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, economic status, 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.

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.

Overview

The demographics of Hong Kong mainly consists of ethnic Chinese, making up more than 93.6% of the population.[1] The ancestral home of most Hong Kong people originates from various regions in Guangdong. Most Hong Kong people nowadays are the descendants of immigrants from Mainland China and around the world after the end of World War II. Despite Filipino and Indonesian foreign domestic helpers being the ethnic minorities, there are over 273,609 foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong,[2] accounting for 4% of the entire population.

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),[3] and Tanka (蜑家/水上, lit. boat dwellers).[4] Punti and Tanka are Hong Kong indigenous Cantonese 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.

Terminology

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 nearly 150-year colonial history that saw the stationing of British, Indians and Russians among other ethnic groups as civil servants or traders. Thus a distinct and legitimate non-Cantonese culture with specifics to Hong Kong grew. Mixing of cultural groups did not occur much beyond governance and business owing to two main reasons:

  1. Between Chinese and other ethnicities: the Cantonese language posed a significant barrier for newcomers. Far too often non-Chinese were stationed in Hong Kong for fixed periods of time (2-, 4-, 8-year terms) and thus motivation to learn the language was reduced. Furthermore, pre-1970s Hong Kong saw official governance favouring English or British culture for the most part. For example, English was the only official language and educational institutes of quality were also English speaking. Therefore, a continuation of English culture by recent English immigrants was simple and official policy; the need to integrate with the Chinese populations was thus limited. Furthermore, Chinese population were largely unable to learn English owing to the lack of proper educational facilities in pre-1970 Hong Kong.<biased, uncited> Racial tensions arose as a result of perceived imbalances, leading to the 1966 and 1967 riots.
  2. Between non-Chinese ethnicities: most non-Chinese ethnic groups came to Hong Kong as traders, civil servants or soldiers in which one's race played a significant role in the determination of class. For example, the 1928 HK Police handbook clearly assigns power, responsibility and rank based on ethnicity (White, Indian and Chinese).

In English, the term "Hong Kongers" (or sometimes Hongkongers) and "Hongkongese" are becoming more popular to describe the people of and culture of Hong Kong.[5][6] The term 'Hong Konger' or 'Hongkonger' is used to refer to the Hong Kong people, while 'Hong Kong' (or 'Hongkongese') is an adjective for people or things related to Hong Kong.

Demographic statistics

Population graph of Hong Kong

Census data

Year Count Source Notes
1841 7,450 (census 1841?)[7] 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".[7]
1848 24,000 [8] Hong Kong Island only
1851 33,000 Hong Kong Island only
1853 39,017 census 1853[9] Hong Kong Island only
1855 72,000 [8] Hong Kong Island only
1862 123,511 [7] Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula only.
Population breakdown: "European and American: 1,604; Chinese, etc: 121,907"[7]
Kowloon Peninsula had a population of 800 in 1860, when it became part of Hong Kong.[7]
1863 124,850 [7] Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula only
Population breakdown: "European and American: 2,644; Chinese, etc: 123,207"[7]
1864 121,498 [7] Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula only
Population breakdown: "European and American: 1,963; Chinese, etc: 119,535"[7]
1865 125,504 [7] Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula only
Population breakdown: "European and American: 2,034."[7]
1866 115,098 [7] Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula only
Population breakdown: "European and American: 2,113."[7]
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."[8]
1901 283,978 Britannica 1911
census 1901[10]		 The New Territories were the last territorial addition to Hong Kong in 1898.
1906 326,961
1916 530,000 [11]
1921 625,166 [12]
1925 725,000 [11]
1931 849,800 census 1931
1941 1,600,000 [11] Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941) and beginning of Japanese occupation
1945 500,000 [13] End of Japanese occupation on 15 August 1945
1945 600,000 [14]
1945 750,000 [15]
1950 2,200,000 [14]
1950 2,360,000 [13]
1960 3,000,000 [16]
1968 3,927,000
1970 3,995,400 [17]
1981 5,109,812 [17] End of touch base policy, which triggered an increase in the number of illegal immigrants from China, especially from Guangdong.
1986 5,495,488 [17]
1991 5,674,114 [17]
1996 6,412,937 [17]
2001 6,708,389 [17]
2006 6,864,346 [17]
2011 7,071,576 [17]

Vital statistics [18][19][20]

