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Hong Kong Country Guide

Explore Hong Kong in Asia

Hong Kong with the capital city Hong Kong is located in Asia (Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China). It covers some 1,092 square kilometres (six times the size of Washington, DC) with 6,898,686 citizens.

Interactive map of Hong Kong

The topography includes hilly to mountainous with steep slopes with lowlands in north. The average density of population is approximately 6,317 per km². The notable climate conditions in Hong Kong can be described as subtropical monsoon with cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall. Possible natural disasters include occasional typhoons.

To reach someone in Hong Kong dial +852 prior to a number. There are 4,188,000 installed telephones. And there are 12,207,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900/1800/3G MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".hk". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 220V - 50Hz.

About the flag and history of Hong Kong

Hong Kong Flag Icon

Red with a stylized, white, five-petal Bauhinia flower in the center; each petal contains a small, red, five-pointed star in its middle; the red color is the same as that on the Chinese flag and represents the motherland; the fragrant Bauhinia - developed in Hong Kong the late 19th century - has come to symbolize the region; the five stars echo those on the flag of China.


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 the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China''s socialist economic system would not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years.



Geography Quick-Facts

SummaryContinent: Asia
Neighbours:
Capital: Hong Kong
Size1,092 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 421 square miles (mi² or sqmi)
six times the size of Washington, DC
Population6,898,686
CurrencyName Dollar, Currency Code:HKD
Country Top Level Domain (cTLD).hk
Telephone Country Prefix+852
Mobile Phone Connections12,207,000
Landline Phone Connections4,188,000

Country Position in World Rankings

Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).

Geography

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Area1,104 (sq km)184

People and Society

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Population7,182,724 99
Population growth rate0.39 (%)156
Birth rate7.58 (births/1,000 population)222
Death rate7.39 (deaths/1,000 population)116
Net migration rate3.75 (migrant(s)/1,000 population)27
Infant mortality rate2.89 (deaths/1,000 live births)219
Life expectancy at birth82.20 (years)9
Total fertility rate1.11 (children born/woman)221
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate0.10 (%)132
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS2,600 130
HIV/AIDS - deaths200 112
Education expenditures3.40 (% of GDP)129
Unemployment, youth ages 15-249.40 (%)110

Economy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
GDP (purchasing power parity)375,500,000,000 36
GDP - real growth rate1.40 (%)150
GDP - per capita (PPP)52,300 13
Labor force3,826,000 94
Unemployment rate3.30 (%)28
Distribution of family income - Gini index53.70 11
Investment (gross fixed)26.30 (% of GDP)42
Taxes and other revenues21.70 (% of GDP)149
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)3.20 (% of GDP)19
Public debt30.00 (% of GDP)114
Inflation rate (consumer prices)4.10 (%)118
Central bank discount rate0.50 (%)135
Commercial bank prime lending rate5.00 (%)158
Stock of narrow money176,600,000,000 21
Stock of broad money1,148,000,000,000 16
Stock of domestic credit714,000,000,000 21
Market value of publicly traded shares2,240,000,000,000 6
Industrial production growth rate-0.10 (%)147
Current account balance6,400,000,000 28
Exports439,000,000,000 13
Imports499,400,000,000 10
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold317,300,000,000 10
Debt - external1,047,000,000,000 17
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home1,200,000,000,000 4
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad1,112,000,000,000 5

Energy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Electricity - production41,300,000,000 (kWh)57
Electricity - consumption45,070,000,000 (kWh)50
Electricity - exports497,400,000 (kWh)61
Electricity - imports11,150,000,000 (kWh)18
Electricity - installed generating capacity10,660,000 (kW)53
Electricity - from fossil fuels100.00 (% of total installed capacity)18
Refined petroleum products - consumption337,600 (bbl/day)38
Refined petroleum products - exports16,520 (bbl/day)78
Refined petroleum products - imports354,100 (bbl/day)19
Natural gas - consumption2,790,000,000 (cu m)76
Natural gas - imports2,790,000,000 (cu m)45
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy39,300,000 (Mt)71

Communications

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Telephones - main lines in use4,342,000 38
Telephones - mobile cellular15,293,000 55
Internet hosts870,041 48
Internet users4,873,000 47

Transportation

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Airports2 201
Roadways2,067 (km)172
Merchant marine1,644 5

Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases

List of current world heritage sites

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