Hong Kong
Hong Kong 香港 | |||||||
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Special administrative region | |||||||
| Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Other official names
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Flag Emblem | |||||||
Location of Hong Kong within China | |||||||
| Sovereign state | China | ||||||
| British possession | 26 January 1841 | ||||||
| Treaty of Nanking | 29 August 1842 | ||||||
| Convention of Peking | 24 October 1860 | ||||||
| New Territories lease | 9 June 1898 | ||||||
| Imperial Japanese occupation | 25 December 1941 to 30 August 1945 | ||||||
| Re-designated as a British Dependent Territory | 1 January 1981 | ||||||
| Sino-British Joint Declaration | 19 December 1984 | ||||||
| Handover to China | 1 July 1997 | ||||||
| Administrative centre | Tamar | ||||||
| Largest district by population | Sha Tin | ||||||
| Official languages | |||||||
Regional and indigenous languages |
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Official scripts | Traditional Chinese[b] English alphabet | ||||||
| Ethnic groups (2021) | 91.6% Chinese 2.7% Filipino 1.9% Indonesian 0.8% White 0.6% Indian 0.4% Nepalese 2% other[6] | ||||||
| Demonym(s) |
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| Government | Devolved executive-led government within a unitary one-party state[7] | ||||||
• Chief Executive | John Lee | ||||||
• Chief Secretary | Eric Chan | ||||||
• Council President | Andrew Leung | ||||||
• Chief Justice | Andrew Cheung | ||||||
| Legislature | Legislative Council | ||||||
| National representation | |||||||
• National People's Congress | 36 deputies | ||||||
• Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference | 203 delegates[8] | ||||||
| Area | |||||||
• Total | 2,754.97[9] km2 (1,063.70 sq mi) (168th) | ||||||
• Water (%) | 59.70% (1,640.62 km2; 633.45 sq mi)[9] | ||||||
• Land | 1,114.35 km2 (430.25 sq mi)[9] | ||||||
| Highest elevation (Tai Mo Shan) | 957 m (3,140 ft) | ||||||
| Lowest elevation (South China Sea) | 0 m (0 ft) | ||||||
| Population | |||||||
• 2023 estimate | 7,498,100[10] | ||||||
• 2021 census | 7,413,070[11] | ||||||
• Density | 6,801[12]/km2 (17,614.5/sq mi) (4th) | ||||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2025 estimate | ||||||
• Total | $589.81 billion[13] (50th) | ||||||
• Per capita | $77,942[13] (17th) | ||||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2025 estimate | ||||||
• Total | $424 billion[13] (39th) | ||||||
• Per capita | $56,031[13] (18th) | ||||||
| Gini (2021) | 39.7[c][14] medium | ||||||
| HDI (2023) | 0.955[15] very high · 8th | ||||||
| Currency | Hong Kong dollar (HK$) (HKD) | ||||||
| Time zone | UTC+08:00 (HKT) | ||||||
| Date format | dd/mm/yyyy yyyy年mm月dd日 | ||||||
| Mains electricity | 220 V–50 Hz | ||||||
| Driving side | Left[d] | ||||||
| Calling code | +852 | ||||||
| ISO 3166 code |
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| Internet TLD |
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| Number plate prefixes | None for local vehicles, 粤Z for cross-boundary vehicles | ||||||
Hong Kong[e] is a special administrative region of China. Situated on China's southern coast just south of Shenzhen, it consists of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories. With 7.5 million residents in a 1,114-square-kilometre (430 sq mi) territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the world.
Hong Kong was established as a colony of the British Empire after the Qing dynasty ceded Hong Kong Island in 1841–1842 as a consequence of losing the First Opium War. The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and was further extended when the United Kingdom obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898. Hong Kong was occupied by Japan from 1941 to 1945 during World War II. The territory was handed over from the United Kingdom to China in 1997. Hong Kong maintains separate governing and economic systems from that of mainland China under the principle of one country, two systems.[f]
Originally a sparsely populated area of farming and fishing villages,[17][18] Hong Kong is now one of the world's most significant financial centres and commercial ports. Hong Kong is the world's third-ranked global financial centre behind New York City and London, ninth-largest exporter, and eighth-largest importer. Its currency, the Hong Kong dollar, is the ninth most traded currency in the world. Home to the second-highest number of billionaires of any city in the world, Hong Kong has the second largest number of ultra high-net-worth individuals.[19][20] The city has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, while severe income inequality still exists among the population. Hong Kong is the city with the most skyscrapers in the world, even though its housing is consistently in high demand.
Hong Kong is a highly developed territory and has a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.955, ranking eighth in the world and currently the only place in Asia to be in the top ten. The city has the highest life expectancy in the world, and a public transport usage exceeding 90 per cent.
- ^ Leung 2016.
- ^ Official Languages Ordinance.
- ^ Population By-Census 2021, pp. 31, 51–52
- ^ Legislative Council Disclaimer and Copyright Notice
- ^ Use of Chinese in Court Proceedings 2011
- ^ Population By-Census 2021, p. 46.
- ^ "China (People's Republic of) 1982 (rev. 2004)". Constitute project. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
- ^ Cheung 2017.
- ^ a b c "Survey and Mapping Office – Circulars and Publications". Survey and Mapping Office. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ "Mid-year population for 2023" (Press release). Census and Statistics Department. 15 August 2023. Archived from the original on 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ "Key statistics of the 2021 and 2011 Population Census" (PDF). census2021.gov.hk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
- ^ "Main Tables – 2021 Population Census". census2021.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d "IMF DataMapper: Hong Kong". International Monetary Fund. 2025. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
- ^ Household Income Distribution 2021, p. 5
- ^ "Human Development Report 2025" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 6 May 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 May 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ Technical Legislative Amendments on Traffic Arrangements for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge 2017
- ^ Carroll 2007, pp. 15–21.
- ^ Ren 2010, p. 221.
- ^ Kirschner, Kylie (10 September 2023). "The top 10 cities around the world with the most ultra-wealthy people". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ Frank, Robert (19 July 2024). "The ultra-wealthy just gained $49 trillion in wealth thanks to stocks". CNBC. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
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