Introduction
Background
Seized by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year at the end of the First Opium War; the Kowloon Peninsula was added in 1860 at the end of the Second Opium War, and was further extended when Britain obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) 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 and strict political 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 subsequent 50 years.
Since the turnover, Hong Kong has continued to enjoy success as an international financial center. However, dissatisfaction with the Hong Kong Government and growing Chinese political influence has been a central issue and led to considerable civil unrest, including large-scale pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019 after the HKSAR attempted to revise a local ordinance to allow extraditions to mainland China. In response, the governments of the HKSAR and China took several actions that reduced the city's autonomy and placed new restrictions on the rights of Hong Kong residents, moves that were widely criticized to be in direct contravention of obligations under the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Chief among these actions was a sweeping national security law for Hong Kong imposed by the Chinese Government in June 2020 that criminalized acts such as those interpreted as secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign or external forces. The law ushered in a widespread crackdown on public protests, criticism of authorities, and freedom of speech, and was used by authorities to target pro-democracy activists, organizations, and media companies. Democratic lawmakers and political figures were arrested, while others fled abroad. At the same time, dozens of civil society groups and several independent media outlets were closed or have disbanded. In March 2021, Beijing imposed a more restrictive electoral system, including restructuring the Legislative Council (LegCo) and allowing only government-approved candidates to run for office, claiming it was to ensure a system of "patriots" governed Hong Kong. The changes ensured that virtually all seats in the December 2021 LegCo election were won by pro-establishment candidates and effectively ended political opposition to Beijing in the territory.
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Geography
Location
Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
Geographic coordinates
22 15 N, 114 10 E
Map references
Southeast Asia
Area - comparative
six times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries
total: 33 km
regional borders (1): China 33 km
Coastline
733 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate
subtropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall
Terrain
hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north
Elevation
highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
Natural resources
outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar
Land use
agricultural land: 5% (2018 est.)
arable land: 3.2% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.9% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 0.9% (2018 est.)
forest: 0% (2018 est.)
other: 95% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land
10 sq km (2012)
Population distribution
population fairly evenly distributed
Natural hazards
occasional typhoons
Geography - note
consists of a mainland area (the New Territories) and more than 200 islands
People and Society
Nationality
noun: Chinese/Hong Konger
adjective: Chinese/Hong Kong
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.)
major-language sample(s):
世界概况, 必須擁有的基本資料参考书 (Cantonese)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
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.)
note: many people practice Confucianism, regardless of their religion or not having a religious affiliation
Age structure
0-14 years: 12.81% (male 490,477/female 437,971)
15-24 years: 8.81% (male 334,836/female 303,897)
25-54 years: 42.66% (male 1,328,529/female 1,763,970)
55-64 years: 17.24% (male 582,047/female 668,051)
65 years and over: 18.48% (male 625,453/female 714,676) (2020 est.)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 46.6
youth dependency ratio: 17.8
elderly dependency ratio: 28.7
potential support ratio: 3.5 (2021 est.)
Median age
total: 45.6 years
male: 44.2 years
female: 46.5 years (2020 est.)
Population distribution
population fairly evenly distributed
Urbanization
urban population: 100% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.58% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population
7.685 million Hong Kong (2023)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.78 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.82 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
29.8 years (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 2.55 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 2.82 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 2.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2022 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 83.61 years
male: 80.91 years
female: 86.46 years (2022 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
66.7% (2017)
Drinking water source
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: NA
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: NA
total: 0% of population (2020)
Physicians density
2.04 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
Hospital bed density
4.9 beds/1,000 population (2020)
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban: 96.4% of population
rural: NA
total: 96.4% of population
unimproved: urban: 3.6% of population
rural: NA
total: 3.6% of population (2017)
Literacy
total population: NA
male: NA
female: NA
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 17 years
male: 17 years
female: 17 years (2021)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
total: 15.5%
male: 17.3%
female: 13.6% (2020 est.)
Environment
Environment - current issues
air and water pollution from rapid urbanization; urban waste pollution; industrial pollution
Air pollutants
carbon dioxide emissions: 43.64 megatons (2016 est.)
Climate
subtropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall
Land use
agricultural land: 5% (2018 est.)
arable land: 3.2% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.9% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 0.9% (2018 est.)
forest: 0% (2018 est.)
other: 95% (2018 est.)
