Hong Kong
Country Profile

Hong Kong's dynamism is unforgettable. From the vantage point of Victoria Peak, overlooking the world's busiest deepwater port, you can see a city geared not only to making money but feeling good about it. At night, it's like looking down into a volcano. Despite its British colonial past, Hong Kong has always stuck to its roots and the culture beneath the glitz is pure Chinese. That didn't stop locals from feeling apprehensive about being re-united with the motherland when the British handed the colony back to China in 1997, but their unease has largely evaporated. Visitors often find it takes a few days in Hong Kong to get accustomed to the whirlwind pace. If you need some respite, check out the Outlying Islands for a change of tempo and scene.

Hong Kong is divided into four main areas - Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, the New Territories and the Outlying Islands. Kowloon and the New Territories are on a peninsula of the Chinese mainland, on the northern side of Victoria Harbour; Hong Kong Island is on the southern side of the harbour facing Kowloon; the Outlying Islands simply refers to any of the other 234 islands. The New Territories has a 20km (12mi) land border with China proper.

Economy
This city of just over six million inhabitants is the world's seventh largest trading entity. To ensure its continued prosperity, Hong Kong has moved with the times, supplementing its traditional clothing and toy exports with a diversified financial service industry. It remains, however, one of the world's largest exporters and the world's busiest container port.

It is a proverbial melting pot where Chinese from many regions mix with British, Americans, Indians, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, and people from every corner of the globe. The result is a sometimes chaotic and always colourful blend of cosmopolitan influences against a backdrop of traditional Chinese culture.

Hong Kong is one of the easiest destinations in the world to see and enjoy. Thanks to its compact size, superb transportation system, and the pervasiveness of the English language, it is easy for tourists to do as much as they want, whether their stay is short or long.

Factsheet
  • Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
  • Area: total area: 1,040 sq km; land area: 990 sq km; comparative area: six times the size of Washington, DC
  • Land boundries: 30 km
  • Coastline: 733 km
  • Maritime Claims: territorial sea: 3 nm
  • International disputes: none
  • Climate: tropical 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
  • Natural resources: outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar

  • Land use:

    • arable land: 7%

    • permanent crops: 1%

    • meadows and pastures: 1%

    • forest and woodland: 12%

    • other: 79%

  • Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989)
  • Environment: current issues: air and water pollution from rapid urbanization
  • Population: 6.6 million
  • People: 98% Chinese, 1.5% European
  • Province: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
  • Time Zone: GMT/UTC plus eight hours
  • Telephone Area Code: 852

 Geographic note: more than 200 islands