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 60018 46542 135 30.79.421.3
1951 2 044 68 50020 58047 920 34.010.223.8
1952 2 141 71 97619 45952 517 33.99.224.7
1953 2 253 75 54418 30057 244 33.78.225.5
1954 2 371 83 31719 28364 034 35.28.227.1
1955 2 490 90 51119 08071 431 36.37.728.7
1956 2 607 96 74619 29577 451 37.07.429.6
1957 2 721 97 83419 36578 469 35.87.128.7
1958 2 834 106 62420 55486 070 37.47.230.2
1959 2 951 104 57920 25084 329 35.26.828.4
1960 3 075 110 66719 14691 521 36.16.229.9
1961 3 207 108 72618 73889 988 34.35.928.4
1962 3 344 119 16620 93398 233 36.16.329.7
1963 3 477 118 41320 34098 073 34.65.928.7
1964 3 596 111 43618 65792 779 31.85.326.5
1965 3 692 106 36218 16088 202 29.65.024.5
1966 3 763 96 43619 26177 175 26.65.321.3
1967 3 812 94 36820 23474 134 25.35.419.9
1968 3 850 83 64119 44464 197 22.05.116.9
1969 3 889 82 48219 25663 226 21.35.016.4
1970 3 942 79 13219 99659 136 20.05.114.9
1971 4 009 79 78920 37459 415 19.75.014.7
1972 4 088 80 34421 39758 947 19.55.214.3
1973 4 180 82 25221 25161 001 19.55.014.5
1974 4 283 83 58921 87961 710 19.35.114.3
1975 4 396 79 75921 59158 168 18.14.913.2
1976 4 519 78 51122 62855 883 17.75.112.6
1977 4 652 80 02223 33156 691 17.55.112.4
1978 4 788 80 95723 81657 141 17.35.112.2
1979 4 919 81 97525 11056 865 16.65.111.5
1980 5 039 85 29024 99560 295 16.84.911.9
1981 5 145 86 75124 82261 929 16.74.811.91,933
1982 5 239 86 12025 38460 736 16.44.811.51,860
1983 5 322 83 29326 51256 781 15.65.010.61,722
1984 5 394 77 29725 51051 787 14.34.79.61,559
1985 5 456 76 12625 24850 878 14.04.69.31,491
1986 5 508 71 62025 90245 718 13.04.78.31,367
1987 5 551 69 95826 91643 042 12.64.87.81,311
1988 5 592 75 41227 65947 753 13.54.98.51,400
1989 5 641 69 62128 74540 876 12.35.17.21,296
1990 5 704 67 73129 13638 595 11.95.16.81,272
1991 5 786 68 28128 42939 852 11.84.96.91,281
1992 5 884 70 94930 55040 399 12.15.26.91,347
1993 5 992 70 45130 57139 880 11.85.16.71,342
1994 6 101 71 64629 90541 741 11.74.96.81,355
1995 6 206 68 63731 46837 169 11.15.16.01,295
1996 6 304 63 29132 17631 115 10.05.14.91,191
1997 6 492 59 25031 73827 512 9.14.94.21,127
1998 6 550 52 97732 84720 130 8.15.03.11,016
1999 6 611 51 28133 25518 026 7.85.02.70,981
2000 6 675 54 13433 75820 376 8.15.13.11,032
2001 6 721 48 21933 37814 841 7.25.02.20,931
2002 6 728 48 20934 26713 942 7.25.12.10,941
2003 6 745 46 96536 9719 994 7.05.51.50,901
2004 6 781 49 79636 91812 878 7.35.41.90,922
2005 6 818 57 09838 83018 268 8.45.72.70,959
2006 6 871 65 62637 45728 169 9.65.54.10,984
2007 6 921 70 87539 47631 399 10.25.74.51,028
2008 6 951 78 82241 79637 026 11.36.05.31,064
2009 6 980 82 09541 17540 920 11.85.95.91,055
2010 7 024 88 60042 20046 400 12.66.06.61,127
2011 7 078 95 50041 40054 100 13.55.97.61,204
2012 7 154 91 60043 90047 700 12.86.16.71,285
2013 7 187 57 10043 40013 700 7.96.01.9
2014 7 264,1 62 30045 10017 200 8.66.22.4

At the end of the 20th century Hong Kong had one of the lowest birth rates in the world. A fast increase in the number of births was recorded during the past decade: between 2001 and 2011 the number of births doubled. However, this increase was not caused by an increase of the fertility rate of Hong Kong women, but by 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.[21]

Structure of the population [22]

Structure of the population (01.07.2013) (Estimates) :

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
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

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Age structure: (Mid-2013 est.)[23]

 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:

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 (2013 est.)

Average marriage age:

male: 30
female: 27

Marriage: (2006 est.)

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

Infant mortality rate: 2.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2013 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 82.2 years
male: 79.47 years
female: 85.14 years (2013 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.11 children born/woman (2013 est.)

