7.760 (1987); note - linked to the US dollar at the rate of
about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$ since 1985
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

:Hong Kong Communications

Railroads:
35 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, government owned
Highways:
1,484 km total; 794 km paved, 306 km gravel, crushed stone, or earth
Ports:
Hong Kong
Merchant marine:
142 ships (1,000 GRT or over), totaling 5,035,223 GRT/8,598,134 DWT;
includes 1 passenger, 1 short-sea passenger, 15 cargo, 5 refrigerated cargo,
26 container, 13 petroleum tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 6 combination ore/oil,
5 liquefied gas, 68 bulk, 1 combination bulk; note - a flag of convenience
registry; ships registered in Hong Kong fly the UK flag, and an estimated
500 Hong Kong - owned ships are registered elsewhere
Civil air:
16 major transport aircraft
Airports:
2 total; 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over
3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; none with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services;
3,000,000 telephones; microwave transmission links and extensive optical
fiber transmission network; broadcast stations - 6 AM, 6 FM, 4 TV; 1 British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) repeater station and 1 British Forces
Broadcasting Service repeater station; 2,500,000 radio receivers; 1,312,000
TV sets (1,224,000 color TV sets); satellite earth stations - 1 Pacific
Ocean INTELSAT and 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT; coaxial cable to Guangzhou,
China; links to 5 international submarine cables providing access to ASEAN
member nations, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe

:Hong Kong Defense Forces

Branches:
Headquarters of British Forces, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Hong Kong
Auxiliary Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Police Force
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 1,732,360; 1,334,923 fit for military service; 46,285 reach
military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $300 million, 0.5% of GDP (1989 est.); this
represents one-fourth of the total cost of defending itself, the remainder
being paid by the UK
Note:
defense is the responsibility of the UK

:Howland Island Geography

Total area:
1.6 km2
Land area:
1.6 km2
Comparative area:
about 2.7 times the size of the Mall in Washington, DC
Land bound