Demographics of Hong Kong

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Demographics of Hong Kong
Demographics and Culture of Hong Kong
Demographics
Culture
Other Hong Kong topics
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Ethnicity in 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. Hong Kong recorded 8.2 births per 1,000 people in 2005–2010.[2]

Ethnically, Hong Kong mainly consists of Han Chinese who constitute approximately 92% of the population.[3] Of these, many originate from various regions in Canton. There are also a number of descendants of immigrants from elsewhere in Southern China and around the world after the end of World War II.

Terminology[edit]

Main article: Hong Kong people

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 160-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 Kongese people, while the term 'Hongkongese' is sometimes used as an adjective to describe people or things related to Hong Kong.[4][5]

Population density[edit]

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 kilometre. This makes Hong Kong the fourth most densely populated region in the world, after Macau, Monaco, and Singapore.[1]

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1841 7,450—    
1851 32,983+16.04%
1861 119,320+13.72%
1871 120,124+0.07%
1881 160,402+2.93%
1891 221,441+3.28%
1901 368,987+5.24%
1911 456,739+2.16%
1921 625,166+3.19%
1931 840,473+3.00%
1941 1,640,000+6.91%
1945 600,000−22.23%
1951 2,070,000+22.92%
1961 3,128,648+4.22%
1971 3,936,630+2.32%
1981 5,183,400+2.79%
1991 5,752,000+1.05%
2001 6,714,300+1.56%
2011 7,071,600+0.52%
2017 7,409,800+0.78%
Sources: Census and Statistics Department,[6][7][8][9] CICRED,[10] Office for National Statistics[11]

Ethnicity[edit]

Ethnic groups in Hong Kong (2016)[12]
Ethnic groups
Chinese
 
 92.0%
Filipino
 
 2.5%
Indonesian
 
 2.1%
Other
 
 3.4%

Chinese groups[edit]

Main article: Indigenous inhabitants of the New Territories (Hong Kong)

According to the 2016 by-census, 92% of the Hong Kong population is ethnic Chinese.[13] 8% are other non-Chinese ethnic groups, including a large number of Filipinos and Indonesians, making up approximately 4% of the population.[14][15][16] The Hong Kong census does not categorise Han Chinese 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 neighbouring Guangzhou), Chaoshan (a region of North Guangdong home to Teochew speakers), Fujian and Shanghai.[17] Some Cantonese people also originate from Hakka-speaking villages in the New Territories.[18] Most Teochew-speaking migrants immigrated to Hong Kong from the late 1940s to the early 1970s, while migrants from Fujian (previously Southern Min speakers, and increasingly more Central Min and Northern Min speakers) have constituted a large-growing number of migrants since 1978.[19] Many Taishanese and Cantonese also migrated after 1949. Currently, the major Chinese groups include the Punti, Hakka, Cantonese (including Toishanese), Hoklo,[20] and Tanka (Chinese: 蜑家/水上; literally: 'boat dwellers').[21] Punti and Tanka are Hong Kong indigenous people, while Cantonese people (including Taishanese) are not Hong Kong indigenous people. For Hakka and Hoklo, they have both indigenous and non-indigenous people in Hong Kong.

Stanley Market

Non-Chinese ethnic groups[edit]

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

Census data[edit]

Census data from 2006, 2011, and 2016.[22]

Ethnic
group 		2006 By-census 2011 Census 2016 By-census
Number % Number % Number %
Chinese 6,522,148 95.0 6,620,393 93.6 6,752,202 92.0
Filipino 112,453 1.6 133,018 1.9 184,081 2.5
Indonesian 87,840 1.3 133,377 1.9 153,299 2.1
White 36,384 0.5 55,236 0.8 58,209 0.8
Indian 20,444 0.3 28,616 0.4 36,462 0.5
Nepalese 15,950 0.2 16,518 0.2 25,472 0.3
Pakistani 11,111 0.2 18,042 0.3 18,094 0.2
Thai 11,900 0.2 11,213 0.2 10,215 0.1
Japanese 13,189 0.2 12,580 0.2 9,976 0.1
Other Asian 12,663 0.2 12,247 0.2 19,589 0.3
Others 20,264 0.3 30,336 0.4 68,986 0.9
Total 6,864,346 7,071,576 7,336,585

Age groups[edit]

Population pyramid 2016

United Nations data[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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.)

