Hong Kong: record population decline, massive emigration

Hong Kong has seen a decline in its population over the past year, with some 113,200 residents packing up as the city maintains among the world's strictest coronavirus health measures.

According to estimates assessing the population situation at mid-year, Hong Kong's population stands at 7,291,600, down 1.6 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Decline since 2020

Figures released Thursday show a net outflow of 113,200 residents between mid-2021 and mid-2022, a record in a 12-month period since the first census in 1961. restrictions put in place at the borders to fight the pandemic, which have "

", said a spokesman for the government of the financial center.

The territory's population began to decline in 2020 and the decline shows no signs of stopping, according to government figures.

Formerly an Asian transport and logistics hub, Hong Kong has been cut off from the world for more than two years due to its draconian health policy, in line with China's "

" strategy.

At the height of the epidemic this year, departures of residents by air often exceeded 2,000 people a day, while arrivals dwindled to a trickle.

The population decline is also part of a broader trend of exodus of Hong Kongers, many of whom are choosing to move abroad in response to Beijing's crackdown on dissent following pro-democracy protests. of 2019.

Read alsoChina expects population to decline by 2025

The government has consistently downplayed these departures, saying many will one day return or may be replaced by residents from mainland China.

Authorities partly attribute the population decline to the city's low birth rate which combines an aging population with one of the lowest fertility rates in Asia.

Last year, Hong Kong recorded 26,500 more deaths than births, and 11,900 more the previous year.

Immigration from mainland China was once a major demographic driver in Hong Kong, but recent numbers have remained low due to border closures.