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Hong Kong

Hong Kong
General information
Common nameHong Kong
Local name中華人民共和國香港特別行政區
NameHong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China 
AnthemMarch of the Volunteers
《義勇軍進行曲》
Official languagesChinese, English 
Spoken languagesCantonese, English
DemonymHong Konger
Government
GovernmentQuasi-presidential autonomous region with limited suffrage
Chief ExecutiveDonald Tsang
Chief JusticeGeoffrey Ma
President of the
Legislative Council
Jasper Tsang
LegislatureLegislative Council
EstablishmentEstablishment
Treaty of Nanking29 August 1842
Japanese occupation25 December 1941 �
15 August 1945
Handover to China1 July 1997
Geography
Total Area426 sq mi (1103.3 km2) (179th)
Water %4.58 (50 km2; 19 mi2)
Demography
Population census7061200 (2010)
Density (pop.)6398.3/km2 (4th) (16576/sq mi)
Economy
GDP PPP$326 billion (2010)
GDP (PPP) per capita$45,736
GDP (nominal)$225 billion (2010)
GDP (nominal) per capita$31,590
Other information
Gini43.4 (2007)
HDI(+) 0.862 (2010) (very high) (21st)
CurrencyHong Kong dollar (HKD)
Time zoneHKT (UTC+8)
Date formatsyyyy年m月d日 (Chinese)
dd-mm-yyyy (English)
Drives on theleft
Internet TLD.hk and .香港
Calling code+852

Hong Kong

PicHong Kong in Chinese 2.svg
Picsize120px
C香港
LFragrant harbour
I-yuehœ̂ːŋkɔ̌ːŋ
JHoeng1gong2
YHēunggóng
PXiānggǎng
WHsiang1-kang3
Mi-cmnɕjáŋkàŋ
Wuushiankaon
PojHiong-kang
HHiông-kóng
Showflagjyp
AltnameHong Kong Special Administrative Region
T2香港特別行政區 (or 香港特區)
S2香港特别行政区 (or 香港特区)
J2Hoeng1gong2 Dak6bit6 Hang4zing3 Keoi1
P2Xiānggǎng Tèbié Xíngzhèngqū
Wuu2shiankaon dehbih ghantsenchiu
Poj2Hiong-kang Te̍k-pia̍t Hêng-chèng-khu
H2Hiông-kóng Thi̍t-phe̍t Hàng-tsṳn-khî

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Hong Kong ( ) is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1104 km2 (426.3 sqmi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.

Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839 � 42). Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty. The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era. The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East meets West", and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England until reforms implemented in 2009.

Under the principle of "one country, two systems", Hong Kong has a different political system from mainland China. Hong Kong's independent judiciary functions under the common law framework. The Basic Law of Hong Kong, its constitutional document, which stipulates that Hong Kong shall have a "high degree of autonomy" in all matters except foreign relations and military defence, governs its political system. Although it has a burgeoning multi-party system, a small-circle electorate controls half of its legislature. An 800-person Election Committee selects the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, the head of government.

As one of the world's leading international financial centres, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade, and the currency, Hong Kong dollar, is the eighth most traded currency in the world. The lack of space caused demand for denser constructions, which developed the city to a centre for modern architecture and the world's most vertical city. The dense space also led to a highly developed transportation network with public transport travelling rate exceeding 90 percent, the highest in the world. Hong Kong has numerous high international rankings in various aspects. For instance, its economic freedom, financial and economic competitiveness, quality of life, corruption perception, Human Development Index, etc., are all ranked highly.


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