Urbanization
urban population: 100% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.58% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Revenue from forest resources
forest revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)
country comparison to the world: 172Waste and recycling
municipal solid waste generated annually: 5,679,816 tons (2015 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 1,931,138 tons (2016 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 34% (2016 est.)
Government
Country name
conventional long form: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
conventional short form: Hong Kong
local long form: Heung Kong Takpit Hangching Ku (Eitel/Dyer-Ball)
local short form: Heung Kong (Eitel/Dyer-Ball)
abbreviation: HK
etymology: probably an imprecise phonetic rendering of the Cantonese name meaning "fragrant harbor"
Government type
presidential limited democracy; a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China
Dependency status
special administrative region of the People's Republic of China
Administrative divisions
none (special administrative region of the People's Republic of China)
Independence
none (special administrative region of China)
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
Constitution
history: several previous (governance documents while under British authority); latest drafted April 1988 to February 1989, approved March 1990, effective 1 July 1997 (Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China serves as the constitution); note - since 1990, China's National People's Congress has interpreted specific articles of the Basic Law
amendments: proposed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the People’s Republic of China State Council, or the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong; submittal of proposals to the NPC requires two-thirds majority vote by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, approval by two thirds of Hong Kong’s deputies to the NPC, and approval by the Hong Kong chief executive; final passage requires approval by the NPC
Legal system
mixed legal system of common law based on the English model and Chinese customary law (in matters of family and land tenure); PRC imposition of National Security Law incorporates elements of Chinese civil law
Citizenship
see China
Suffrage
18 years of age in direct elections for 20 of the 90 Legislative Council seats and all of the seats in 18 district councils; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past 7 years; note - in indirect elections, suffrage is limited to about 220,000 members of functional constituencies for the other 70 legislature seats and a 1,500-member election committee for the chief executive drawn from broad sectoral groupings, central government bodies, municipal organizations, and elected Hong Kong officials
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)
cabinet: Executive Council or ExCo appointed by the chief executive
elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by National People's Congress for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 17 March 2018 (next to be held in March 2023); chief executive indirectly elected by the Election Committee and appointed by the PRC Government for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 8 May 2022 (next to be held in 2027)
election results: 2022: John LEE was the only candidate and won with over 99% of the vote by the Election Committee
2017: Election Committee vote - Carrie LAM (non-partisan) 777, John TSANG (non-partisan) 365, WOO Kwok-hing (non-partisan) 21, 23 ballots rejected (1,186 votes cast)
note: electoral changes that Beijing imposed in March 2021 expanded the Election Committee to 1,500 members
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
elections: last held on 19 Dec 2021 (next scheduled for 2025)
election results:
percent of vote by bloc: pro-Beijing 93%, non-establishment 7%; seats by block/party - pro-Beijing 89 (DAB 19, FTU 8, BPA 7, NPP 5, Liberal Party 4, FEW 2, FLU 2, other 46), non-establishment 1 (Third Side); composition - men 73, women 17, percent of women 18.9%; voter turnout 30.2%; note - Hong Kong's leading pro-democracy political parties boycotted the 2021 election
Judicial branch
highest court(s): Court of Final Appeal (consists of the chief justice, 3 permanent judges, and 20 non-permanent judges); note - a sitting bench consists of the chief justice, 3 permanent judges, and 1 non-permanent judge
judge selection and term of office: all judges appointed by the Hong Kong Chief Executive upon the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission, an independent body consisting of the Secretary for Justice, other judges, and judicial and legal professionals; permanent judges serve until normal retirement at age 65, but term can be extended; non-permanent judges appointed for renewable 3-year terms without age limit
subordinate courts: High Court (consists of the Court of Appeal and Court of First Instance); District Courts (includes Family and Land Courts); magistrates' courts; specialized tribunals
Political parties and leaders
parties:
Bauhinia Party or BP [WONG Chau-chi and LI Shan]
Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong or BPA [LO Wai-kwok]
Civic Party [vacant]
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong or DAB [Starry LEE Wai-king]
Democratic Party [LO Kin-hei]
Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood of ADPL [Bruce LIU]
Labor Party [Steven KWOK Wing-kin; arrested in 2020]
