The University of Hong Kong was established and incorporated by the University Ordinance 1911, replaced in 1958 by the University of Hong Kong Ordinance (Cap. 1053), and admitted its first students in 1912 to faculties of arts, engineering and medicine. It describes itself as Hong Kong’s oldest tertiary institution. HKU says that, as a publicly funded university, almost 60% of its recurrent income comes from the Hong Kong SAR Government.
Its principal governing bodies are the Court, Council, Senate and Boards of Faculty. HKU’s Quick Stats record 45,303 students on all programmes in 2025/26: 20,103 undergraduates, 20,366 taught postgraduates and 4,834 research postgraduates, across ten faculties from Architecture to Social Sciences. Business and Economics is the largest by enrolment, with 9,493 students. Professor Xiang Zhang is President and Vice-Chancellor.