Country name:
conventional long form: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
conventional short form: Hong Kong
local short form: Xianggang
local long form: Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu
abbreviation: HK

Dependency status:
special administrative region of China

Government type:
limited democracy

Administrative divisions:
none (special administrative region of China )

Independence :
none (special administrative region of China )

National holiday:
National Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China ), 1 October (1949); note - 1 July 1997 is celebrated as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day

Constitution:
Basic Law approved in March 1990 by China 's National People's Congress is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution"

Legal system:
based on English common law

Suffrage:
direct election 18 years of age; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years; indirect election limited to about 100,000 members of functional constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies