Hong Kong (2005) | Tokelau (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
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: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% |
Agriculture - products | fresh vegetables, poultry, fish, pork | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats; fish |
Airports | 4 (2004 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 (2005 est.) | NA |
Budget | revenues: $26.6 billion
expenditures: $31.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.9 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million (1987 est.) |
Capital | - | none; each atoll has its own administrative center
time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall | tropical; 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; 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 |
Death rate | 5.98 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA |
Debt - external | $66.94 billion (2004 est.) | - |
Dependency status | special administrative region of China | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelau and New Zealand have agreed to a draft constitution as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand; a UN sponsored referendum on self governance in October 2007 did not produce the two-thirds majority vote necessary for changing the political status |
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 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | none | Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island (Olohega) in its 2006 draft constitution |
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. | 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 | 38.45 billion kWh (2003) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 3 billion kWh (2003) | - |
Electricity - imports | 10.4 billion kWh (2003) | - |
Electricity - production | 35.51 billion kWh (2003) | 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 | 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 - 7.788 (2004), 7.7868 (2003), 7.7989 (2002), 7.7988 (2001), 7.7912 (2000) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.3811 (2007), 1.5408 (2006), 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General of New Zealand Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006); New Zealand is represented by Administrator David PAYTON (since 17 October 2006)
head of government: Pio TUIA (since 23 February 2008); note - position rotates annually among the three Faipule (village leaders) cabinet: the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau, consisting of three Faipule (village leaders) and three Pulenuku (village mayors), 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 | $0 |
Exports - commodities | electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones, printed material | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | China 44%, US 17%, Japan 5.3% (2004) | New Zealand (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | red with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.1%
industry: 11.3% services: 88.6% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $34,200 (2004 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.9% (2004 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 (Atafu, Fakaofo, Nukunonu), each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over 3 m above sea level |
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 |
- |
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 | $969,200 c.i.f. (2002) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials and semi-manufactures, consumer goods, capital goods, foodstuffs, fuel (most is re-exported) | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | China 43.5%, Japan 12.1%, Taiwan 7.3%, US 5.3%, Singapore 5.3%, South Korea 4.8% (2004) | New Zealand (2006) |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1% (2004 est.) | - |
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 (2005 est.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.3% (2004 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 | PIF (observer), SPC, UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
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 | 3.54 million (October 2004 est.) | 440 (2001) |
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.) |
- |
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% (2005) |
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; other 1 |
unicameral General Fono (20 seats; based upon proportional representation from the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; Atafu has seven seats, Fakaofo has seven seats, Nukunonu has six seats); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono
elections: last held 17-19 January 2008 (next to be held in 2011) election results: independents 20 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 81.5 years
male: 78.81 years female: 84.41 years (2005 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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: 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 | 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) 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 | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | Hong Kong garrison is funded by China; figures are NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | - |
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 (2005 est.) | NA |
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 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] | none |
Population | 6,898,686 (July 2005 est.) | 1,449 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.65% (2005 est.) | -0.018% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Hong Kong | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA (one radio station provides service to all islands) (2002) |
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: 1.1 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.) |
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: modern satellite-based communications system
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,801,300 (2003) | 300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,241,400 (2003) | - |
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 (2005 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 6.7% (2004 est.) | NA% |