League of Social Democrats or LSD [CHAN Po-ying]
Liberal Party or LP [led by Tommy CHEUNG; chaired by Peter SHIU]
Neighborhood and Workers Service Center or NWSC [LEUNG Yui-chung]
New People's Party or NPP [Regina IP]
People Power or PP [LEUNG Ka-shing]
Third Side [TIK Chi-yeun]
other:
Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions or HKFTU [labor and political group presided over by NG Chau-pei and chaired by WONG Kwok]
Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers or HKFEW [WONG Kwan-yu]
Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions or HKFLU [represented by POON Siu-Ping]
Roundtable [Michael TIEN Puk-sun]
Professional Power [Christine FONG Kwok Shan]
Kowloon West New Dynamic or KWND [Priscilla LEUNG]
New Prospect for Hong Kong [Gary ZHANG Xinyu]
New Century Forum [MA Fung-kwak]
Path of Democracy [Ronny TONG] (think tank)
note(s) - pro-democracy - Civic Party, Democratic Party, Labor Party, LSD, PP, Professional Commons; pro-Beijing - DAB, FTU, Liberal Party, NPP, BPA, BP; non-establishment - Third Side, Path of Democracy; there is no political party ordinance, so there are no registered political parties; politically active groups register as societies or companies
by the end of 2021, the leading pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong had been effectively removed from the political arena under the provisions of Beijing's 2021 electoral changes or via charges under the 2020 national security law; in addition, dozens of pro-democracy organizations, including political parties, unions, churches, civil rights groups, and media organizations have disbanded or closed
International organization participation
ADB, APEC, BIS, FATF, ICC (national committees), IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITUC (NGOs), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: none (Special Administrative Region of China); Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) carries out normal liaison activities and communication with the US Government and other US entities; Eddie MAK, JP (since 3 July 2018) is the Hong Kong Commissioner to the US Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; address: 1520 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036; telephone: [1] (202) 331-8947; FAX: [1] (202) 331-8958; hketo@hketowashington.gov.hk
HKETO offices: New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Consul General Hanscom SMITH (since July 2019); note - also accredited to Macau
embassy: 26 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong
mailing address: 8000 Hong Kong Place, Washington DC 20521-8000
telephone: [852] 2523-9011
FAX: [852] 2845-1598
email address and website:
acshk@state.gov
https://hk.usconsulate.gov/
Flag description
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
National symbol(s)
orchid tree flower; national colors: red, white
National anthem
note: as a Special Administrative Region of China, "Yiyongjun Jinxingqu" is the official anthem (see China)
Economy
Economic overview
Hong Kong has a free market economy, highly dependent on international trade and finance - the value of goods and services trade, including the sizable share of reexports, is about four times GDP. Hong Kong has no tariffs on imported goods, and it levies excise duties on only four commodities, whether imported or produced locally: hard alcohol, tobacco, oil, and methyl alcohol. There are no quotas or dumping laws. Hong Kong continues to link its currency closely to the US dollar, maintaining an arrangement established in 1983.
Excess liquidity, low interest rates and a tight housing supply have caused Hong Kong property prices to rise rapidly. The lower and middle-income segments of the population increasingly find housing unaffordable.
Hong Kong's open economy has left it exposed to the global economic situation. Its continued reliance on foreign trade and investment makes it vulnerable to renewed global financial market volatility or a slowdown in the global economy.
Mainland China has long been Hong Kong's largest trading partner, accounting for about half of Hong Kong's total trade by value. Hong Kong's natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. As a result of China's easing of travel restrictions, the number of mainland tourists to the territory surged from 4.5 million in 2001 to 47.3 million in 2014, outnumbering visitors from all other countries combined. After peaking in 2014, overall tourist arrivals dropped 2.5% in 2015 and 4.5% in 2016. The tourism sector rebounded in 2017, with visitor arrivals rising 3.2% to 58.47 million. Travelers from Mainland China totaled 44.45 million, accounting for 76% of the total.
The Hong Kong Government is promoting the Special Administrative Region (SAR) as the preferred business hub for renminbi (RMB) internationalization. Hong Kong residents are allowed to establish RMB-denominated savings accounts, RMB-denominated corporate and Chinese government bonds have been issued in Hong Kong, RMB trade settlement is allowed, and investment schemes such as the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) Program was first launched in Hong Kong. Offshore RMB activities experienced a setback, however, after the People’s Bank of China changed the way it set the central parity rate in August 2015. RMB deposits in Hong Kong fell from 1.0 trillion RMB at the end of 2014 to 559 billion RMB at the end of 2017, while RMB trade settlement handled by banks in Hong Kong also shrank from 6.8 trillion RMB in 2015 to 3.9 trillion RMB in 2017.
