Demographic report released

The Census & Statistics Department published its Demographic Trends in Hong Kong 1991-2021 report today, showing the city’s population increased at an average annual growth rate of 0.8% from 5.75 million to 7.41 million.

It describes the growth, the age-sex structure and the patterns of fertility, mortality and marriage of the Hong Kong population in the past 30 years.

The report also depicts Hong Kong’s demographic changes, highlighting comparisons with the situations observed in selected economies during the same period.

The population showed a trend of continuing ageing and declining fertility. The median age of the population rose from 31.6 to 46.3, while the total fertility rate decreased from 1,281 live births per 1,000 women to 772.

Hong Kong experienced a continuous decline in mortality, leading to an increase in life expectancy.

The expectation of life at birth for males increased from 75.2 years in 1991 to 83.2 years in 2021, while that for females increased from 80.7 years to 87.9 years.

Delay in marriage prevailed. In 2021, the median age at first marriage was 32.2 for bridegrooms and 30.6 for brides, while in 1991, the corresponding median ages were 29.1 and 26.2.

There was a rising trend of brides being Hong Kong women and bridegrooms being Mainland men in cross-boundary marriages. The proportion of such marriages in all cross-boundary marriages increased from 6.1% to 32%.

The number of divorce decrees granted increased from 6,295 to 16,692.

Click here for the key demographic statistics.