nment--current issues: air and water pollution from rapid
urbanization

Environment--international agreements:
party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA

Geography--note: more than 200 islands

People

Population: 6,847,125 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18% (male 644,982; female 598,188)
15-64 years: 71% (male 2,397,277; female 2,490,745)
65 years and over: 11% (male 323,949; female 391,984) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.9% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 12.9 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 5.96 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 12.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 5.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.91 years
male: 76.15 years
female: 81.85 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.39 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese

Ethnic groups: Chinese 95%, other 5%

Religions: eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%

Languages: Chinese (Cantonese), English

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 92.2%
male: 96%
female: 88.2% (1996 est.)

Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
conventional short form: Hong Kong
local long form: Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu
local short form: Xianggang
abbreviation: HK

Data code: HK

Dependency status: special administrative region of China

Government type: NA

Capital: Victoria

Administrative divisions: none (special administrative region of
China)

Independence: none (special administrative region of China)

National holiday: National Day, 1-2 October; note--1 July 1997 is
celebrated as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment
Day

Constitution: Basic Law approved in March 1990 by China's
National People's Congress is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution"

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: direct election 18 years of age; universal for
permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the
past seven years; indirect election limited to about