Languages[edit]

Language usually

spoken at home (5+)

1961 Census 1971 Census 1991 Census 1996 By-census 2001 Census 2006 By-census 2011 Census 2016 By-census
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Cantonese 2,076,200 78.9 3,469,200 88.1 4,583,322 88.6 5,196,240 88.7 5,726,972 89.2 6,030,960 90.8 6,095,213 89.5 6,264,700 88.9
Mandarin 503,000 19.1 405,100 10.2 57,577 1.1 65,892 1.1 55,410 0.9 60,859 0.9 94,399 1.4 131,406 1.9
Other Chinese dialects 364,694 7.1 340,222 5.8 352,562 5.5 289,027 4.4 273,745 4.0 221,247 3.1
English 31,800 1.2 41,100 1.1 114,084 2.2 184,308 3.1 203,598 3.2 187,281 2.8 238,288 3.5 300,417 4.3
Other languages 17,900 0.8 21,200 0.6 49,232 1.0 73,879 1.3 79,197 1.2 72,217 1.1 106,788 1.6 131,199 1.9
Total 2,628,900 3,936,600 5,168,909 5,860,541 6,417,739 6,640,344 6,808,433 7,048,969

Sources:

Sex ratio[edit]

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

Male/female ratio by age group[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

The following table shows birth rates and mortality rates in Hong Kong between 1950 and 2015.[30][31][32]

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 and 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.[33]

Birth and mortality rates[edit]

Average population (× 1,000) Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1,000) Crude death rate (per 1,000) Natural change (per 1,000) 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 5.014
1961 3,207 108,726 18,738 89,988 34.3 5.9 28.4 5.030
1962 3,344 119,166 20,933 98,233 36.1 6.3 29.7 4.980
1963 3,477 118,413 20,340 98,073 34.6 5.9 28.7 4.857
1964 3,596 111,436 18,657 92,779 31.8 5.3 26.5 4.665
1965 3,692 106,362 18,160 88,202 29.6 5.0 24.5 4.422
1966 3,763 96,436 19,261 77,175 26.6 5.3 21.3 4.152
1967 3,812 94,368 20,234 74,134 25.3 5.4 19.9 3.887
1968 3,850 83,641 19,444 64,197 22.0 5.1 16.9 3.649
1969 3,889 82,482 19,256 63,226 21.3 5.0 16.4 3.448
1970 3,942 79,132 19,996 59,136 20.0 5.1 14.9 3.284
1971 4,009 79,789 20,374 59,415 19.7 5.0 14.7 3.459
1972 4,088 80,344 21,397 58,947 19.5 5.2 14.3 3.315
1973 4,180 82,252 21,251 61,001 19.5 5.0 14.5 3.177
1974 4,283 83,589 21,879 61,710 19.3 5.1 14.3 2.967
1975 4,396 79,790 21,591 58,168 17.9 4.9 13.0 2.666
1976 4,519 78,511 22,628 55,883 17.4 5.1 12.3 2.480
1977 4,652 80,022 23,331 56,691 17.5 5.1 12.4 2.376
1978 4,788 80,957 23,816 57,141 17.3 5.1 12.2 2.272
1979 4,919 81,975 25,110 56,865 16.8 5.1 11.7 2.120
1980 5,039 85,290 24,995 60,295 17.0 4.9 12.1 2.047
1981 5,145 86,751 24,822 61,929 16.8 4.8 12.0 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 14.4 4.7 9.7 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 13.4 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 12.0 5.1 6.9 1.272
1991 5,786 68,281 28,429 39,852 12.0 4.9 7.1 1.281
1992 5,884 70,949 30,550 40,399 12.3 5.2 7.1 1.347
1993 5,992 70,451 30,571 39,880 12.0 5.1 6.9 1.342
1994 6,101 71,646 29,905 41,741 11.9 4.9 7.0 1.355
1995 6,206 68,637 31,468 37,169 11.2 5.1 6.1 1.295
1996 6,304 63,291 32,176 31,115 9.9 5.1 4.8 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 7.1 5.1 2.0 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 88,584 42,194 46,390 12.6 6.0 6.6 1.127
2011 7 072 95,451 42,346 53,105 13.5 5.9 7.6 1.204
2012 7,155 91,558 43,917 47,641 12.8 6.1 6.7 1.285
2013 7,187 57,084 43,397 13,687 7.9 6.0 1.9 1.125
2014 7,242 62,305 45,087 17,218 8.6 6.2 2.4 1.235
2015 7,306 59,878 46,108 13,770 8.2 6.3 1.9 1.196
2016 7,337 60,803 46,900 13,903 8.3 6.4 1.9 1.205
2017 7,410 56,890 45,883 11,007 7.7 6.3 1.4 1.126
2018 7,482 54,330 47,479 6,851 7.2 6.3 0.9 1.072

