exports. Customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union and worker remittances from South Africa substantially supplement domestically earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2004-05 because of drought, and nearly two-fifths of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS. |
Electricity - consumption | 38.45 billion kWh (2003) | 1.161 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 3 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 10.4 billion kWh (2003) | 821.4 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2004) |
Electricity - production | 35.51 billion kWh (2003) | 392 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m |
lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution from rapid urbanization | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Marine Dumping (associate member) | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 95%, other 5% | African 97%, European 3% |
Exchange rates | Hong Kong dollars per US dollar - 7.788 (2004), 7.7868 (2003), 7.7989 (2002), 7.7988 (2001), 7.7912 (2000) | emalangeni per US dollar - 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001) |
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: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
head of government: Prime Minister Absolom Themba DLAMINI (since 14 November 2003) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
Exports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones, printed material | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
Exports - partners | China 44%, US 17%, Japan 5.3% (2004) | South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | red with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.1%
industry: 11.3% services: 88.6% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 11.9%
industry: 51.5% services: 36.6% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $34,200 (2004 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.9% (2004 est.) | 1.8% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 15 N, 114 10 E | 26 30 S, 31 30 E |
Geography - note | more than 200 islands | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
Heliports | 2 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 1,831 km
paved: 1,831 km unpaved: 0 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 50.2% (1995) |
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 | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | raw materials and semi-manufactures, consumer goods, capital goods, foodstuffs, fuel (most is re-exported) | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | China 43.5%, Japan 12.1%, Taiwan 7.3%, US 5.3%, Singapore 5.3%, South Korea 4.8% (2004) | South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2004) |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1% (2004 est.) | 3.7% (FY95/96) |
Industries | textiles, clothing, tourism, banking, shipping, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks | mining (coal, raw asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel |
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.) |
total: 71.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 75.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 68.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.3% (2004 est.) | 4% (2005 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, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1998 est.) | 500 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
Labor force | 3.54 million (October 2004 est.) | 155,700 (2003) |
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: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.05%
permanent crops: 1.01% other: 93.94% (2001) |
arable land: 10.25%
permanent crops: 0.81% other: 88.94% (2005) |
Languages | Chinese (Cantonese), English; both are official | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; 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 Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of the Senate (30 seats - 10 appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats - 10 appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 18 October 2003 (next to be held October 2008) election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 81.5 years
male: 78.81 years female: 84.41 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 32.62 years
male: 32.1 years female: 33.17 years (2006 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: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm | none (landlocked) |
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) |
- |
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 | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes air wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | Hong Kong garrison is funded by China; figures are NA | $41.6 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.4% (2005 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 September (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Chinese/Hong Konger
adjective: Chinese/Hong Kong |
noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons | drought |
Natural resources | outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
Net migration rate | 5.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
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 |
political parties are banned by the government under an emergency decree that will be revoked when the new constitution takes effect (January 2006)- the following are considered political associations; Imbokodvo National Movement or INM; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president] |
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.) | 1,136,334
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 69% (2005) |
Population growth rate | 0.65% (2005 est.) | -0.23% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Hong Kong | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2004) |
Railways | - | total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10% | Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% |
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: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | direct election 18 years of age; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years; indirect election limited to about 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 |
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: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system
domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: country code - 268; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,801,300 (2003) | 35,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,241,400 (2003) | 200,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (2004) | 12 (includes 7 relay stations) (2004) |
Terrain | hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
Total fertility rate | 0.91 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.53 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.7% (2004 est.) | 40% (2005 est.) |