Demographics of Hong Kong

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Hong Kong, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with an overall density of some 6,300 people per square kilometre.^[1] At the same time, Hong Kong has one of the world’s lowest birth rates—1.11 per woman of child-bearing age as of 2012, far below the replacement rate of 2.1. It is estimated that 26.8% of the population will be aged 65 or more in 2033, up from 12.1% in 2005.

Ethnically, Hong Kong mainly consists of ethnic Chinese, making up approximately 92.6% of the population.^[2] Of these, many originate from various regions in Guangdong. There are also a number of descendants of immigrants from elsewhere in Mainland China and around the world after the end of World War II.

Terminology

People from Hong Kong generally refer to themselves, in Cantonese, as Hèung Góng Yàhn (Chinese: 香港人; Cantonese Yale: Hèung Góng Yàhn; literally: "Hong Kong people"); however, the term is not restricted to those of Chinese descent, owing to Hong Kong's roughly 150-year colonial history that saw the civil servants and traders of British, Indian, Russian and other ethnic groups stationed in Hong Kong.

In English, the term 'Hong Kongers' (or sometimes 'Hongkongers') is also used to refer to Hong Kong people, while the term 'Hongkongese' is sometimes used as an adjective to describe people or things related to Hong Kong.^[3][4]

Population density

Population graph of Hong Kong

The following census data is available for Hong Kong between the years 1841-2011. In 2011, Hong Kong had a population of just over 7 million, with a density of approximately 6,300 people per square kilometer. This makes Hong Kong the fourth most densely populated region in the world, after Macau, Monaco, and Singapore.^[1]

Population of Hong Kong by year

Year	Count	Source	Notes
1841	7,450	(census 1841?)[5]	Commodore James Bremer, commander-in-chief of the British forces in China, took formal possession of Hong Kong on 26 January 1841. The population figure is for Hong Kong Island only. The breakdown was: "In the Villages and hamlets: 4,360; In the Bazaar: 800; In the Boats: 2,000; Labourers from Kowloong: 300".[5]
1848	24,000	[6]	Hong Kong Island only
1851	33,000		Hong Kong Island only
1853	39,017	census 1853[7]	Hong Kong Island only
1855	72,000	[6]	Hong Kong Island only
1862	123,511	[5]	Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula only. Population breakdown: "European and American: 1,604; Chinese, etc: 121,907"[5] Kowloon Peninsula had a population of 800 in 1860, when it became part of Hong Kong.[5]
1863	124,850	[5]	Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula only Population breakdown: "European and American: 2,644; Chinese, etc: 123,207"[5]
1864	121,498	[5]	Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula only Population breakdown: "European and American: 1,963; Chinese, etc: 119,535"[5]
1865	125,504	[5]	Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula only Population breakdown: "European and American: 2,034."[5]
1866	115,098	[5]	Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula only Population breakdown: "European and American: 2,113."[5]
1881	160,402	Britannica 1911	Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula only
1891	221,441	Britannica 1911	Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula only. Population breakdown: "8,500 whites and 213,000 coloured people, nearly all Chinese. [...] nearly half of the resident white population [were] Portuguese, one-third British, and the rest German, American, French, Spanish, Italian, and of a dozen other nations."[6]
1901	283,978	Britannica 1911 census 1901[8]	The New Territories were the last territorial addition to Hong Kong in 1898.
1906	326,961
1916	530,000	[9]
1921	625,166	[10]
1925	725,000	[9]
1931	849,800	census 1931
1941	1,600,000	[9]	Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941) and beginning of Japanese occupation
1945	500,000	[11]	End of Japanese occupation on 15 August 1945
1945	600,000	[12]
1945	750,000	[13]
1950	2,200,000	[12]
1950	2,360,000	[11]
1960	3,000,000	[14]
1968	3,927,000
1970	3,995,400	[15]
1981	5,109,812	[15]	End of touch base policy, which triggered an increase in the number of illegal immigrants from China, especially from Guangdong.
1986	5,495,488	[15]
1991	5,674,114	[15]
1996	6,412,937	[15]
2001	6,708,389	[15]
2006	6,864,346	[15]
2011	7,071,576	[15]