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

Life expectancy[edit]

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.

Hong Kong is the territory with the worlds highest life expectancy according to the United Nations.

Period Life expectancy in
Years 		Period Life expectancy in
Years
1950–1955 63.1 1985–1990 77.0
1955–1960 65.9 1990–1995 78.1
1960–1965 68.8 1995–2000 80.0
1965–1970 70.9 2000–2005 81.4
1970–1975 72.5 2005–2010 82.4
1975–1980 73.7 2010–2015 83.4
1980–1985 75.6

Source: UN World Population Prospects[34]

Marriage and fertility[edit]

According to 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[edit]

Married: 57.8% (3,423,995)
Never married: 32% (1,920,522)
Divorced: 3.2% (189,563)
Separated: 0.6% (34,722)

Fertility rate[edit]

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

Religion[edit]

Main article: Religion in Hong Kong

Religion in Hong Kong (2016)[35]

  Chinese folk religion, Buddhism, Taoism or non-religious (82.8%)
  Protestantism (6.5%)
  Catholicism (5.1%)
  Islam (4.1%)
  Hinduism (1.3%)
  Sikhism (0.2%)
The Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island.
People honouring gods in a dajiao celebration, the Cheung Chau Bun Festival.

Over half of all people (56.1% as of 2010) are not religious[36]. Religious people in Hong Kong follow a diverse range of religions, among which Taoist and Buddhist (specifically Chinese Buddhism) faiths are common for people of Chinese descent.

Confucian beliefs are popular in Hong Kong, but it is arguable whether Confucianism can be considered as a religion [37]. As such, Confucianism is excluded in some studies [36].

Christian beliefs (Protestantism and Catholicism together) are also common, as well as non-organised Chinese folk religions, whose followers may state that they are not religious.

Traditional religions including Chinese Buddhism were discouraged under British rule, which officially represented Christianity.[38] The handover of sovereignty from Britain to China has led to a resurgence of Buddhist and Chinese religions.[38]

Estimated number of adherents in Hong Kong by religion[39]
Region 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2016
Buddhists > 1 million > 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 > 1 million
Protestant 320,000 320,000 480,000 480,000 480,000 ≈ 500,000 500,000
Catholics 350,000 350,000 353,000 363,000 363,000 368,000 384,000
Muslims 220,000 220,000 220,000 220,000 270,000 300,000 300,000
Hindu 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 100,000
Sikhs 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 12,000

