Overview
The UK seized Hong Kong in 1841, and China formally ceded it the following year at the end of the First Opium War. The Kowloon Peninsula was added in 1860 at the end of the Second Opium War, and the UK obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898. Pursuant to a UK-China agreement in 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China as of 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic and strict political system would not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong would enjoy a "high degree of autonomy" in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years. After the handover, Hong Kong continued to enjoy success as an international financial center. However, growing Chinese political influence and dissatisfaction with the Hong Kong Government in the 2010s became central issues and led to considerable civil unrest, including large-scale pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019 after the HKSAR attempted to revise a local ordinance to allow extraditions to mainland China. In response to the protests, the governments of the HKSAR and China reduced the city's autonomy and placed new restrictions on the rights of Hong Kong residents, moves that were widely criticized as contravening obligations under the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Democratic lawmakers and political figures were arrested in a widespread crackdown, while others fled abroad. At the same time, dozens of civil society groups and several independent media outlets were closed or disbanded. In 2021, Beijing imposed a more restrictive electoral system, restructuring the Legislative Council (LegCo) and allowing only government-approved candidates to run for office. The changes ensured that virtually all seats in the 2021 LegCo election went to pro-establishment candidates and effectively ended political opposition to Beijing. In 2024, the LegCo passed a new national security law (Article 23 of the Basic Law) further expanding the Hong Kong Government's power to curb dissent.
Geography
- Location
- Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
- Total Area
- 1,108 sq km
- Climate
- subtropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall
- Terrain
- hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north
- Natural Resources
- outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar
- Coastline
- 733 km
- Land Borders
- 33 km
People & Society
- Population
- 7,305,556 (2025 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.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Chinese 91.6%, Filipino 2.7%, Indonesian 1.9%, other 3.7% (2021 est.)
- Life Expectancy
- 84 years (2024 est.)
- Urbanization
- 100% of total population (2023)
Government
- Government Type
- presidential limited democracy; a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China
- Independence
- none (special administrative region of China)
- Constitution
- several previous (governance documents while under British authority); latest drafted April 1988 to February 1989, approved March 1990, effective 1 July 1997 (Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China serves as the constitution)
- Legal System
- mixed system of common law based on the English model and Chinese customary law (in matters of family and land tenure); China's imposition of National Security Law incorporates elements of Chinese civil law
- Executive Branch
- President of China XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013)
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
- GDP (Official Rate)
- $407.107 billion (2024 est.)
- Major Industries
- trading and logistics, financial services, professional services, tourism, cultural and creative, clothing and textiles, shipping, electronics, toys, clocks and watches