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NAVIGATION
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu
INTRODUCTION
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Background:
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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. |
GEOGRAPHY
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Location:
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Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China |
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Geographic coordinates:
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22 15 N, 114 10 E |
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Map references:
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Southeast Asia |
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Area:
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total: 1,092 sq km
water: 50 sq km land: 1,042 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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six times the size of Washington, DC |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 30 km
border countries: China 30 km |
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Coastline:
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733 km |
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 3 NM |
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Climate:
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tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall |
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Terrain:
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hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m |
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Natural resources:
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outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar |
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Land use:
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arable land: 5.05%
other: 93.94% (1998 est.) permanent crops: 1.01% |
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Irrigated land:
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20 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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occasional typhoons |
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Environment - current issues:
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air and water pollution from rapid urbanization |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate member) |
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Geography - note:
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more than 200 islands |
PEOPLE
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Population:
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7,303,334 (July 2002 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 17.5% (male 679,311; female 599,811)
15-64 years: 71.6% (male 2,587,509; female 2,641,418) 65 years and over: 10.9% (male 364,864; female 430,421) (2002 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.26% (2002 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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10.92 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Death rate:
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6.11 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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7.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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5.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 79.8 years
female: 82.69 years (2002 est.) male: 77.1 years |
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Total fertility rate:
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1.3 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.06% (1999 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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2,500 (1999 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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less than 100 (1999 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese |
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Ethnic groups:
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Chinese 95%, other 5% |
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Religions:
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eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10% |
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Languages:
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Chinese (Cantonese), English; both are official |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 92.2% male: 96% female: 88.2% (1996 est.) |