IFES Election Guide | Country Profile: Hong Kong

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

7,490,776
Population (as of Feb. 8, 2019)

4,138,992
Registered Voters (as of Sept. 25, 2025)

48.29%
Average Turnout

8
Elections in our database

V-Dem* Score: 0.169
Regimes of the World Classification: Closed Autocracy
*Varieties of Democracy Electoral Democracy Index (2024)

CEDAW Status: N/A

SIGI* Score: 25.9
Level of Discrimination: Low
*Social Institutions and Gender Index (2023)

CRPD Status: N/A

HDI* Score: 0.955
Category: Very High
*UNDP Human Development Index (2023)

Name	Official Name	Type
Hong Kong Legislative Council		Assembly

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: President of China XI Jinping
Head of Government: Chief Executive Carrie LAM
Assembly: Hong Kong has a unicameral Legislative Council with 70 seats.

Description of electoral system:

The President of China is elected by indirect vote to serve a 5-year term. *
The Chief Executive is indirectly elected by an electoral college.
In the Legislative Council (), 35 members are elected by plurality vote to serve 4-year terms and 35 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.***

* The President of China is elected by indirect vote by an 800-member election committee to serve a 5-year term.

*** Hong Kong separates its tiers into what it calls Functional Constituencies (FCs) and Geographical Constituencies (GCs). All but two of the Functional Constituencies districts have a district magnitude of one. These are the FCs of Labour (3 seats) and District Council (second) with 5 seats. Rules vary for each functional constituency. 24 out of the 29 FCs elect one member through plurality vote in a single member district. Four FCs (Heung Yee Kuk, Agriculture and Fisheries, Insurance, and Transport) elect one MP through Alternative Vote. The District Council (second) FC uses closed-list PR to elect 4 MPs. Party list seats are allocated using the Hare quota.

Elections

2025-12-07 | Status: Confirmed
Hong Kong Legislative Council
Votes -
Registered 4,138,992
Turnout -

2021-09-05 | Status: Held
Hong Kong Legislative Council
Votes 1,350,680
Registered 4,472,863
Turnout 30.2

2016-09-04 | Status: Held
Hong Kong Legislative Council
Votes 2,202,283
Registered 3,779,085
Turnout 58.28

2012-09-09 | Status: Held
Hong Kong Legislative Council
Votes 1,815,448
Registered 3,474,542
Turnout 52.25

2008-09-07 | Status: Held
Hong Kong Legislative Council
Votes 1,524,249
Registered 3,372,007
Turnout 45.2

2004-09-12 | Status: Held
Hong Kong Legislative Council
Votes 1,784,406
Registered 3,207,227
Turnout 55.64

2000-09-10 | Status: Held
Hong Kong Legislative Council
Votes 1,331,080
Registered 3,055,378
Turnout 43.57

1998-05-24 | Status: Held
Hong Kong Legislative Council
Votes 1,480,240
Registered 2,800,000
Turnout 52.87

Election For	Date	Status	Votes	Registered Voters	Turnout
Hong Kong Legislative Council	2025-12-07	Confirmed	-	4,138,992	-
Hong Kong Legislative Council	2021-09-05	Held	1,350,680	4,472,863	30.2
Hong Kong Legislative Council	2016-09-04	Held	2,202,283	3,779,085	58.28
Hong Kong Legislative Council	2012-09-09	Held	1,815,448	3,474,542	52.25
Hong Kong Legislative Council	2008-09-07	Held	1,524,249	3,372,007	45.2
Hong Kong Legislative Council	2004-09-12	Held	1,784,406	3,207,227	55.64
Hong Kong Legislative Council	2000-09-10	Held	1,331,080	3,055,378	43.57
Hong Kong Legislative Council	1998-05-24	Held	1,480,240	2,800,000	52.87

Voter Turnout

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