Hong Kong has also established itself as the premier stock market for Chinese firms seeking to list abroad. In 2015, mainland Chinese companies constituted about 50% of the firms listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and accounted for about 66% of the exchange's market capitalization.
During the past decade, as Hong Kong's manufacturing industry moved to the mainland, its service industry has grown rapidly. In 2014, Hong Kong and China signed a new agreement on achieving basic liberalization of trade in services in Guangdong Province under the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), adopted in 2003 to forge closer ties between Hong Kong and the mainland. The new measures, which took effect in March 2015, cover a negative list and a most-favored treatment provision. On the basis of the Guangdong Agreement, the Agreement on Trade in Services signed in November 2015 further enhanced liberalization, including extending the implementation of the majority of Guangdong pilot liberalization measures to the whole Mainland, reducing the restrictive measures in the negative list, and adding measures in the positive lists for cross-border services as well as cultural and telecommunications services. In June 2017, the Investment Agreement and the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation (Ecotech Agreement) were signed under the framework of CEPA.
Hong Kong’s economic integration with the mainland continues to be most evident in the banking and finance sector. Initiatives like the Hong Kong-Shanghai Stock Connect, the Hong Kong- Shenzhen Stock Connect the Mutual Recognition of Funds, and the Bond Connect scheme are all important steps towards opening up the Mainland’s capital markets and have reinforced Hong Kong’s role as China’s leading offshore RMB market. Additional connect schemes such as ETF Connect (for exchange-traded fund products) are also under exploration by Hong Kong authorities. In 2017, Chief Executive Carrie LAM announced plans to increase government spending on research and development, education, and technological innovation with the aim of spurring continued economic growth through greater sector diversification.
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$420.13 billion (2020 est.)
$447.34 billion (2019 est.)
$454.98 billion (2018 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
Real GDP growth rate
-1.25% (2019 est.)
2.86% (2018 est.)
3.8% (2017 est.)
Real GDP per capita
$56,200 (2020 est.)
$59,600 (2019 est.)
$61,100 (2018 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
GDP (official exchange rate)
$365.753 billion (2019 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
2.8% (2019 est.)
2.4% (2018 est.)
1.4% (2017 est.)
Credit ratings
Fitch rating: AA- (2020)
Moody's rating: Aa3 (2020)
Standard & Poors rating: AA+ (2017)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
GDP - composition, by sector of origin
agriculture: 0.1% (2017 est.)
industry: 7.6% (2017 est.)
services: 92.3% (2017 est.)
GDP - composition, by end use
household consumption: 67% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 9.9% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 21.8% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 0.4% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 188% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -187.1% (2017 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
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture: 3.8% (2013 est.)
industry: 2% (2016 est.)
services: 54.5% (2016 est.)
industry and services: 12.5% (2013 est.)
agriculture/fishing/forestry/mining: 10.1% (2013)
manufacturing: 17.1% (2013 est.)
note: above data exclude public sector
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
total: 15.5%
male: 17.3%
female: 13.6% (2020 est.)
Population below poverty line
19.9% (2016 est.)
Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income
53.9 (2016)
53.7 (2011 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: 1.8% NA
highest 10%: 38.1% (2016) NA
Budget
revenues: 79.34 billion (2017 est.)
expenditures: 61.64 billion (2017 est.)
Fiscal year
1 April - 31 March
Current account balance
$22.469 billion (2019 est.)
$13.516 billion (2018 est.)
Exports
$615.88 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$649.02 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$681.28 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Exports - partners
China 23%, India 14%, Netherlands 6%, United Kingdom 5% (2019)
Exports - commodities
gold, broadcasting equipment, integrated circuits, diamonds, telephones (2019)
Imports
$609.13 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$642.8 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$682.05 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
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)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$431.4 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$386.2 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
Debt - external
$1,648,409,000,000 (2019 est.)
$1,670,919,000,000 (2018 est.)
Exchange rates
Hong Kong dollars (HKD) per US dollar -
7.75225 (2020 est.)
7.8285 (2019 est.)
7.8133 (2018 est.)
7.752 (2014 est.)
7.754 (2013 est.)
Energy
Electricity access
electrification - total population: 100% (2020)
Electricity
installed generating capacity: 14.168 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 44,183,900,000 kWh (2020 est.)
exports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 12.7 billion kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 1.622 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Electricity generation sources
fossil fuels: 99.6% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 0.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Coal
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 5.485 million metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 5.485 million metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
Petroleum
total petroleum production: 100 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 404,600 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)
Natural gas
production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
consumption: 4,913,021,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
imports: 4,913,021,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions
92.493 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 23.557 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 62.451 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 6.484 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
Energy consumption per capita
172.009 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
country comparison to the world: 27Communications
Telephones - fixed lines
total subscriptions: 3,900,599 (2020 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 52 (2020 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular
total subscriptions: 21,865,215 (2020 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 292 (2020 est.)
