Hong Kong

Country Summary

Introduction

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 of the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997.

Geography

Area

total: 1,108 sq km
land: 1,073 sq km
water: 35 sq km

Climate

subtropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall

Natural resources

outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar

People and Society

Population

7,288,167 (2023 est.)

Ethnic groups

Chinese 92%, Filipino 2.5%, Indonesian 2.1%, other 3.4% (2016 est.)

Languages

Cantonese (official) 88.9%, English (official) 4.3%, Mandarin (official) 1.9%, other Chinese dialects 3.1%, other 1.9% (2016 est.)

Religions

Buddhist or Taoist 27.9%, Protestant 6.7%, Roman Catholic 5.3%, Muslim 4.2%, Hindu 1.4%, Sikh 0.2%, other or none 54.3% (2016 est.)

Population growth rate

0.15% (2023 est.)

Government

Government type

presidential limited democracy; a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China

Executive branch

chief of state: President of China XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013)
head of government: Chief Executive John LEE Ka-chieu (since 1 July 2022)

Legislative branch

description: unicameral Legislative Council or LegCo (90 seats); 20 members directly elected in 2-seat constituencies, 30 indirectly elected by the approximately 220,000 members of various functional constituencies based on a variety of methods, and 50 indirectly elected by the 1,500-member Election Committee; members serve 4-year terms; note - in March 2021, China's National People's Congress amended the electoral rules and system for the LegCo; the total number of seats increased from 70 to 90, directly elected geographical constituencies were reduced from 35 to 20 seats, while trade-based indirectly elected functional constituencies remained at 30; an additional 40 seats were elected by the 1,500-member Election Commission; all political candidates are evaluated by the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee (CERC), established in April 2022; the CERC consists of the chairperson, 2-4 official members, and 1-3 non-official members, all appointed by the chief executive

Economy

Economic overview

high-income tourism- and services-based economy; global financial hub; COVID-19 and political protests fueled recent recession; ongoing recovery but lower-skilled unemployment remains high; investing in job-reskilling programs

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$444.624 billion (2021 est.)
$418.103 billion (2020 est.)
$447.385 billion (2019 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$60,000 (2021 est.)
$55,900 (2020 est.)
$59,600 (2019 est.)

Agricultural products

pork, poultry, spinach, vegetables, pork offals, game meat, fruit, lettuce, green onions, pig fat

Industries

trading and logistics, financial services, professional services, tourism, cultural and creative, clothing and textiles, shipping, electronics, toys, clocks and watches

Remittances

0.12% of GDP (2021 est.)
0.12% of GDP (2020 est.)
0.12% of GDP (2019 est.)

Exports

$751.26 billion (2021 est.)
$608.159 billion (2020 est.)
$645.007 billion (2019 est.)

Exports - partners

China 23%, India 14%, Netherlands 6%, United Kingdom 5% (2019)

Exports - commodities

gold, integrated circuits, gas turbines, broadcasting equipment, silver, diamonds, telephones (2021)

Imports

$733.459 billion (2021 est.)
$601.528 billion (2020 est.)
$639.363 billion (2019 est.)

Imports - partners

China 46%, Taiwan 7%, Singapore 7%, South Korea 5%, United States 5%, Japan 5% (2019)

Imports - commodities

integrated circuits, broadcasting equipment, office machinery, telephones, diamonds (2019)

Exchange rates

Hong Kong dollars (HKD) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
7.773 (2021 est.)
7.757 (2020 est.)
7.836 (2019 est.)
7.839 (2018 est.)
7.793 (2017 est.)


Page last updated: Wednesday, December 06, 2023