Hong Kong, with a population of about 7.01 million* in mid-2009, is a small but dynamic city which has earned an international reputation as a leading commercial and financial centre as well as a highly efficient entrepot. Almost from the outset 150 years ago, Hong Kong enjoyed a prosperous entrepot trade, thanks mainly to its world-class harbour strategically located on the main Far Eastern trade routes. Subsequent historical and political events led to the development of the manufacturing industry. Hong Kong has also seen a rapid expansion of its services sector in the past two decades, contributing up to 92 per cent of Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in recent years.
* Provisional figure.

Hong Kong is today a world-class financial, trading and business centre and, indeed, a great world city. Hong Kong has no natural resources, but it has one of the finest deep-water ports in the world. A hardworking, adaptable and well-educated workforce 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 systems will be maintained for 50 years. The SAR enjoys a high degree of autonomy except in defence and foreign affairs.