Ethnicity

According to the 2011 census, 92.6% of the Hong Kong population is ethnic Chinese and 7.4% are other ethnic groups, including a large number of Filipino and Indonesian foreign domestic helpers, making up approximately 4% of the population.^[2][16][17] The national census does not subdivide people of European descent, nor does it categorise Chinese ethnic subgroups. However, the majority of Hong Kongers of Chinese descent trace their ancestry to various parts of Southern China: the Guangzhou area, followed by Siyi (a region of four counties neighboring Guangzhou), Chaoshan (a region of North Guangdong home to Teochew speakers), Fujian and Shanghai.^[18] Some Cantonese people also originate from Hakka-speaking villages in the New Territories.^[19] Most Teochew-speaking migrants immigrated to Hong Kong from the late 1940s to the early 1970s, while migrants from Fujian province (previously Southern Min speakers, and increasingly more Central Min and Northern Min speakers) have constituted a large-growing number of migrants since 1978.^[20]

Currently, the major ethnic groups include the Punti (本地/圍頭), Hakka (客家), Cantonese (廣府, including Toishanese (台山/四邑)), Hoklo (福佬/鶴佬/學佬/閩南),^[21] and Tanka (蜑家/水上, lit. boat dwellers).^[22] Punti and Tanka are Hong Kong indigenous people, while Cantonese people (including Toishanese) are not Hong Kong indigenous people. For Hakka and Hoklo, they have both indigenous and non-indigenous people in Hong Kong.

Stanley Market

Population of Hong Kong according to ethnic group

Ethnic group	2001 Census		2006 By-census		2011 Census
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Chinese	6,364,439	94.9	6,522,148	95.0	6,320,393	92.6
Filipino	142,556	2.1	112,453	1.6	133,018	1.9
Indonesian	50,494	0.8	87,840	1.3	133,377	1.9
White	46,585	0.7	36,384	0.5	55,236	0.8
Others	20,835	0.3	20,264	0.3	30,336	0.4
Indian	18,543	0.3	20,444	0.3	28,616	0.4
Thai	14,342	0.2	11,900	0.2	11,213	0.2
Japanese	14,180	0.2	13,189	0.2	12,580	0.2
Other Asian	12,835	0.2	12,663	0.2	12,247	0.2
Nepalese	12,564	0.2	15,950	0.2	16,518	0.2
Pakistani	11,017	0.2	11,111	0.2	18,042	0.3
Total	6,708,389		6,864,346		7,071,576

The following lists ethnic groups with significant presence in Hong Kong in alphabetical order by category:

• Chinese
  • Cantonese
  • Hakka
  • Shanghainese
  • Teochew
• Other Asian
  • Filipinos
  • Indonesians
  • Japanese
  • Koreans
  • South Asians
  • Thais
  • Vietnamese
• Non-Asian
  • Americans
  • British
  • Canadians

By migration

• Expatriates
• Indigenous inhabitants
• New immigrants
• Returnees

Age groups

United Nations data

According to United Nations estimates from 1 July 2013, Hong Kong's population is distributed in the following age ranges, with the largest age group represented being 50–54 years:^[23]

Population by age group

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	3 330 700	3 856 800	7 187 500	100
0-4	134 500	125 700	260 200	3,62
5-9	128 000	120 200	248 200	3,45
10-14	149 100	139 600	288 700	4,02
15-19	208 000	196 300	404 300	5,63
20-24	226 400	230 700	457 100	6,36
25-29	221 800	295 800	517 600	7,20
30-34	231 900	343 200	575 100	8,00
35-39	229 500	331 000	560 500	7,80
40-44	239 800	338 700	578 500	8,05
45-49	271 000	337 900	608 900	8,47
50-54	313 500	341 100	654 600	9,11
55-59	281 300	287 900	569 200	7,92
60-64	220 000	223 100	443 100	6,16
65-69	148 800	146 400	295 200	4,11
70-74	109 600	103 700	213 300	2,97
75-79	100 600	109 900	210 500	2,93
80-84	69 500	88 400	157 900	2,20
85+	47 400	97 200	144 600	2,01

Population by wider age groups

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	411 600	385 500	797 100	11,09
15-64	2 443 200	2 925 700	5 368 900	74,70
65+	475 900	545 600	1 021 500	14,21

Hong Kong government data

The Hong Kong government provides the following estimates for mid-2013:^[24]

 0-14 years: 11.0% (male 408,000; female 382,600)

15-24 years: 11.7% (male 424,500; female 417,900)

25-34 years: 15.2% (male 454,900; female 639,700)

35-44 years: 15.9% (male 471,500; female 671,800)

45-54 years: 17.7% (male 587,900; female 681,700)

55-64 years: 14.2% (male 503,700; female 512,600)

65 and over: 14.3% (male 479,500; female 547,700)

Median age: 45.0 (2013 est.)

