##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Israel (2003) - Hong Kong (2007)
Compare Israel (2003) z Hong Kong (2007)
| Israel (2003) | Hong Kong (2007) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv | none (special administrative region of China) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 26.9% (male 842,885; female 803,864)
15-64 years: 63.2% (male 1,941,440; female 1,922,512) 65 years and over: 9.9% (male 260,315; female 345,517) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 13% (male 476,089/female 434,326)
15-64 years: 74% (male 2,515,518/female 2,652,660) 65 years and over: 12.9% (male 419,479/female 482,340) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products | fresh vegetables; poultry, pork; fish |
| Airports | 52 (2002) | 2 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
- |
| Area | total: 20,770 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km |
total: 1,092 sq km
land: 1,042 sq km water: 50 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | six times the size of Washington, DC |
| Background | Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives (from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip) and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. But progress toward a permanent status agreement has been undermined by the outbreak of Palestinian-Israeli violence since September 2000. | 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. |
| Birth rate | 18.67 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 7.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $38.5 billion
expenditures: $45.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
revenues: $35.18 billion
expenditures: $32.18 billion (2006 est.) |
| Capital | Jerusalem; note - Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv | - |
| Climate | temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas | subtropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall |
| Coastline | 273 km | 733 km |
| Constitution | no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law | Basic Law, approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress, is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution" |
| Country name | conventional long form: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el |
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 |
| Currency | new Israeli shekel (ILS); note - NIS is the currency abbreviation; ILS is the International Organization for Standarization (ISO) code for the NIS | - |
| Death rate | 6.2 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $42.8 billion (2001 est.) | $72.79 billion (2006 est.) |
| Dependency status | - | special administrative region of China |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel C. KURTZER
embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv mailing address: PSC 98, Box 29, APO AE 09830 telephone: [972] (3) 519-7457/7369/7454/7458/7453 FAX: [972] (3) 517-4390 consulate(s) general: Jerusalem; note - an independent US mission, established in 1928, whose members are not accredited to a foreign government |
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] 2845-1598 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel AYALON
chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 364-5607 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco |
none (special administrative region of China) |
| Disputes - international | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights) | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $720 million from US (2001 est.) | - |
| Economy - overview | Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel imports significant quantities of grain but is largely self-sufficient in other agricultural products. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable current account deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the US, which is its major source of economic and military aid. The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR during the period 1989-99, coupled with the opening of new markets at the end of the Cold War, energized Israel's economy, which grew rapidly in the early 1990s; growth began moderating in 1996 when the government imposed tighter fiscal and monetary policies and the immigration bonus petered out. Growth was a strong 7.2% in 2000, but the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict, difficulties in the high-technology, construction, and tourist sectors, and fiscal austerity in the face of growing inflation led to small declines in GDP in 2001 and 2002. | Hong Kong has a free market economy highly dependent on international trade. The territory has become more closely linked to mainland China over the past few years. Even before Hong Kong reverted to Chinese administration on 1 July 1997, it had extensive trade and investment ties with China. Hong Kong's service industry over the past decade has grown rapidly as its manufacturing industry has moved to the mainland. Hong Kong also has stepped up its efforts to gain approval to offer more mainland financial services in a bid to remain competitive with China's growing financial centers. Hong Kong's natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Gross imports and exports (including reexports to and from third countries) each exceed GDP in dollar value. Per capita GDP exceeds that of the four big economies of Western Europe. GDP growth averaged a strong 5% from 1989 to 2006, but Hong Kong suffered two recessions in the past eight years because of the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98 and the global downturn in 2001-02. Although the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 also battered Hong Kong's economy, a solid rise in exports, a boom in tourism from the mainland because of China's easing of travel restrictions, and a return of consumer confidence resulted in the resumption of strong growth from late 2003 through 2006. Moreover, several large initial public offerings of Chinese companies on the Hong Kong stock exchange since late 2005 have helped to boost Hong Kong's status as a financial hub and have contributed to the improved performance of the market in late 2006. |
| Electricity - consumption | 37.82 billion kWh (2001) | 37.74 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 1.457 billion kWh (2001) | 4.498 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 11 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 42.24 billion kWh (2001) | 36.14 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 99.9%
hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m |
| Environment - current issues | limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides | air and water pollution from rapid urbanization |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate member) |
| Ethnic groups | Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born 14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%), non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab) (1996 est.) | Chinese 94.9%, Filipino 2.1%, other 3% (2001 census) |
| Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.74 (2002), 4.21 (2001), 4.08 (2000), 4.14 (1999), 3.8 (1998) | Hong Kong dollars per US dollar - 7.7678 (2006), 7.7773 (2005), 7.788 (2004), 7.7868 (2003), 7.7989 (2002) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Moshe KATSAV (since 31 July 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ariel SHARON (since 7 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset elections: president elected by the Knesset for a seven-year term; election last held 31 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2007); following legislative elections, the president assigns a Knesset member - traditionally the leader of the largest party - the task of forming a governing coalition; election last held 28 January 2003 (next to be held fall of 2007) election results: Moshe KATSAV elected president by the 120-member Knesset with a total of 60 votes, other candidate, Shimon PERES, received 57 votes (there were three abstentions); Ariel SHARON continues as prime minister after Likud Party victory in January 2003 Knesset elections; Likud won 38 seats and then formed coalition government with Shinui, the National Religious Party, and the National Union |
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 14 official members and 15 non-official members elections: chief executive elected for five-year term by 800-member electoral committee; last held on 25 March 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: Donald TSANG elected chief executive receiving 84.1% of the vote; Alan LEONG received 15.9% |
| Exports | NA (2001) | 26,090 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel | electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones, printed material |
| Exports - partners | US 39.2%, Belgium 6.5%, Germany 4.4%, UK 4.2% (2002) | China 47%, US 15.1%, Japan 4.9% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag | red with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $117.4 billion (2002 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 30% services: 67% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 0.1%
industry: 8.6% services: 91.3% (2006 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $19,500 (2002 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | -0.8% (2002 est.) | 6.9% (2006 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 31 30 N, 34 45 E | 22 15 N, 114 10 E |
| Geography - note | there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 25 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.); Sea of Galilee is an important freshwater source | more than 200 islands |
| Heliports | 3 (2002) | 5 (2007) |
| Highways | total: 16,281 km
paved: 16,281 km (including 56 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 28.3% (1997) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and, increasingly, from Jordan | despite strenuous law enforcement efforts, 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 (2001) | 344,200 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods | raw materials and semi-manufactures, consumer goods, capital goods, foodstuffs, fuel (most is re-exported) |
| Imports - partners | US 21.6%, Belgium 8.9%, Germany 6.7%, UK 6.6%, Switzerland 4.9%, Italy 4.5% (2002) | China 45.9%, Japan 10.3%, Taiwan 7.5%, Singapore 6.3%, US 4.8%, South Korea 4.6% (2006) |
| Independence | 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) | none (special administrative region of China) |
| Industrial production growth rate | -1.5% (2002 est.) | 4% (2006 est.) |
| Industries | high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, diamond cutting | textiles, clothing, tourism, banking, shipping, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 7.37 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.14 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 2.94 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 3.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.7% (2002 est.) | 2% (2006 est.) |
| International organization participation | BSEC (observer), CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | APEC, AsDB, BIS, ICC, IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITUC, UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO, WTO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 21 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 1,990 sq km (1998 est.) | 20 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president) | Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region |
| Labor force | 2.5 million (2002 est.) | 3.583 million (2006 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | public services 31.2%, manufacturing 20.2%, finance and business 13.1%, commerce 12.8%, construction 7.5%, personal and other services 6.4%, transport, storage, and communications 6.2%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 2.6% (1996) | manufacturing 7.5%, construction 2.9%, wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 43.9%, financing, insurance, and real estate 19.6%, transport and communications 7.1%, community and social services 18.8%
note: above data exclude public sector (2005 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,017 km
border countries: Egypt 266 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km |
total: 30 km
regional border: China 30 km |
| Land use | arable land: 17.02%
permanent crops: 4.17% other: 78.81% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 5.05%
permanent crops: 1.01% other: 93.94% (2001) |
| Languages | Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language | Chinese (Cantonese) 89.2% (official), other Chinese dialects 6.4%, English 3.2% (official), other 1.2% (2001 census) |
| Legal system | mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; in December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Knesset or parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 January 2003 (next to be held fall of 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Likud Party 29.4%, Labor 14.5%, Shinui 12.3%, Shas 8.2%, National Union 5.5%, Meretz 5.2%, United Torah Judaism 4.3%, National Religious Party 4.2%, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3.0%, One Nation 2.8%, National Democratic Alliance 2.3%, YBA 2.2%, United Arab List 2.1%, Green Leaf Party 1.2%, Herut 1.2%, other 1.6%; seats by party - Likud 38, Labor 19, Shinui 15, Shas 11, National Union 7, Meretz 6, National Religious Party 6, United Torah Judaism 5, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3, One Nation 3, National Democratic Alliance 3, YBA 2, United Arab List 2 |
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 63%, pro-Beijing 37%; seats by party - (pro-Beijing 34) DAB 12, Liberal Party 10, FTU 1, independents 11; (pro-democracy 25) Democratic Party 9, CTU 2, ADPL 1, Frontier Party 1, NWSC 1, independents 11; non-voting LEGCO president 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.02 years
male: 76.95 years female: 81.19 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 81.68 years