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Population – Overview | Census and Statistics Department". Government of Hong Kong. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  2. ^ glenday, craig (2013). Guinness World Records. p. 121. ISBN 9781908843159.
  3. ^ 2016 Population By-census – Summary Results (Report). Census and Statistics Department. February 2016. p. 37. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ Sidney Cheung, Hong Kong Handover http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/journal/vol5no1/sidney2.html
  6. ^ Census of Hongkong (PDF) (Report). Hongkong Register Office. 31 December 1853. p. 89 – via University of Hong Kong.
  7. ^ Hong Kong Statistics 1947–1967 (PDF) (Report). Census and Statistics Department. 1969. p. 14.
  8. ^ *Demographic Trends in Hong Kong 1981–2011 (PDF) (Report). Census and Statistics Department. December 2012. p. 8.
  9. ^ June 2018. Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics (Report). Census and Statistics Department. June 2018. p. 4.
  10. ^ Fan, Shuh Ching (1974). "The Population of Hong Kong" (PDF). World Population Year: 1–2. OCLC 438716102.
  11. ^ Census of England and Wales, 1871 (Report). Parliament of the United Kingdom. 30 July 1873. p. 322 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ http://www.bycensus2016.gov.hk/en/bc-mt.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ^ 2016 Population By-census – Summary Results (Report). Census and Statistics Department. February 2016. p. 37. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  14. ^ 2011 Population Census – Summary Results (PDF) (Report). Census and Statistics Department. February 2012. p. 37. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  15. ^ http://www.census2011.gov.hk/pdf/EM.pdf#Page=28
  16. ^ "Immigration Autonomy". Immigration Department Annual Report 2009-2010. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  17. ^ Ng Sek Hong (2010). Labour Law in Hong Kong. Kluwer Law International. p. 19. ISBN 978-90-411-3307-6.
  18. ^ Melvin Ember; Carol R. Ember; Ian Skoggard, eds. (2005). Encyclopedia of diasporas: immigrant and refugee cultures around the world. Diaspora communities. 2. Springer. pp. 94–95. ISBN 978-0-306-48321-9.
  19. ^ Hu-DeHart, Evelyn (2006). Voluntary organizations in the Chinese Diaspora. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 122–125. ISBN 978-962-209-776-6.
  20. ^ Kelly, Margaret. Fodor's China. Fodor's Travel Publications, 2011. ISBN 0307480534, 9780307480538. p. 392.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ http://www.bycensus2016.gov.hk/en/bc-mt.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. ^ "United Nations Statistics Division – Demographic and Social Statistics". United Nations. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  24. ^ HK Census. "HK Census." Statistical Table of population. Retrieved on 16 March 2007.
  25. ^ "The population of Hong Kong" (PDF). 1974.
  26. ^ "Hong Kong 1991 Population Census - Main tables" (PDF). Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong. 1991.
  27. ^ "1996 Population By-census - Main Report" (PDF). Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong. 1996.
  28. ^ "2001 Population Census - Main report" (PDF). Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong. 2001.
  29. ^ "Main Tables | 2016 Population By-census". www.bycensus2016.gov.hk. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  30. ^ B.R. Mitchell. International historical statistics 1750–2005: Africa, Asia and Oceania
  31. ^ "United Nations Statistics Division – Demographic and Social Statistics". United Nations. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  32. ^ Census and Statistics Department of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR [1]
  33. ^ The fertility trend in Hong Kong 1981–2009
  34. ^ "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  35. ^ Hong Kong: The Facts – Religion and Custom HKSAR Government Home Affairs Bureau, May 2016.
  36. ^ a b Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life (2012). The Global Religious Landscape: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Major Religious Groups as of 2010 (PDF). Pew Research Center.
  37. ^ Berling, Judith A. (1982). "Confucianism". Focus on Asian Studies. 2(1): 5–7.
  38. ^ a b 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
  39. ^ https://www.yearbook.gov.hk/2016/en/pdf/E21.pdf

External links[edit]

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