Sex ratio

According to the The World Factbook in 2013, the Hong Kong population was divided into the folllowing male/female ratios:

Male/female ratio by age group

At birth: 1.07 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.09 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.88 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 1 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female

Total population: 0.94 male(s)/female

Education level

According to The World Factbook estimates in 2002, 93.5% of the population over the age of 15 had attended schooling, including 96.9% of males and 89.6% of females.

Health and mortality

The following table shows birth rates and mortality rates in Hong Kong between 1950-2015.^[25][26][27]

At the end of the 20th century, Hong Kong had one of the lowest birth rates in the world. However, the number of births doubled in the decade between 2001-2011, largely due to an increase in the number of children born in Hong Kong to women with residence in Mainland China. In 2001 there were 7,810 births to Mainland women (16%) out of a total of 48,219 births. This increased to 37,253 births to Mainland women (45%) out of a total of 82,095 births.^[28]

Birth and mortality rates

	Average population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	TFR
1950	1 974	60 600	18 465	42 135	30.7	9.4	21.3
1951	2 044	68 500	20 580	47 920	34.0	10.2	23.8
1952	2 141	71 976	19 459	52 517	33.9	9.2	24.7
1953	2 253	75 544	18 300	57 244	33.7	8.2	25.5
1954	2 371	83 317	19 283	64 034	35.2	8.2	27.1
1955	2 490	90 511	19 080	71 431	36.3	7.7	28.7
1956	2 607	96 746	19 295	77 451	37.0	7.4	29.6
1957	2 721	97 834	19 365	78 469	35.8	7.1	28.7
1958	2 834	106 624	20 554	86 070	37.4	7.2	30.2
1959	2 951	104 579	20 250	84 329	35.2	6.8	28.4
1960	3 075	110 667	19 146	91 521	36.1	6.2	29.9
1961	3 207	108 726	18 738	89 988	34.3	5.9	28.4
1962	3 344	119 166	20 933	98 233	36.1	6.3	29.7
1963	3 477	118 413	20 340	98 073	34.6	5.9	28.7
1964	3 596	111 436	18 657	92 779	31.8	5.3	26.5
1965	3 692	106 362	18 160	88 202	29.6	5.0	24.5
1966	3 763	96 436	19 261	77 175	26.6	5.3	21.3
1967	3 812	94 368	20 234	74 134	25.3	5.4	19.9
1968	3 850	83 641	19 444	64 197	22.0	5.1	16.9
1969	3 889	82 482	19 256	63 226	21.3	5.0	16.4
1970	3 942	79 132	19 996	59 136	20.0	5.1	14.9
1971	4 009	79 789	20 374	59 415	19.7	5.0	14.7
1972	4 088	80 344	21 397	58 947	19.5	5.2	14.3
1973	4 180	82 252	21 251	61 001	19.5	5.0	14.5
1974	4 283	83 589	21 879	61 710	19.3	5.1	14.3
1975	4 396	79 759	21 591	58 168	18.1	4.9	13.2
1976	4 519	78 511	22 628	55 883	17.7	5.1	12.6
1977	4 652	80 022	23 331	56 691	17.5	5.1	12.4
1978	4 788	80 957	23 816	57 141	17.3	5.1	12.2
1979	4 919	81 975	25 110	56 865	16.6	5.1	11.5
1980	5 039	85 290	24 995	60 295	16.8	4.9	11.9
1981	5 145	86 751	24 822	61 929	16.7	4.8	11.9	1,933
1982	5 239	86 120	25 384	60 736	16.4	4.8	11.5	1,860
1983	5 322	83 293	26 512	56 781	15.6	5.0	10.6	1,722
1984	5 394	77 297	25 510	51 787	14.3	4.7	9.6	1,559
1985	5 456	76 126	25 248	50 878	14.0	4.6	9.3	1,491
1986	5 508	71 620	25 902	45 718	13.0	4.7	8.3	1,367
1987	5 551	69 958	26 916	43 042	12.6	4.8	7.8	1,311
1988	5 592	75 412	27 659	47 753	13.5	4.9	8.5	1,400
1989	5 641	69 621	28 745	40 876	12.3	5.1	7.2	1,296
1990	5 704	67 731	29 136	38 595	11.9	5.1	6.8	1,272
1991	5 786	68 281	28 429	39 852	11.8	4.9	6.9	1,281
1992	5 884	70 949	30 550	40 399	12.1	5.2	6.9	1,347
1993	5 992	70 451	30 571	39 880	11.8	5.1	6.7	1,342
1994	6 101	71 646	29 905	41 741	11.7	4.9	6.8	1,355
1995	6 206	68 637	31 468	37 169	11.1	5.1	6.0	1,295
1996	6 304	63 291	32 176	31 115	10.0	5.1	4.9	1,191
1997	6 492	59 250	31 738	27 512	9.1	4.9	4.2	1,127
1998	6 550	52 977	32 847	20 130	8.1	5.0	3.1	1,016
1999	6 611	51 281	33 255	18 026	7.8	5.0	2.7	0,981
2000	6 675	54 134	33 758	20 376	8.1	5.1	3.1	1,032
2001	6 721	48 219	33 378	14 841	7.2	5.0	2.2	0,931
2002	6 728	48 209	34 267	13 942	7.2	5.1	2.1	0,941
2003	6 745	46 965	36 971	9 994	7.0	5.5	1.5	0,901
2004	6 781	49 796	36 918	12 878	7.3	5.4	1.9	0,922
2005	6 818	57 098	38 830	18 268	8.4	5.7	2.7	0,959
2006	6 871	65 626	37 457	28 169	9.6	5.5	4.1	0,984
2007	6 921	70 875	39 476	31 399	10.2	5.7	4.5	1,028
2008	6 951	78 822	41 796	37 026	11.3	6.0	5.3	1,064
2009	6 980	82 095	41 175	40 920	11.8	5.9	5.9	1,055
2010	7 024	88 600	42 200	46 400	12.6	6.0	6.6	1,127
2011	7 072	95 500	41 400	54 100	13.5	5.9	7.6	1,204
2012	7 155	91 600	43 900	47 700	12.8	6.1	6.7	1,285
2013	7 187	57 100	43 400	13 700	7.9	6.0	1.9	1,124
2014	7 242	62 300	45 100	17 200	8.6	6.2	2.4	1,234
2015	7 306	59 900	46 000	13 900	8.2	6.3	1.9