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 93.5%
male: 96.9%
female: 89.6% (2002)

By ethnicity

Chinese make up 94% of the population with the other groups floating at around 6%.[24] The national census does not break down people of European descent into separate categories, nor are Chinese ethnic subgroups separated in the statistics. 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.[25] Some Cantonese people also originate from Hakka-speaking villages in the New Territories.[26] Most Teochew-speaking migrants immigrated to Hong Kong from the late 1940s to the early 1970s, while migrants from Fujian province (previously Min Nan speakers, and increasingly more Min Zhong and Min Bei speakers) have constituted a large-growing number of migrants since 1978.[27]

Population of Hong Kong according to ethnic group[28]
Ethnic
group		 2001 Census 2006 By-census 2011 Census
Number % Number % Number %
Chinese 6,364,439 94.9 6,522,148 95.06,320,39392.6
Filipino 142,556 2.1 112,453 1.6133,0181.9
Indonesian 50,494 0.8 87,840 1.3133,3771.9
White 46,585 0.7 36,384 0.555,2360.8
Others 20,835 0.3 20,264 0.3 30,3360.4
Indian 18,543 0.3 20,444 0.328,6160.4
Thai 14,342 0.2 11,900 0.211,2130.2
Japanese 14,180 0.2 13,189 0.212,5800.2
Other Asian 12,835 0.2 12,663 0.2 12,2470.2
Nepalese 12,564 0.2 15,950 0.216,5180.2
Pakistani 11,017 0.2 11,111 0.218,0420.3
Total 6,708,389 6,864,346 7,071,576

Group category

Stanley Market, one of the more diverse destinations

The current list is in alphabetical order after category.

By Ethnicity

By Migration

Religion

The Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island.
People honouring gods in a dajiao celebration, the Cheung Chau Bun Festival.
Main article: Religion in Hong Kong

Religion in Hong Kong is variegated, although most of the Hong Kong people of Chinese descent practice the Chinese folk religion[14]—which comprehends also Confucian doctrines and Taoist ritual traditions—or Buddhism, mostly of the Chinese variety.

Estimated number of followers in Hong Kong by religion group[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 320,000 320,000 480,000 480,000480,000 ≈ 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

The other half of the population mostly takes part in Chinese folk religions, which comprehend the worship of local gods and ancestors, in many cases not declaring this practice as a religious affiliation in surveys. The traditional Chinese religiosity, including Chinese Buddhism, was generally discouraged during the British rule over Hong Kong, which favoured Christianity.[14] With the end of the British rule and the handover of the sovereignty of the city-state to China, there has been a renewal of Buddhist and Chinese folk religions.[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 2011 Population Census – Summary Results (PDF) (Report). Census and Statistics Department. February 2012. p. 37. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  2. ↑ "Immigration Autonomy". Immigration Department Annual Report 2009-2010. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  3. ↑ Kelly, Margaret. Fodor's China. Fodor's Travel Publications, 2011. ISBN 0307480534, 9780307480538. p. 392.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ 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
  6. ↑ Sidney Cheung, Hong Kong Handover http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/journal/vol5no1/sidney2.html
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 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.
  8. 1 2 3 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.
  9. ↑ Census of Hongkong, 31 December 1853
  10. ↑ The Hongkong Government Gazette, 28 September 1901
  11. 1 2 3 Stanford, David. [2006] (2006). Roses in December. Lulu press. ISBN 1-84753-966-1
  12. ↑ Sweeting, Anthony. [1990] (1990). Education in Hong Kong, pre-1841 to 1941. HK University Press. ISBN 962-209-258-6
  13. 1 2 R.G. Horsnall, "The MacIntosh Cathedrals", in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, Vol. 35, 1995, pp. 171-176
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 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
  15. ↑ Rees, Laurence. Iriye, Akira. [2002] (2002). Horror in the East: Japan and the Atrocities of WWII. Da Capo Preess. ISBN 0-306-81178-2
  16. ↑ Manion, Melanie. [2004](2004). Corruption by Design: Building Clean Government in Mainland China and Hong Kong. Harvard University press. ISBN 0-674-01486-3
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Table 001: Population by Sex. Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department website.
  18. ↑ B.R. Mitchell. International historical statistics 1750-2005: Africa, Asia and Oceania
  19. ↑ United nations. Demographic Yearbooks
  20. ↑ Census and Statistics Department of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR
  21. ↑ The fertility trend in Hong Kong 1981-2009
  22. ↑ http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2.htm
  23. ↑ HK Census. "HK Census." Statistical Table of population. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
  24. ↑ HK Census. Hong Kong Census.
  25. ↑ Ng Sek Hong (2010). Labour Law in Hong Kong. Kluwer Law International. p. 19. ISBN 978-90-411-3307-6.
  26. ↑ 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.
  27. ↑ Hu-DeHart, Evelyn (2006). Voluntary organizations in the Chinese Diaspora. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 122–125. ISBN 978-962-209-776-6.
  28. ↑ http://www.census2011.gov.hk/pdf/EM.pdf#Page=28
  29. ↑ http://www.yearbook.gov.hk/2013/en/pdf/E21.pdf

External links

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