FIGURE 16.8 Seven proposed economic management regions for China based on the principle that each section of the rapidly developing coastal zone should ‘adopt’ the lagging Provinces behind. The population of each management region is shown in millions

The population of Hong Kong is almost entirely Chinese. Sixty per cent of the population have been born in the colony while 34 per cent are Chinese born. Demographically Hong Kong is similar to developed countries, with high life expectancy, low infant mortality and the lowest total fertility rate in the world, 1.2. The population of Hong Kong has grown from about 600,000 in 1930 to 3 million in 1960 and 6 million in the 1990s, a tenfold increase in sixty years. Since much of the land is mountainous, the pressure on space for commercial, industrial and residential development is acute. About fifty different airlines use Hong Kong airport, the site of which is precariously close to high-rise buildings. A new airport is under construction on an island away from the built-up area. Hong Kong also has an extensive subway system. Like Singapore, Hong Kong is a sophisticated modern city with a high standard of living albeit without the quality of life that a surrounding rural area would give.