Railroads:
785 km total; 508 km 1.067-meter gauge, 277 km 0.914-meter gauge
Highways:
8,950 km total; 1,700 km paved, 5,000 km otherwise improved, 2,250 km
unimproved earth
Inland waterways:
465 km navigable by small craft
Ports:
Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo
Merchant marine:
201 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 629,134 GRT/939,289 DWT; includes 2
passenger-cargo, 127 cargo, 17 refrigerated - cargo, - 7 - container, - 2 -
roll-on/roll-off cargo, 19 petroleum tanker, 2 chemical tanker, 3
specialized tanker, 1 vehicle carrier, 18 bulk, 2 passenger, 1 short-sea
passenger; note - a flag of convenience registry; Republics of the former
USSR own 10 ships under the Honduran flag
Civil air:
6 major transport aircraft
Airports:
171 total, 133 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways
over 3,659 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
improved, but still inadequate; connection into Central American Microwave
System; 35,100 telephones; broadcast stations - 176 AM, no FM, 28 TV, 7
shortwave; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
:Honduras Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, Public Security Forces (FUSEP)
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 1,148,376; 684,375 fit for military service; 57,028 reach
military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $43.4 million, about 1% of GDP (1992 est.)
:Hong Kong Geography
Total area:
1,040 km2
Land area:
990 km2
Comparative area:
slightly less than six times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
30 km; China 30 km
Coastline:
733 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive fishing zone:
3 nm
Territorial sea:
3 nm
Disputes:
none
Climate:
tropical 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
Land use:
arable land 7%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and
woodland 12%; other 79%; includes irrigated 3%
Environment:
more than 200 islands; occasional typhoons
:Hong Kong People
Population:
5,889,095 (July 1992), growth rate 0.6% (1992)
Birth rate:
13 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
5 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
- 2 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
7 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
76 years male, 83 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
1.4 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
adjective - Hong Kong
Ethnic divisions:
Chinese 98%, other 2%
Religions:
eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%
Languages:
Chinese (Cantonese), English
Literacy:
77% (male 90%, female 64%) age 15 and over having ever attended school
(1971)
Labor force:
2,800,000 (1990); manufacturing 28.5%, wholesale and retail trade,
restaurants, and hotels 27.9%, services 17.7%, financing, insurance, and
real estate 9.2%, transport and communications 4.5%, construction 2.5%,
other 9.7% (1989)
Organized labor:
16% of labor force (1990)
:Hong Kong Government
Long-form name:
none; abbreviated HK
Type:
dependent territory of the UK; scheduled to revert to China in 1997
Capital:
Victoria
Administrative divisions:
none (dependent territory of the UK)
Independence:
none (dependent territory of the UK); the UK signed an agreement with China
on 19 December 1984 to return Hong Kong to China on 1 July 1997; in the
joint declaration, China promises to respect Hong Kong's existing social and
economic systems and lifestyle for 50 years after transition
Constitution:
unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice; new Basic Law
approved in March 1990 in preparation for 1997
Legal system:
based on English common law
National holiday:
Liberation Day, 29 August (1945)
Executive branch:
British monarch, governor, chief secretary of the Executive Council
Legislative branch:
Legislative Council
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
Head of Government:
Governor-designate Chris PATTEN (since July 1992); Chief Secretary Sir David
Robert FORD (since February 1987)
Suffrage:
direct election - universal at age 21 as a permanent resident living in the
territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years; indirect election - limited
to about 100,000 professionals of electoral college and functional
constituencies
Elections:
Legislative Council:
indirect elections last held 12 September 1991 and direct elections were
held 15 September 1991 (next to be held for the first time in September
1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total; 21
indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 18 directly elected, 18
appointed by governor, 3 ex officio members); indirect elections - number of
seats by functional constituency NA; direct elections - UDHK 12, Meeting
Point 3, ADPL 1, other 2
Communists:
5,000 (est.) cadres affiliated with Communist Party of China
Other political or pressure groups:
Federation of Trade Unions (pro-China), Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union
Council (pro-Taiwan), Confederation of Trade Unions (prodemocracy), Hong
Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Chinese General Chamber of Commerce
(pro-China), Federation of Hong Kong Industries, Chinese Manufacturers'
Association of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union, Hong Kong
Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China
Member of:
APEC, AsDB, CCC, ESCAP (associate), GATT, ICFTU, IMO (associate), IOC, ISO
(correspondent), WCL, WMO
:Hong Kong Government