About Hong Kong - Hong Kong

Hong Kong, described as a 'barren rock' over 150 years ago, has become a world-class financial, trading and business centre and, indeed, a great world city.

Hong Kong has no natural resources, except one of the finest deep-water ports in the world. A hardworking, adaptable and well-educated workforce of about 3.5 million, coupled with entrepreneurial flair, is the bedrock of Hong Kong's productivity and creativity.

Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China on July 1, 1997, after a century and a half of British administration. Under Hong Kong's constitutional document, the Basic Law, the existing economic, legal and social system will be maintained for 50 years. The SAR enjoys a high degree of autonomy except in defence and foreign affairs.

Location
Situated at the southeastern tip of China, Hong Kong is ideally positioned at the centre of rapidly developing East Asia. With a total area of 1 103 square kilometres, it covers Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon peninsula just opposite, and the New Territories the more rural section of Hong Kong, which also includes 262 outlying islands.

Population
Hong Kong's population was about 6.8 million at the end of 2003. The population

density is 6 300 people per square kilometre. Hong Kong has a large foreign population of about 523 880. The top three nationalities come from the Philippines (132 770), Indonesia (95 460) and the USA (31 330).

Language
Chinese and English are the official languages. English is widely used in the Government, the legal system and by the professional and business sectors. There is no shortage of well-educated competent bilingual or even trilingual professionals who speak English, Cantonese and Putonghua. These are vital staff for any enterprise trading in Hong Kong or doing business with the Mainland and Taiwan.

Climate
Hong Kong's climate is sub-tropical, tending towards the temperate for nearly half the year. Temperatures can drop below 10 degrees Celsius in winter and exceed 31 degrees Celsius in summer. About 90 per cent of the rainfall occurs between April and September.

Employment

Manpower is Hong Kong's most treasured asset. The Government aims to ensure that there is a dynamic, well-motivated, adaptable and continuously upgraded workforce contributing to the HKSAR's economic competitiveness.

Labour Market
At present, Hong Kong's labour force stands at some 3.5 million, of which 56 per cent are male and 44 per cent are female. The majority (85.2 per cent) of employed persons are engaged in the service sectors: 31.3 per cent in wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels; 11.2 per cent in transport, storage and communications; 15.1 per cent in financing, insurance, real estate and business services; and 27.6 per cent in community, social and personal services. Only 5.4 per cent work in the manufacturing sector.

Wages
In 2003, the average monthly wage rate for the supervisory, technical, clerical and miscellaneous non-production workers in the wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels sectors was $11,549 (US$1,481). The average daily wage was $321 (US$41.2) for the craftsmen and operative levels in the manufacturing sectors.

Education is the biggest public expenditure item. The education budget accounts for about one-fifth of the total

recurrent public expenditure. The Government gives financial assistance to ensure that no students are deprived of education for lack of financial means.

Nine Years Free Education
Hong Kong provides nine years of free and universal basic education. All students between the ages of six and 15 are entitled to free school places. All Secondary 3 students studying in publicly funded schools who have the ability and wish to progress are provided with subsidised Secondary 4 places or training places. Of the relevant age group, 48 per cent are enrolled in post-secondary education.

Information Technology in Education
To ensure young people can grow up with the vision and capability to face the challenges of the Information Age, the Government in 1998 issued a five-year strategy on information technology (IT) in education with four key components: to enhance students access to IT and the Internet; to provide training and support for all teachers; to use IT to support teaching in the school curriculum; and, to foster a community-wide culture which helps promote IT in education. Five years down the road, the strategy has brought about tremendous changes to the education scene in Hong Kong. In March 2004, a new strategy was formulated and released for public consultation for two months. Implementation of the new strategy is planned to start in the 2004/05 school year.

Higher Education
Hong Kong has 11 degree-awarding higher education institutions, seven of which are universities. The others are a teacher training institution, the Hong Kong Shue Yan College, the Open University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.