According to The World Factbook in 2013, the infant mortality rate in Hong Kong was 2.89 deaths/1,000 live births.

Life expectancy

According to The World Factbook in 2013, the average life expectancy for the total population was 82.2 years; 79.47 years for males and 85.14 years for females.

Marriage and fertility

According to the The World Factbook in 2006, the average marriage age in Hong Kong was 30 years for males and 27 years for females, and the population was subdivided into the following categories:

Marital status

Married: 57.8% (3,423,995)

Never married: 32% (1,920,522)

Divorced: 3.2% (189,563)

Separated: 0.6% (34,722)

Fertility rate

The World Factbook in 2013 reported that the fertility rate in Hong Kong was 1.11 children born/woman.

Religion

The Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island.

People honouring gods in a dajiao celebration, the Cheung Chau Bun Festival.

People in Hong Kong follow a diverse range of religions, although most people of Chinese descent follow Taoist, Confucian, or Buddhist faiths; specifically Chinese Buddhism. Another group present are those that follow non-organised Chinese folk religions, which may state that they do not follow a religion.Traditional religions including Chinese Buddhism were discouraged under British rule, which officially represented Christianity.^[12] The handover of sovereignty from Britain to China has led to a resurgence of Buddhist and Chinese religions.^[12]

Estimated number of adherents in Hong Kong by religion^[29]

Region	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Buddhists	> 1 million	> 1 million	> 1 million	> 1 million	≈ 1 million	≈ 1 million
Taoists	≈ 1 million	≈ 1 million	≈ 1 million	≈ 1 million	> 1 million	> 1 million
Protestant	320,000	320,000	480,000	480,000	480,000	≈ 500,000
Catholics	350,000	350,000	353,000	363,000	363,000	368,000
Muslims	220,000	220,000	220,000	220,000	270,000	300,000
Hindu	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000
Sikhs	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000

