Fact · government · 1997-07-01
Constitutional status
憲制地位
Figure and reference date
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China
中華人民共和國香港特別行政區
Notes and definition
No English note has been written for this figure yet. The value and its source are registered, but the compilers have not yet set out what the figure covers in English. Do not treat the absence of a note as “no caveat”: read the official document linked above, or the Chinese page (which may carry a note).
Other figures in this group (government)
Figures in the same group are not necessarily additive — check the basis note above first. Government.
| Item / 項目 | Figure / 數字 | As of / 時點 | Source / 來源 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legislative Council seats 立法會議席 | 90 seats (40 Election Committee, 30 functional constituencies, 20 geographical constituencies) 90 席（選舉委員會 40、功能界別 30、分區直選 20） The Eighth Legislative Council runs from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2029. | 2026-01-01 | Government Structure |
| Number of districts 行政區數目 | 18 districts 18 個行政區 Districts divide population and specified statistics in the Census; each has a District Council and a District Officer. | 2026-07 | Population and Household Statistics Analysed by District Council District 2025 |
| Hong Kong regional flag and emblem 香港區旗區徽 | Flag: red with Bauhinia flower; Emblem: circular Bauhinia design 區旗：紅底紫荊花旗；區徽：圓形紫荊花 The HKSAR regional flag is red with a white Bauhinia flower in the centre; the Bauhinia is a symbol of Hong Kong. The regional emblem also features the Bauhinia on a red circular background with the inscription “Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China”. | 2026-10-13 | Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau: National flag, emblem, anthem and regional flag/emblem |
| National anthem of Hong Kong 香港國歌 | "March of the Volunteers" 《義勇軍進行曲》 The national anthem of the HKSAR is "March of the Volunteers", the national anthem of the People's Republic of China. The National Anthem Ordinance (Cap. 622) requires the anthem to be played on specified occasions and criminalises insulting the anthem. | 2026-10-13 | Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau: National flag, emblem, anthem and regional flag/emblem |
Other figures from the same official source
These figures come from the same registered document: “Hong Kong Fact Sheet” (GovHK). Being in one document does not make them additive.
| Item / 項目 | Figure / 數字 | As of / 時點 | Source / 來源 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population density 人口密度 | 6,870 persons per km² 每平方公里 6 870 人 As at mid-2025. Census and Statistics Department also publishes density by Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories and Islands. | 2025-06 | Hong Kong Fact Sheet |
| Philippine nationals present in Hong Kong 身在香港的菲律賓國籍人士 | 195,574 195 574 人 Immigration Department movement count for one day, not the stock of foreign residents with a right of abode, and not additive with census ethnicity figures. | 2025-12 | Hong Kong Fact Sheet |
| Indonesian nationals present in Hong Kong 身在香港的印度尼西亞國籍人士 | 182,215 182 215 人 Immigration Department movement count for one day, not the stock of foreign residents with a right of abode, and not additive with census ethnicity figures. | 2025-12 | Hong Kong Fact Sheet |
| Indian nationals present in Hong Kong 身在香港的印度國籍人士 | 39,587 39 587 人 Immigration Department movement count for one day, not the stock of foreign residents with a right of abode, and not additive with census ethnicity figures. | 2025-12 | Hong Kong Fact Sheet |
| Share of population who are Chinese 華人佔人口比例 | 91.6% 91.6% 2021 Population Census. | 2021 | Hong Kong Fact Sheet |
| Crude birth rate臨時 粗出生率 | 4.1 per 1,000 population 每千名人口 4.1 人 Provisional figure. | 2025 | Hong Kong Fact Sheet |
| Number of islands 島嶼數目 | 261 islands of 500 m² or more, excluding Hong Kong Island and Lantau Island 261 個（面積 500 平方米或以上，不包括香港島及大嶼山） | 2026-07 | Hong Kong Fact Sheet |
| Country parks and special areas 郊野公園及特別地區 | About 40% of land 約佔土地 40% | 2026-07 | Hong Kong Fact Sheet |
15 more figures come from the same document; see Government.
Verified questions that cite this figure
No. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China, not a country — but the Basic Law gives it its own currency, customs territory, legal system and immigration regime, so the “special” is substantive.
How is Hong Kong different from mainland China?
Same sovereignty, different systems. Hong Kong keeps the common law, its own currency, a separate customs territory and its own immigration regime — the operational meaning of “one country, two systems”.
What does SAR mean, and what kind of “region” is Hong Kong?
SAR stands for Special Administrative Region. Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China — a local administrative region directly under the Central People’s Government.
How is the Chief Executive chosen?
The Chief Executive is returned by the Election Committee under the procedure in Annex I of the Basic Law, and is then appointed by the Central People’s Government — the local election is only half of the process.
Is there such a thing as Hong Kong nationality?
No. The nationality of Hong Kong residents is Chinese — Hong Kong is not a source of nationality. The HKSAR passport is a travel document, not a nationality.
What time zone is Hong Kong in — GMT+8 or UTC+8?
Hong Kong Time (HKT) is UTC+8, eight hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. Hong Kong does not observe daylight saving time, so it shares the same clock year-round with Beijing, Shanghai, Manila and Singapore.
How is Hong Kong governed? How are the executive, legislature and judiciary structured?
The HKSAR’s political structure follows the Basic Law: the Chief Executive is the head of the executive and leads the HKSAR Government; the Legislative Council enacts laws, approves public expenditure and monitors the administration; courts at all levels exercise judicial power independently. The three branches separate powers and check one another.
How many grades and ranks do civil servants have, and which authority issues the Master Pay Scale?
Civil-service grades and pay are administered by the Civil Service Bureau, which issues the Master Pay Scale and related pay scales each year and sets out the entry requirements and establishment of each grade. The government also publishes the total number of civil servants each year.
Live politics, party dynamics, legislative debates and policy controversies involve competing viewpoints and real-time change without unified official hard data. The site records only government-press-release headlines and gazetted/LegCo official texts, so this area is left blank.
Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, on the South China coast, comprising Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories (with outlying islands), covering about 1,115 km² with some 7.51 million people.
Since 1 July 1997 Hong Kong has been the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. Sovereignty rests with China, but under the Basic Law it enjoys a high degree of autonomy, an independent judiciary and the common law.
What does "one country, two systems" mean for Hong Kong?
"One country, two systems" is the Chinese government's basic policy for Hong Kong: Hong Kong is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China, which practices socialism, but Hong Kong maintains its previous capitalist system and way of life unchanged for 50 years.
（已核對問題頁目前只有中文版；上面嘅英文標題同答案本身係資料檔嘅官方英文欄位。）
How to cite this figure
Hong Kong Story, “Constitutional status”, https://hongkongstory.org/en/facts/gov-status, data as at 1997-07-01 (retrieved ＿).
中文：香港紀事館，〈憲制地位〉，https://hongkongstory.org/facts/gov-status，資料時點 1997-07-01（查閱日期 ＿）。
Machine-readable: /api/v1/facts.json (id = gov-status) · OpenAPI 3.1 ·/llms.txt
Registered source
GovHK
Official document dated 2026-07; last checked by this site 2026-09-05.
This site is a secondary compilation: the official text prevails. If the figure above differs from the official document, the official document is correct.