Telecommunication systems
general assessment: Hong Kong’s telecommunications sector continues to stay near the top of world rankings for the industry; it has kept its #1 spot in the Asian region in terms of the maturity of its telecom market – a reflection of the high penetration rates across mobile, mobile broadband, and fixed broadband; even fixed-line teledensity in Hong Kong is impressive at over 50%, although it too has started a gradual decline in keeping with most other telecom markets around the world, as consumers slowly transition over to the mobile platform for all of their communication needs (2022)
domestic: microwave radio relay links and extensive fiber-optic network; fixed-line is over 52 per 100 and mobile-cellular is nearly 292 subscriptions per 100 (2020)
international: country code - 852; landing points for the AAE-1, AAG, APCN-2, APG, ASE, FEA, FNAL, RNAL, H2HE, SeaMeWe-3, SJC and TGN-IA submarine cables that provide connections to Asia, US, Australia, the Middle East, and Europe; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean); coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China (2022)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services
Broadcast media
34 commercial terrestrial TV networks each with multiple stations; multi-channel satellite and cable TV systems available; 3 licensed broadcasters of terrestrial radio, one of which is government funded, operate about 12 radio stations; note - 4 digital radio broadcasters operated in Hong Kong from 2010 to 2017, but all digital radio services were terminated in September 2017 due to weak market demand (2019)
Internet users
total: 6,883,256 (2020 est.)
percent of population: 92% (2020 est.)
Broadband - fixed subscriptions
total: 2,885,586 (2020 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 39 (2020 est.)
Transportation
National air transport system
number of registered air carriers: 12 (2020) (registered in China)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 275 (registered in China)
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 47,101,822 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 12,676,720,000 (2018) mt-km
Airports - with paved runways
total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2021)
Heliports
9 (2021)
Merchant marine
total: 2,718
by type: bulk carrier 1,158, container ship 558, general cargo 184, oil tanker 388, other 430 (2021)
Ports and terminals
major seaport(s): Hong Kong
container port(s) (TEUs): Hong Kong (18,361,000) (2019)
Military and Security
Military and security forces
no regular indigenous military forces; Hong Kong Police Force (specialized units include the Police Counterterrorism Response Unit, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau, the Special Duties Unit, the Airport Security Unit, and the VIP Protection Unit) (2022)
note: the Hong Kong garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes elements of the PLA Army, 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 Southern Theater Command
Military - note
defense is the responsibility of China
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international
Hong Kong plans to reduce its 2,800-hectare Frontier Closed Area (FCA) to 400 hectares by 2015; the FCA was established in 1951 as a buffer zone between Hong Kong and mainland China to prevent illegal migration from and the smuggling of goods
Trafficking in persons
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List — Hong Kong does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; Hong Kong is hiring and training 98 new employees within the immigration, customs, labor, and justice departments dedicated to trafficking issues; authorities screened more than 7,000 vulnerable individuals for trafficking; the labor department introduced a victim identification mechanism to its division offices; the government provided anti-trafficking training to various officials; the government did not investigate, prosecute, or convict any cases of labor trafficking, investigated fewer sex trafficking cases, and did not provide victims any government-funded services; the government continued to penalize victims for unlawful acts traffickers compelled them to commit; no legislation was enacted to fully criminalize all forms of trafficking (2020)
trafficking profile: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Hong Kong, and traffickers also exploit victims from Hong Kong abroad; traffickers exploit women from Eastern Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia in sex trafficking; some women in Hong Kong – often with the assistance of their families – deceive Indian and Pakistani men into arranged marriages involving forced domestic service, bonded labor in construction and other physically demanding industries, and other forms of abuse via exploitative contracts; drug trafficking syndicates coerced South American women to carry drugs into Hong Kong; employment agencies hired foreign domestic workers under false pretenses and forced them into commercial sex, sometimes through debt-based coercion
Illicit drugs
modern banking system provides conduit for money laundering; groups involved in money laundering range from local street organizations to sophisticated international syndicates involved in assorted criminal activities, including drug trafficking; major source of precursor chemicals used in the production of illicit narcotics