See also

• Right of abode in Hong Kong
• Hong Kong drifter
• Hong Kong Kids phenomenon
• Hong Kongers
• Hong Kong people in the United Kingdom
• Waves of mass migrations from Hong Kong

References

1. "Population - Overview | Census and Statistics Department". www.censtatd.gov.hk. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
2. 2011 Population Census – Summary Results (PDF) (Report). Census and Statistics Department. February 2012. p. 37. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
3. Poon Angela and Jenny Wong, Struggling for Democracy Under China: The Implications of a Politicised 'Hongkongese' Identity http://www.civic-exchange.org/publications/Intern/2004-JennyandAngela.pdf
4. Sidney Cheung, Hong Kong Handover http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/journal/vol5no1/sidney2.html
5. William Frederick Mayers, Charles King (1867). The treaty ports of China and Japan: A complete guide to the open ports of those countries, together with Peking, Yedo, Hongkong and Macao. Forming a guide book & vade mecum for travellers, merchants, and residents in general. Trübner and Co. pp. vi; 17.
6. Sanderson, Edgar (1897–1898). The British Empire in the nineteenth century: its progress and expansion at home and abroad IV. London: Blackie and Son. p. 337. LCCN 02002538. OCLC 11625716.
7. Census of Hongkong, 31 December 1853
8. The Hongkong Government Gazette, 28 September 1901
9. Stanford, David. [2006] (2006). Roses in December. Lulu press. ISBN 1-84753-966-1
10. Sweeting, Anthony. [1990] (1990). Education in Hong Kong, pre-1841 to 1941. HK University Press. ISBN 962-209-258-6
11. R.G. Horsnall, "The MacIntosh Cathedrals", in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, Vol. 35, 1995, pp. 171-176
12. Chan, Shun-hing. Leung, Beatrice. [2003] (2003). Changing Church and State Relations in Hong Kong, 1950-2000. Hong Kong: HK university press. Page 24. ISBN 962-209-612-3
13. Rees, Laurence. Iriye, Akira. [2002] (2002). Horror in the East: Japan and the Atrocities of WWII. Da Capo Preess. ISBN 0-306-81178-2
14. Manion, Melanie. [2004](2004). Corruption by Design: Building Clean Government in Mainland China and Hong Kong. Harvard University press. ISBN 0-674-01486-3
15. Table 001: Population by Sex. Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department website.
16. http://www.census2011.gov.hk/pdf/EM.pdf#Page=28
17. "Immigration Autonomy". Immigration Department Annual Report 2009-2010. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
18. Ng Sek Hong (2010). Labour Law in Hong Kong. Kluwer Law International. p. 19. ISBN 978-90-411-3307-6.
19. Melvin Ember, Carol R. Ember, Ian Skoggard, ed. (2005). Encyclopedia of diasporas: immigrant and refugee cultures around the world. Diaspora communities 2. Springer. pp. 94–95. ISBN 978-0-306-48321-9.
20. Hu-DeHart, Evelyn (2006). Voluntary organizations in the Chinese Diaspora. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 122–125. ISBN 978-962-209-776-6.
21. Kelly, Margaret. Fodor's China. Fodor's Travel Publications, 2011. ISBN 0307480534, 9780307480538. p. 392.
22. Ng Lun, Ngai-ha. In: Ring, Trudy, Robert M. Salkin, Sharon La Boda (editors). International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania (Volume 5 of International Dictionary of Historic Places, Trudy Ring, ISBN 1884964052, 9781884964053). Taylor & Francis, 1996. ISBN 1884964044, 9781884964046. p. 358.
23. "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
24. HK Census. "HK Census." Statistical Table of population. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
25. B.R. Mitchell. International historical statistics 1750-2005: Africa, Asia and Oceania
26. "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
27. Census and Statistics Department of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR
28. The fertility trend in Hong Kong 1981-2009
29. http://www.yearbook.gov.hk/2013/en/pdf/E21.pdf

External links

• Hong Kong Population History
• HK Facts
• TopNews.in - Baby boom pushes Hong Kong population above 7 million
• Census and Statistics Department - Latest Official HK Population Statistics