Hong Kong

World Book Index

Introduction

Background
The UK seized Hong Kong in 1841, and China formally ceded it the following year. Various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to a UK-China agreement in 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
total: 7,297,821 (2024 est.)

Ethnic groups
Chinese 91.6%, Filipino 2.7%, Indonesian 1.9%, other 3.7% (2021 est.)

Languages
Cantonese (official) 85.4%, English (official) 4.5%, Putonghua (official) 2.2%, other Chinese dialects 2.8%, other 2%, persons under 5 or mute 3.2% (2021 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
0.12% (2024 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-chiu (since 1 July 2022)

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: none (Special Administrative Region of China)

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Consul General Julie EADEH (since August 2025); note - also accredited to Macau

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)
$497.88 billion (2024 est.)
$485.541 billion (2023 est.)
$470.42 billion (2022 est.)

Real GDP per capita
$66,200 (2024 est.)
$64,400 (2023 est.)
$64,000 (2022 est.)

Exports
$739.915 billion (2024 est.)
$673.738 billion (2023 est.)
$697.583 billion (2022 est.)

Exports - partners
China 22%, Vietnam 12%, S. Korea 8%, Netherlands 5%, Switzerland 4% (2023)

Exports - commodities
gold, integrated circuits, gas turbines, broadcasting equipment, jewelry (2023)

Imports
$723.397 billion (2024 est.)
$671.492 billion (2023 est.)
$682.881 billion (2022 est.)

Imports - partners
China 40%, Taiwan 10%, Singapore 7%, Japan 5%, S. Korea 4% (2023)

Imports - commodities
integrated circuits, broadcasting equipment, gold, machine parts, jewelry (2023)

Human Development Index

The country's Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.955, ranking it 8th out of 193 countries tested. (more information)

World Happiness Report

The World Happiness Report ranked the country 106th out of 158 countries tested with a score of 4.969. (more information)