male: 78.99 years female: 84.6 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.4% male: 97.3% female: 93.6% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 93.5% male: 96.9% female: 89.6% (2002) |
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China |
| Map references | Middle East | Southeast Asia |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 3 nm |
| Merchant marine | total: 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 705,897 GRT/823,605 DWT
ships by type: container 17, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 1,009 ships (1000 GRT or over) 34,556,075 GRT/57,423,309 DWT
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 499, cargo 135, chemical tanker 51, combination ore/oil 3, container 173, liquefied gas 24, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 91, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 8, vehicle carrier 8 foreign-owned: 617 (Belgium 4, Canada 39, China 309, Denmark 12, France 1, Germany 10, Greece 30, Indonesia 7, Japan 78, South Korea 6, Lebanon 1, Norway 30, Pakistan 1, Philippines 10, Portugal 1, Singapore 11, Syria 1, Taiwan 11, UAE 1, UK 32, US 22) registered in other countries: 275 (Bahamas 3, Belize 5, Bermuda 4, Cambodia 11, China 6, Cyprus 2, Honduras 1, India 1, Liberia 21, Malaysia 14, Malta 1, Marshall Islands 4, Mongolia 1, Norway 5, Panama 137, Philippines 2, Seychelles 1, Singapore 37, St Vincent and The Grenadines 7, Tuvalu 10, UK 2, unknown 7) (2007) |
| Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of China |
| Military branches | Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (includes ground, naval, and air components with Air Defense Forces), Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal); note - historically there have been no separate Israeli military services | no regular indigenous military forces; Hong Kong garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes elements of Ground Forces, Navy, and 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 | $8.97 billion (FY02) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 8.75% (FY02) | NA |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,562,716
females age 15-49: 1,516,505 note: both sexes are liable for military service (2003 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,279,277
females age 15-49: 1,237,926 (2003 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 51,080
females: 53,496 (2003 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 14 May (1948); note - Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May | 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 |
| Nationality | noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli |
noun: Chinese/Hong Konger
adjective: Chinese/Hong Kong |
| Natural hazards | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes | occasional typhoons |
| Natural resources | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand | outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar |
| Net migration rate | 1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 4.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 100 km; oil 1,509 km (2003) | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Center Party [Dan MERIDOR]; Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) [Muhammad BARAKA]; Democratic Movement [Roman BRONFMAN]; Gesher [David LEVI]; Green Leaf Party [Boaz WACHTEL and Shlomi SANDAK]; Herut [Michael KLEINER]; Labor Party [Binyamin BEN-ELIEZER]; Likud Party [Ariel SHARON]; Meimad [Rabbi Michael MELCHIOR]; Meretz [Yossi SARID]; National Democratic Alliance (Balad) [Azmi BISHARA]; National Religious Party [Yitzhak LEVY]; National Union [Benyamin ELON] (includes Tekuma and Moledet); One Israel [Ra'anan COHEN]; One Nation [Amir PERETZ]; Shas [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Shinui [Tommy LAPID]; United Arab List [Abd al-Malik DAHAMSHAH]; United Torah Judaism [Meir PORUSH]; Yisra'el Ba'Aliya or YBA [Natan SHARANSKY]; Yisra'el Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN] | Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood or ADPL [Frederick FUNG Kin-kee]; Citizens Party [Alex CHAN Kai-chung]; Civic Party [KUAN Hsin-chi]; Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong or DAB [MA Lik]; Democratic Party [Albert HO]; Frontier Party [Emily LAU Wai-hing]; Liberal Party [James TIEN Pei-chun]
note: political blocs include: pro-democracy - ADPL, Democratic Party, Frontier Party; pro-Beijing - DAB, Liberal Party |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Yesha (settler) Council promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise; B'Tselem monitors human rights abuses | 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] |
| Population | 6,116,533 (July 2002 est.)
note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, more than 5,000 in the Gaza Strip, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (February 2003 est.) (July 2003 est.) |
6,980,412 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 18% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 1.39% (2003 est.) | 0.561% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 5, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Railways | total: 640 km
standard gauge: 640 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
- |
| Religions | Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other 3.2% (1996 est.) | eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10% |
| Sex ratio | 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: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.096 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.948 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 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 |
| Telephone system | general assessment: most highly developed system in the Middle East although not the largest
domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all systems are digital international: 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services
domestic: microwave radio relay links and extensive fiber-optic network international: country code - 852; multiple international submarine cables provide connections to Asia, US, Australia, the Middle East, and Western Europe; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean); coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 2.8 million (1999) | 3.85 million (2006) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.5 million (1999) | 9.356 million (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations | 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995) | 55 (2 TV networks, each broadcasting on 2 channels) (2006) |
| Terrain | Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley | hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north |
| Total fertility rate | 2.5 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 0.98 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 10.4% (2002 est.) | 4.9% (2006 est.) |
| Waterways | none | - |
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