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Hong Kong

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Satellite Image of Hong Kong

The territory’s 2,755 km2 (1,064 sq mi) area consists of Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula, the New Territories, Lantau Island, and over 200 other islands. Of the total area, 1,073 km2 (414 sq mi) is land and 35 km2 (14 sq mi) is water. The territory’s highest point is Tai Mo Shan, 957 metres (3,140 ft) above sea level. Urban development is concentrated on the Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong Island, and in new towns throughout the New Territories. Much of this is built on reclaimed land, due to the lack of developable flat land; 70 km2 (27 sq mi) (six per cent of the total land or about 25 per cent of developed space in the territory) is reclaimed from the sea.

Undeveloped terrain is hilly to mountainous, with very little flat land, and consists mostly of grassland, woodland, shrubland, or farmland. About 40 per cent of the remaining land area are country parks and nature reserves. The territory has a diverse ecosystem; over 3,000 species of vascular plants occur in the region (300 of which are native to Hong Kong), and thousands of insect, avian, and marine species.

Economy:

Hong Kong has a capitalist mixed service economy, characterised by low taxation, minimal government market intervention, and an established international financial market. It is the world’s 35th-largest economy, with a nominal GDP of approximately US$373 billion. Although Hong Kong’s economy has ranked at the top of the Heritage Foundation’s economic freedom index since 1995, the territory has a relatively high level of income disparity. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is the seventh-largest in the world, with a market capitalization of HK$30.4 trillion (US$3.87 trillion) as of December 2018.

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Hong Kong Stock Exchange

Hong Kong is the tenth-largest trading entity in exports and imports (2017), trading more goods in value than its gross domestic product. Over half of its cargo throughput consists of trans-shipments (goods travelling through Hong Kong). Products from mainland China account for about 40 per cent of that traffic. The city’s location allowed it to establish a transportation and logistics infrastructure which includes the world’s seventh-busiest container port and the busiest airport for international cargo. The territory’s largest export markets are mainland China and the United States.

It has little arable land and few natural resources, importing most of its food and raw materials. More than 90 per cent of Hong Kong’s food is imported, including nearly all its meat and rice. Agricultural activity is 0.1% of GDP, and consists of growing premium food and flower varieties.

Although the territory had one of Asia’s largest manufacturing economies during the latter half of the colonial era, Hong Kong’s economy is now dominated by the service sector. The sector generates 92.7 per cent of economic output, with the public sector accounting for about 10 per cent. Between 1961 and 1997 Hong Kong’s gross domestic product increased by a factor of 180, and per capita GDP increased by a factor of 87. The territory’s GDP relative to mainland China’s peaked at 27 per cent in 1993; it fell to less than three per cent in 2017, as the mainland developed and liberalized its economy. Economic and infrastructure integration with China has increased significantly since the 1978 start of market liberalization on the mainland. Since resumption of cross-boundary train service in 1979, many rail and road links have been improved and constructed (facilitating trade between regions). The Closer Partnership Economic Arrangement formalized a policy of free trade between the two areas, with each jurisdiction pledging to remove remaining obstacles to trade and cross-boundary investment. A similar economic partnership with Macau details the liberalization of trade between the special administrative regions. Chinese companies have expanded their economic presence in the territory since the transfer of sovereignty. Mainland firms represent over half of the Hang Seng Index value, up from five per cent in 1997.

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