Hong Kong: country facts, travel advice and health

App 1933: check bus fares on your phone while out and about.CitybusNWFB: routes and fares for Citybus services.eTaxi: book a taxi and pay by card in the app.HKTaxi: hail and pay for a taxi from your phone.Octopus for Tourists: top up an Octopus transit card with a Visa or Mastercard.HKSOS: police app for reaching help even where there is no mobile signal.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Cards or cash

Mostly cashMostly cards

Step 4 of 5: Cards are widely accepted, but cash is still handy in some places.Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Money in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Dollar · $ · HKD

If a card machine offers to bill you in your home currency, decline and pay in Hong Kong dollars.

Compare a few street money changers before swapping cash; shopping around can save about 10%.

Carry small notes for taxis: drivers only have to change notes up to $100.

For a cheaper taxi across the harbour, use a cross-harbour taxi stand, where only a one-way toll is added.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Collect Hong Kong Dollar in CointryOur sister app for coin and banknote collectors · cointry.appOpen

Public holidays in the next 12 months

Fri, 25 Dec 2026 · Christmas Day 聖誕節

Sat, 26 Dec 2026 · Boxing Day 聖誕節翌日

Fri, 1 Jan 2027 · New Year's Day 元旦新年

Sat, 6 Feb 2027 · Lunar New Year 農曆年初一

Mon, 8 Feb 2027 · Second day of Lunar New Year 農曆年初二

Tue, 9 Feb 2027 · Third day of Lunar New Year 農曆年初三

Fri, 26 Mar 2027 · Good Friday 耶穌受難節

Sat, 27 Mar 2027 · Holy Saturday 耶穌受難節翌日

Mon, 29 Mar 2027 · Easter Monday 復活節星期一

Mon, 5 Apr 2027 · Ching Ming Festival 清明節

Sat, 1 May 2027 · Labour Day 勞動節

Thu, 13 May 2027 · Buddha's Birthday 佛誕

Wed, 9 Jun 2027 · Dragon Boat Festival 端午節

Thu, 1 Jul 2027 · Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day 香港特別行政區成立紀念日

Thu, 16 Sept 2027 · Day following the Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋節翌日

Fri, 1 Oct 2027 · National Day 中華人民共和國國慶日

Fri, 8 Oct 2027 · Chung Yeung Festival 重陽節

Source: Nager.Date · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

02Free

Safety today

Germany, the US and the UK publish their travel advice openly. Here is what those that cover Hong Kong say, side by side, checked daily.

German Foreign Office says

No travel warning

Calm ●

Caution

Serious

Don’t go

Source: Auswärtiges Amt
Updated 13 Oct 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

U.S. Department of State says

Exercise increased caution

Calm

Caution ●

Serious

Don’t go

Level 2 of 4

Source: travel.state.gov
Updated 3 Sept 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

UK Foreign Office says

No advice against travel

Source: GOV.UK
Updated 1 Apr 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

Scams to know

Pressure to carry drugs

Never carry a bag or package for anyone else, however persuasive they are.

Source: GOV.UK · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Countrywise is a summary. The official page is authoritative.

03Free

Health

Hepatitis A is advised for travellers who have not had it, plus up-to-date routine vaccines.

Vaccinations

Hepatitis A is advised for travellers who have not had it, on top of keeping routine vaccines current.

Talk to a travel clinic 4–8 weeks before you go.

Source: CDC
Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

Summarised from the CDC’s Travelers’ Health pages. Using them does not mean the CDC endorses Countrywise.

04Travel layer

In the app: the travel layer

The travel layer

Read a country like someone who’s been there.

What’s different from home, and what’s the lawMust-see places, free entry and World Heritage sites20 words to remember, with pronunciationStrange and surprising factsThe anthem and national symbolsSaved for offline use

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Must-see · 1Victoria Peak

Summit views over Hong Kong Island, crowned by Peak Tower.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Strange & surprising · #1

Many buildings skip every floor number that contains a 4.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

National anthem: March of the Volunteers. The lyrics, translated, and the story are in the app. Source: Wikidata · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

05Free

Deep facts

Economy
GDP	≈ $427.3 billionSource: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Per person	≈ $56,983Source: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Top exports	gold, integrated circuits, gas turbines, broadcasting equipment, jewelry (2023)Source: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Population
Population	7.5 millionSource: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Median age	47.6 yearsSource: The World Factbook (archive) · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Life expectancy	84 yearsSource: The World Factbook (archive) · 2024 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Religions	Buddhist or Taoist 27.9%, Protestant 6.7%, Roman Catholic 5.3%, Muslim 4.2%, Hindu 1.4%, Sikh 0.2%, other or none 54.3% (2016 est.)Source: The World Factbook (archive) · 2016 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Geography
Area	1,108 km²Source: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Climate	subtropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fallSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Terrain	hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in northSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Government
Type of government	presidential limited democracy; a special administrative region of the People's Republic of ChinaSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Calling code	+852Source: libphonenumber · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

About the data

Written from the sources we link, and checked against them before each release. Countrywise summarises public sources. We are not an official source. For safety and entry rules, always follow the official page we link to.

From your foreign ministry when it publishes its advice openly (Germany, the US, the UK). Otherwise we show those three side by side. Checked daily, with the date next to every entry.

CDC · 24 Oct 2026 ↗GOV.UK · 24 Oct 2026 ↗IANA Time Zone Database · 23 Oct 2026 ↗libphonenumber · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Nager.Date · 23 Oct 2026 ↗The World Factbook (archive) · 23 Oct 2026 ↗U.S. Department of State · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Unicode CLDR · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Wikidata · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Wikivoyage · 24 Oct 2026 ↗World Bank · 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Flag artwork from flag-icons (MIT licence).